Christmas is for the Birds

This year is the 120th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. It began December 14th and runs through January 5th. The tradition started in 1900 in at the beginning of the conservation movement. Since the beginning, citizen scientists have used the information gathered to track trends in bird populations.
I took part on December 15th and had an eventful and cold day. Once again, I put my discomfort aside for the sake of nature. The day began at 4 AM with three hours of owling. My partner Chris drove us around to a few sites where we'd listen in the dark for owl calls. In an attempt to draw them out, he played owl calls on his phone. We heard a screech owl at one location and a pair of great horned owls in a duet at another place.

Great horned owl

After a pit stop around 7 AM we picked up the third member of our trio at sunrise and began our visual observations with nearly three dozen turkey vultures overhead near a roosting site. I happen to know about this roost because I drive past it on the way to and from work, and depending on my schedule I see the vultures either leaving for the day or returning for the night. Right away my presence paid off. In past years, Chris and John start their count headed the other direction.
Over half our time was spent in the car. Much of what we saw was from the road. We did some walking though, and it was tough in some places. Recent rain meant soggy ground. It's December and Pennsylvania, which is rarely a good combination. In addition to the cold, it was windy. The wind made for great raptor conditions, but bad for everything else. It was difficult to hear bird calls over the sound of the wind. Watching for motion in the trees and bushes was confusing because everything was moving.

Turkey vulture

This year we counted 47 different species, and a total of 735 birds. In 2018 we counted 38 species and 754 birds. Canada geese were the big winners this year, coming in at 266. However, they were mainly in two flocks. The birds we spotted the most times were turkey vultures and house finches. I look forward to counting more birds in 2020!

Canada goose

Changing Leaves

Fall is in full swing. The sun keeps the air warm, but it's chilly in the shade. Honking geese fly overhead and crickets chirp throughout the lengthening nights. Dried leaves swirls about in the breeze, while those still in the trees for a riot of color. What is going on inside the tree that causes the color change?
Trees are getting ready for a long winter's nap. Like animals going into hibernation, everything is slowing down. Trees have been gorging themselves on sunlight all summer, and now their metabolism is slowing down. The chlorophyll is breaking down and water uptake is stopping. Chlorophyll absorbs all wavelengths of light except green, which is reflected back to us. Without chlorophyll, we see other chemicals in the leaf.

A yellow sugar maple catches the late morning sun

The yellow leaf of a sugar maple

Xanthophyll colors the leaves of aspens, birches, and beeches a bright yellow. It's also found in corn.  Red and purple in red maples and scarlet oaks comes from anthocyanin, which is produced when the chlorophyll stops and the leaf metabolizes extra sugars. Carotene, the same as what you find in a carrot, gives trees like sugar maple and sassafras their orange leaves. Orange can also come from a leaf that is showing both xanthophyll and anthocyanin. Brown, such as in oaks, comes from tannins. Carotene and Xanthophyll are present all year in the leaves, but are overshadowed by chlorophyll.

Another sugar maple, this one decked out in red

This red sugar maple leaf fell of a Canadian flag

The brilliance of each color, as well as the amount of colors relative to each other, are dependent on the weather. If fall is sunny and dry, trees will produce more anthocyanin. Trees will be a more brilliant red. Other years, trees won't produce as much or even none at all and nearly all leaves will change to yellow.
But of course, each tree is an individual so it may change well before its neighbor or have different or more vibrant colors, even among the same species. I've seen red maples that look like traffic lights with red, yellow, and green leaves on the same tree. I've even seen multi-colored leaves.

Brown oak leaf, rich in tannin

Yet another sugar maple, this time in orange

Get out there and enjoy some biochemistry in action before it's too late! The leaves have been great this year, peaking in my area this week and next. Up north you may be past peak, and down south it's on its way! This week's information comes from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Montana Natural History Center.

Yellow and brown hickories and oaks basking in late
afternoon sunshine

Species of the Month

January has been a snowy month for me, so it seems fitting that the Species of the Month be equally snowy. A few weeks ago we learned about the snowy owl, but now we’ll look at another white bird from the cold, snowy north- the snow goose.

Scientific name: Anser caerulescens

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class:   Aves (birds)

Order: Anseriformes (ducks, geese, and swans)

Range: Summer range is eastern Arctic Canada and Greenland; winter range is Gulf Coast and Midwest states. They don’t fly nonstop, so there is migratory habitat in between.

Habitat: Tundra, marshes, tide flats, prairies, farmland

Lifespan: 20 years, on average

Diet: Roots, grasses, sedges

Predators: Arctic foxes, jaegers, eagles

Conservation Status: No special conservation status

Other Information: The snow goose has two color morphs, white and dark gray (known as blue goose). Blue goose was originally considered a separate species. Snow geese are a popular game bird. Due to rising populations, they are considered an agricultural pest in some areas. The black mark on the bill is sometimes referred to as lipstick or the grin patch. They mate for life. The female incubates the eggs while the male stands guard over her. They sometimes nest near snowy owls, which may deter predators. Nesting colonies can contain tens of thousands of birds. The snow goose is model for the National Wildlife Refuge System's logo.

National Wildlife Refuge System's logo

This week's information comes from University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web. Photos are from Missouri Department of Conservation, except the logo.

Snow goose

Blue goose color morph

Thousands of snow geese in flight

Amphibian Egg Mass Update

Thursday in the pond we explored new territory, circumnavigating the island which I have since dubbed "Goose Island". On previous trips to the pond there have always been Canada geese there, but this was my first time getting close enough to see that there are three nests on the island, all with eggs.
There were Northwestern salamander egg masses all around the island.

Northwest salamander egg mass

On the north side of the island, the aquatic vegetation is totally gone. Under the sediment the bottom feels very gravelly, so I think pond plants aren't fond of gravel. On the west side of the island, the wind picked up, kicking small waves that made forward visibility almost impossible. Looking behind me I had perfect visibility, as long as I wasn't looking at the cloud of sediment created by my footsteps. Back on the east side crossing to the mainland, we apparently didn't cross at the same spot. I was fine in my chest waders but my partner had hip waders and overtopped them. Reaching the shoreline through deep water with a sticky bottom was a long, tedious adventure. I was fighting a cold and Roger had wet legs so it seemed like a good place to end the day.
We'll try one more trip to the pond this week and that will likely be it for the season. Pond lilies are emerging, and a layer of pads on the surface means we can't see what's underneath. Last year's final egg hunt was May 7th and this year's plant cover seems on track to equal last year's growth.
After exiting the pond there were two dead shrews on the dirt path back to the cars. Who is killing them and why aren't they eating them?

Dead shrew in the path