Hawk Jousts with Vultures

Image Courtesy of Alan D. Wilson, Naturespicsonline.com

A week ago on Monday (April 13, 2009) I went on a short hike, to check on the red-tailed (RT) hawk nest, on Cottonwood Creek. The sun was warm that day and the female RT was sitting on the nest, as she has been doing for the last 2-3 weeks. The eggs may have hatched by now. I was surprised to see 3 Turkey Vultures, dark brown colored with a two toned underwings, flying 200 feet above the aerie, which they apparently spotted, and one bird was starting to circle. It's amazing how graceful turkey vultures are, with their 5 foot wingspan.

Suddenly one of the vultures made an evasive move and I saw a streak of brownish-red flash by. A red-tailed Hawk had dive bombed the vultures, flying directly at them. The RT flew up the canyon a short distance and wheeled around, and was back in seconds, and cannonballed directly at the vultures. The vultures continuing up the canyon, rapidly gaining elevation, beating a hasty retreat. The RT made another pass, flying like a nimble fighter plane, compared to the vultures, which moved like lumbering cargo planes or bombers.

I suspect it was the male RT hawk protecting the female on the nest. The turkey vultures were probably just curious when they saw the female RT on the nest and they would have been in a real fix if they approached it, with the two adult hawks present. It all happened in less than a minute and the vultures were gone but the male RT continued to patrol up and down the canyon, for a short time, flying just a few hundred feet above the nest. The female RT stayed on the nest and never moved an inch during the entire encounter.

Then I saw the male RT quickly gain elevation and he was soon flying hundreds of feet above a nearby ridge. There was another hawk, riding the updrafts, along that same ridge top, and the male winged towards the intruder. He closed on the meddler but stayed back a dozen feet, and they flew wing to wing for a short time. Soon after there was only one soaring hawk in view. I am not which hawk it was.

On April 16th I checked on the raptors, and the female Red-Tailed Hawk was sitting quietly on the nest. I continued on my hike and was back in that area, a few minutes later and there were two hawks on the aerie. The male had returned to check on the female red-tailed hawk.

Flight of the Feathered Fisherman

Images Courtesy Alan D. Wilson, Naturespicsonline.com

The American White Pelican. The second largest bird in North America. Only the California Condor can claim to be bigger. The pelican is a beautiful bird with an incredible 108 inch wing span, which is over 8 feet! In comparison the Bald Eagle has a wing span of 80 inches. They are one of the most graceful flying birds I have ever seen, and it's quite a sight to see several of them, flying in perfect formation.

In April of 2009 the Idaho Fish and Game Department (IDFG) issued a draft 5 year management plan (2009-2013) for the management of the American White Pelican and native cutthroat trout in Idaho. The plan has an objective of reducing American Pelican numbers from the current estimated population of 6,400 birds to 2,800, over a 5 year period. Adult birds would be shot or the eggs would be killed, to reach this goal. The plan indicates that this might increase the number of native cutthroat trout, due to the reduction of predation.

Blackfoot Reservoir is located on the Blackfoot River, near the town of Henry, Idaho. The Blackfoot River originates in eastern Idaho, with the headwaters located in the Caribou Range, Wooley Range and Grays Range. The Blackfoot River flows into Blackfoot Reservoir, near Henry and then meanders on to the Snake River. Lake Walcott and Minidoka Wildlife Refuge are located on the Snake River, near the town of Burley, Idaho

If the numbers of pelicans are reduced there is no way to monitor the success or failure of the proposed IDFG project. If by chance trout numbers increase (with a decrease of numbers of pelicans) was the project successful? Who knows. There is no way to measure that, because the increase in numbers of trout might be directly related to an increase in water quality and quantity. There is no guarantee that killing pelicans will increase trout numbers, because in the end its all about trout habitat, which is related to water quality and quantity, and stream side vegetation.

The IDFG plan is incomplete and does not address the positive benefits of pelicans on the environment and on trout species or other fish populations. The plan indicates the pelican's diets consist mainly of non-trout species such as the chub. If 50% of the pelicans are killed what is the effect on the chub population? If the chub population greatly increases what is the effect on the trout? The IDFG plan does not address this.

The proposed IDFG plan does have several good elements (other than killing pelicans) including hazing pelicans away from spawning trout and in-stream modification or refuge areas in the water.

