Nature Posts

Birds of Prey– What’s the Hurry?

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We most often think as the spring months as being the nesting season for birds.  And it is, for the Cardinals, Sparrows, Robins, Finches and such.  But not for the raptors, birds of prey.  Young raptors, because they are much larger, take a much longer time to grow up and need a head start on the season. So raptors nest in winter.

Young Barred Owl
Young Barn Owls (Photographer Paul Sawer)
Barred Owl and Owlet

Remember the images of the nesting Eagles dutifully tending their nest and eggs covered over in the snow?  It takes very dedicated parents to go thru an ordeal like that.  Why the rush?  Why start nesting so early before the weather has changed for the better, we wonder?  Most other birds wait until April or later to arrive at their summer breeding grounds and start to build nests.

Nesting Bald Eagle in Snow- Codorus State Park in Pennsylvania, 2015
Nesting Bald Eagle with Eggs in Snow- Codorus State Park in Pennsylvania, 2015

Turns out, there’s a very good reason.  It’s all about rodent and other prey animal population control and giving the baby birds of prey an easier start in life.  It takes a long time for large raptors to grow big enough to be independent and hunt on their own.  An early start in the nest allows them the required time to grow and develop, while also insuring that when they are fledged and on their own, there will be a plentiful supply of prey animal babies emerging from their nests and running about at the same time to help make the raptors’ initial hunting forays a little easier and more successful.  Nevertheless, 60% to 70% of Red-tailed Hawks, Owls and other raptors do not survive their first year.  Life is hard for young raptors still trying to figure it out, so being ready early gives them the best chance of survival, while also helping to keep the world from being overrun by mice and other voles.

Great Horned Owl feeding Nestlings
Red-tailed Hawk and Hatchlings
Red-tailed Hawk Feeding Nestlings

So while the other birds and small animals are just getting started with nest building and babies now, the raptors are already well on their way to being able to greet them when they emerge later.  The early bird gets the, ummm– baby mouse shall we say.  Birds of Prey have a very important role to play in population control and the grand scheme of things as Mother Nature designed, and early nesting gives them the needed head start to make it all work.

Thanks as always for dropping in to visit! — Jim (and Red!)

Red-tailed Hawk with Mouse

Red-tailed Hawk with Mouse

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Short Stories Available on Amazon

Old-fashioned Storytelling About An Uncommonly Special Bear and His Friends!

Meet “Whistlin’ Will” the Whip-poor-will

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Old forests in the Ozarks Mountain Country, where the Little Red Bear stories take place, are home to Eastern Whip-poor-wills, one of my favorite birds.  Strictly nocturnal and calling all thru the night, they have serenaded me to sleep on camping trips on many occasions.

While you may hear the Whip-poor-wills thru the night, finding them in the daylight hours is very difficult as they are largely inactive, hiding on the ground or roosting in the trees.  Their mottled plumage blends perfectly with the grey/brown leaf litter and forest debris where they live, a natural camouflage.

A medium sized bird, the Eastern Whip-poor-will is a member of the Nightjar family of birds, sometimes referred to as Goatsuckers from ancient tales that they sucked milk from goats.  Also in the nightjar family is the Nighthawk, another nocturnal bird, along with another and one the Whip-poor-will is frequently mistaken for– its close relative the Chuck-will’s-widow, which has a similar but lower, slower call.  Both calls are hauntingly beautiful on an otherwise quiet summer night in the woods.

Whip-poor-wills are mentioned frequently in “The Adventures of Little Red Bear” stories, with “Whistlin’ Will” being one of Red’s friends, singing right behind his cabin on Honey Hill each evening.

Here is a recording for you to listen to the beautiful call of the Whip-poor-will.  Like the recording, they go on and on, tirelessly all thru the night, a calming reassurance that all is right in the woods.  Do you hear the “whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will” call for which they were named?

Sadly, as with many species, their numbers are in decline in several areas as open forests are converted for suburbs and agriculture, and as their primary foods- large moths and beetles- are also on the decline due to development.

More information and sound recordings may be found on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology page, and on the Audubon Society page.

If you would like to read more about Whistlin’ Will in “The Adventures of Little Red Bear” short stories collection, it is available on Amazon for Kindle and in Paperback.  Just click the link below.