The real problem with maintaining trout populations, is the dams and irrigation canals, but the IDFG plan indicates there will be no attempt to mitigate or change those operations. More protection for stream side vegetation, and additional pollution control is also needed. Changing the way the dams and irrigation canals are managed would take long term planning and commitment, by the State of Idaho, but in the end it is the only real solution.

One of the biggest thrills of fishing in Idaho is enjoying the outdoors and the beautiful scenery, and watching the dippers, eagles, ducks, ospreys, and pelicans, plying the waters for food, or just flying around. What is the value of seeing a flight of pelicans flying down the Snake River? I can't put a dollar figure on it but it's a beautiful sight. Would I want to see half of the pelicans in Idaho killed? No and it would be a real travesty. Pelicans winter in the south in Mexico or on the Gulf Coast, and they aren't really just Idaho birds, so who are we to decide their fate? Who indeed.

Forked Pondo Pine

On a walkabout last year, in the Boise Mountains, up Cottonwood Creek, I was traversing through a grove of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), or pondos, and stumbled upon a tree that had a remarkable fork in it. The bark of the pondo was a yellowish color and the bole was forked, at around 10 feet from the ground. The fork was probably created when the tree was a sapling and the top was injured by a falling tree, or maybe by a porcupine chewing on it. Ponderosa pine is the signature tree of the American West, or much of the West. The bark thickens as the tree matures and turns a yellowish color. The thick bark of the pondo serves to protect it from wildland fires, that commonly sweep through the forest.

As a result of the damage, the top of the tree was died. Assassinated by a falling chunk of wood or the jaws of a hungry mammal. The upper branches then competed to be the leading branch, over the next few years. The head honcho. El Jefe. Two branches in particular, managed to stage a growth spurt over the next decade, and both survived, creating a fork. A double topped tree. A woody duo.

The cleft was a perfect nesting spot for a bird or raccoon, or maybe even a tired hiker. A fire had burned through this area several years ago, and it left char marks at the base of the tree, and killed the lower branches but the tree easily survived the flames. The bunch grass and shrubs had grown back thick and luxurious, leaving few traces of the fire.

Growing up in the Rocky Mountains there were pondos in our back yard, and we perfected our climbing skills on the wide sweeping branches. Mountaineers of the woodlands. Many times we clambered all the way to the very tip top of the tree, only to enjoy a magnificent view of the Mission Mountains with Goat Peak, and Mount Calowahcan in the distance. The neighbor kids would sometimes accompany us and most of them were adept climbers, but occasionally I would have to coax one of them down the tree when they became scared. Going up the tree was fairly easy but going down could be a tad bit scary, because you were looking down and it was hard to see your footholds.

In addition to tree climbing I also engaged one time, in some hazard fuel reduction. All it took was matches and the imagination of a 10 year old. My sister and I spent a couple of hours lighting dead pondo needles under the trees around the house. Unsupervised of course. I don't recommend anyone playing with matches but it caused no harm.

Hawks Roost

Image Courtesy Alan D. Wilson, Naturespicsonline.com

For about two weeks the red-tailed hawk nest, on Cottonwood Creek, has been occupied. I have seen a red-tailed hawk, roosting and resting in the nest, that was built about 4 years ago, in the top of a tall dead cottonwood tree. The nest tree is around 60 feet tall and very close to the creek. It appears that the nest is made up mostly of sticks, and is a foot to two deep and perhaps 3 foot across.

I have seen a red-tailed hawk sitting on the nest for about the last two weeks and I suspect the young birds will hatch in mid April. The female red-tail will usually lay 1 to 3 eggs, about every other day, usually in March. It takes 28 to 35 days for the eggs to start hatching. The male red-tail hawk will stay nearby the entire time and bring food to the female and the chicks. By mid to late May the young birds will try out their new wings, and become more adept a aerial manurers and hunting every day.
I don't think I have ever seen more than one adult near this nest, so I suspect the male spends a great deal of time hunting in the wild lands. Or maybe just flying around, for the fun of it. The rasping scream of this type of hawk is very distinctive and loud, and they make a characteristic “kree-eeee-ar, kree-eeee-ar” sound.