Thanks as always for reading and following! — Jim (and Red!)

Order Your Copy of “The Adventures of Little Red Bear”

 

Image via American Bird Conservancy, by Jacob Spendelow

Image via American Bird Conservancy, by Jacob Spendelow

 

“The Silent Voice of Nature”

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There is a deep and ancient wisdom held by the trees, wilderness and nature.   Quiet your mind and be attentive for the voice you can only feel.  Peace and answers await in the stillness.

“Close your eyes so the heart may become your eye,
and with that vision look upon another world.”

Birds- Hummingbird Art via TW, uncredited

“A Moment in Time” by John Kolenberg, available on Fine Art America.com

“There is a voice that does not use words. Listen.”

— Rumi

 

 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend– Sharing Our Seas & Shores!

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Wishing everyone a very Happy and Safe Memorial Day weekend!

If heading to the beach, inland waterways, or anywhere out with nature and wildlife, please remember this is nesting and babies season.  Please teach the kids to keep a respectful distance for their own and the wildlife’s safety not to damage any nests, eggs or babies.  When we are out on the beach, in the woods or on the rivers and streams, we are really guests and visitors in someone else’s home.  Here is a link to a great article and advice from the American Bird Conservancy→ Fish, Swim and Play From 50 Yards Away

Birds- Shorebird at Fort De Soto Park, Tampa Pinterest uncredited

For more information, please visit the National Audubon Society→  Sharing Our Seas & Shores

Image via National Wildlife Federation, by Jim Gray

Image via National Wildlife Federation, by Jim Gray

Hope everyone has a chance to have a picnic, go hiking or biking, play softball, go fishing, splash in the surf, go boating or swimming this weekend and enjoy the great outdoors, fresh air, exercise and the start of the summer season!  Remember to bring the sunscreen.  Stay safe and please keep an eye out for rip currents, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycles!

Children- Patriotic little girl at the beach

And please pause for a moment to reflect on the real meaning of the weekend.

 “Memorial Day this year is especially important as we are reminded almost daily of the great sacrifices that the men and women of the Armed Services make to defend our way of life.”– Robin Hayes

Little Red Bear always reminds– “Remember when visiting in Mother Nature’s home, leave nothing behind but footprints, take nothing away but memories, and kill nothing but time.”

Have a wonderful weekend and visit back next week for an important update on “The Adventures of Little Red Bear” short stories collection.  Hint- it’s coming very soon!     — Jim (and Red!)

Birds- Little Blue Heron Family at Lowry Park, Pinterest, not photo signature

Little Blue Heron Family, Paul Fernandez Photography

 

Endangered Species Day

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Today is “Endangered Species Day”, a day set aside by Congress to bring awareness and attention to the plight of endangered, fragile and threatened species.  Folks of all ages can and are encouraged to learn more about the importance of protecting imperiled species and what they can do through their own actions to help.

For more information and links, please visit The Endangered Species Site.

Here are two other links for great information–

From the Park Advocate Site — Nine Endangered National Park Animals.

Black-footed Ferret in a Colorado conservation center. Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Black-footed Ferret in a Colorado conservation center. Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

From the wonderful folks at BirdNote, a discussion of Piping Plovers and Golden-cheeked Warblers– BirdNote.

Golden-cheeked Warbler, via BirdNote, photo by Greg Lavaty

Golden-cheeked Warbler, via BirdNote, photo by Greg Lavaty

Please learn more and contact your elected representatives to help support the wildlife and plants struggling so hard to survive faced with oppressive habitat loss, climate change, illegal poaching and other dangers.  And please get the children involved, as it is their future we are talking about, as well.

Thanks as always for stopping by!  — Jim (and Red!)

We Are Part of Mother Earth!

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Whoever was the first to coin the term “dominant species on the planet” should have also spent more time addressing the responsibility that comes with that assumption.  We need to do better, for the sake of all species and the Earth, not just ourselves.

“Forest, Soil, Water, and Wildlife are mutually interdependent, and the ruin of one element will mean, in the end, the ruin of them all.”

~ Peter Matthiessen, “Wildlife in America” (1959)

Quote- Ecology - Earth