The path I walk, crosses a ridge, right above Cottonwood Creek, and the nesting tree is just below, in the bottom of the drainage. At that crossing you are actually looking down into the nest and with a pair of binoculars you can easily see the adult birds and nestling's, after they hatch out. The red-tailed hawk is very large and usually easy to recognize, especially with the reddish colored tail feathers. Today at my lookout post, I watched for several minutes and there was an adult hawk in the nest, which showed very little movement, except for occasionally turning its head. Perhaps I will get a chance this year to see the male feeding his family.

Trace of the Masked Bandit

There were sounds outside the house last night, some intruder was crossing the deck. My two cats were immediately alarmed and both were at the door, peering out into the dark. I jumped out of bed and turned on the outside light and there was the culprit, standing there, looking in the window. He had a perfect fitting black mask and a heavy coat and showed no fear of me. A coat of fur that is, thick and brown colored and a long tail with stripes of black. A raccoon (Procyon lotor). The name raccoon is derived from the Algonquin Indian word ahrah-koon-em.

The next day I noticed the raccoons tracks, in the snow, and each foot being about 3 inches long, with perfect finger prints, showing in the snow. The claws marks were readily identifiable, as they do not retract, like a cats.

The raccoon inhabits most of the United States, Mexico, northern South America and southern Canada. They are also are found in parts of Europe and Asia, where captive animals escaped captivity and established wild populations. They are a very adaptable animal and smart and have been able to expand their range due to this and possibly due to a reduction of predators in their environment. They rely on trees, buildings and other high objects to escape predators, and avoid open areas, and they prefer to den in hollow trees, but will also use caves, or burrows from other animals such as marmots or abandoned buildings.

A raccoon can weigh from 12 to 35 pounds, can stand on their hind legs to examine objects with their front paws. They are classified as an omnivore, and will eat plants and animals. They commonly feed on nuts, grains, berries, crayfish, bird eggs, frogs, insects and small mammals such as mice. They are preyed upon by coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, hawks and owls.

North American Indian tribes have a great deal of mythology about raccoons, and he was viewed as a trickster or one that misleads. The raccoon was believed to be spiritual because of its link to air, earth and water. The raccoon spends a great deal of time climbing and denning in hollow trees, thus the link to air, yet they spend even more time on the ground, thus the link to earth. The raccoon is also seen hunting fish, frogs and crustaceans, thus the link to water.

I sometimes see these masked bandits at night, near my house, but they cause no harm other than raiding my grapes in the fall. It's not a good idea not to feed them. The sight of a raccoon standing outside our glass door, with one of my cats staring back, is a sight to see. The raccoons are a joy to watch, and they always seem to be up to something; staring down my cats, ringing the wind chimes or just rooting around the yard eating insects or climbing and sleeping in the trees. When I see a raccoon, they will often look me right in the eye, like they are saying"watch what tricks I can play now!"

Coyote Fools the Wolf

The North American antelope or pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). 100 pounds of steely muscle made to run like the wind and gallop long distances. Over 40 miles per hour in fact. The pronghorn is a pale tan color with a white rump patch, white lower sides, two broad white bands across its throat, and slightly curved horns with a single prong that projects forward.

The pronghorn is the fastest animal in North America, and only the North American cheetah can outrun it, but that critter no longer exists. The cheetah went extinct from this side of the world over 10,000 years ago. Current research indicates it wasn't a cheetah at all, but a relative of the puma or mountain lion.

The pronghorn evolved to out run the cheetah, just like the elk evolved with its great size to fight off wolves and survive the deep snows of winter.

And what do wolves, coyotes and pronghorns have in common? A great deal it now seems.

A recent report in the journal Ecology highlighted a study completed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on the interrelationship between coyotes, wolves and pronghorns. The study completed by the WCS, indicates that the removal of wolves from a given area, will reduce the number of pronghorns. It turns out the wolf is the pronghorns best friend.

The WCS study results show that wolf packs reduce the numbers of coyotes and coyotes prey heavily on pronghorn fawns. Wolves will prey on the fawns as well, but tend to concentrate their hunting on larger animals like elk. The presence of wolves in an ecosystem means fewer coyotes and fewer coyotes means higher survival rates of pronghorn fawns.

This research was conducted in Teton National Park, and split between two areas; one study area that has a very low wolf population and another area that has abundant wolf packs. Over a 3 year period 100 antelope fawns were radio collared and the resulting data shows that the area with a low wolf population had only a 10% survival rate of fawns, and the area with a high wolf population had a 34% survival rate of fawns.

Pronghorns have increased their population by 50%, since the reintroduction of the gray wolf in 1995, in Teton National Park. This population of pronghorns makes a 200 mile one way migration every year, to escape the deep snows of this region, in a migration corridor called the Path of the Pronghorns. The pronghorns drift to the south east towards Pinedale, Wyoming, to find forage at lower elevations. This migration corridor has been in use for at least the past 6,000 years. This corridor is threatened by road building and oil and gas development in Wyoming, on Bureau of Land Management jurisdictions and on private lands, although the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service recently signed an agreement to protect this lane, through their jurisdictions.

The positive effects of the gray wolf on our environment are many, and are not widely understood. The relationship between the wolf and its prey species is very complex and needs further research and study. The return of the gray wolf to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, is a marvel of nature, and will greatly benefit the ecosystems and animals of the Northern Rocky Mountains.

The State of Idaho has proposed wolf hunting regulations (currently in draft status) that would allow the killing of over 300 wolves in Idaho, which is nearly 50% of the Statewide population. This is a very short sighted proposal, which would destroy many wolf packs. That number is larger than the entire wolf population of Yellowstone Park in Wyoming (200 + animals).

The basic premise of hunting is that you harvest only the excess animals each year, which ensures a stable population, over the decades. The proposed State of Idaho wolf hunting plan would wipe out wolves over wide areas of Idaho. This is not hunting.

Support the Western Wolf Organization (http://westernwolves.org) in its efforts to negotiate a reasonable wolf management plan for Idaho.

Coyote Runs the Meadow

A beautiful crisp fall day, September of 2008, the Teton Mountains looming to my west. Fantastic, arching, towering granite horns, reaching for the sky. I stopped for a traffic jam on the road and it was a bear. A yearling grizzly. The tourists were stopped to watch the Griz but he was not cooperating, and it was obvious he wanted to get away. To escape the noise and cluster of humans. Maybe even cross the busy road, with all the gawking tourists stumbling around. When the Griz decided to make his move I knew I didn't want to be around, because the bear would go any where he wanted. There were a couple of Park Rangers running around trying to get people to get in their vehicles and drive on. Potential bear bait. Look out pilgrims. That was one report the Rangers didn't want to write.

I slowly drove past the bear jam and just past the gaggle of cars, I looked out the window. The Griz was running up a cutbank, about 100 feet from my vehicle. The yearling was a light brownish color, with very thick fur, and he was about as wide as he was long. Or she. I have no idea what the sex of the Griz was, and had no intention of finding out. It was one massive block of muscle and fur. Like some huge square granite boulder. An eating machine preparing for the long winter hibernation by packing on the pounds. My wife and I only saw the Griz for a few seconds and he was gone, but I won't ever forget that sight.

We drove farther into Teton National Park and took the road up Pacific Creek. The aspens were turning gold color, and roundish groves of the quakies, mottled the dark green forested mountains. The Aspen were also preparing for their hibernation, in the long, arctic like winters of the Northern Rockies. I spotted a coyote by the road, walking through thick sagebrush and I took its photo and was astonished at how its colors blended in, with the sage and bunch grass. The coyote seemed unconcerned by my presence, and had a slight limp, but looked very healthy and kept on moving up the canyon. The coyote was on mission, just like the grizzly. It's called survival and trying to find enough food.

The Pacific Creek road left the Park and the road ended at a campground. There were several packers, preparing their gear and horses, for hunting trips into the Teton Wilderness. As we drove through the camping area, one pack string with two cowboys was headed out. The dark colored horses and mules had their heads down, all business, each with a canvas pack or two on their backs. The packs, expertly and neatly tied with rope. I wanted to jump out of my truck and chase after them. A week back in the wilderness would have been wonderful, even if they didn't want or need another hunter with them. Camp cook or fire tender would have be just fine. Just give me a few hours a day to hike around and explore.

In 1988 I was assigned to the Huck Fire which was burning in the Teton Wilderness. We had a spike camp up Pilgrim Creek and we ended up punching fireline into the Pacific Creek drainage. It was a fruitless effort, as high winds pushed crown fires through the lodgepole pine, and overran all the work we had done. Man against nature and fire. The fire won. The Huck Fire eventually burned north, into Yellowstone National Park, and merged with several other fires.

We drove past an area where the Huck fire had burned over in 1988, and it was a sea of green trees, pinpricked with dozens of graying snags. The snags being the remnants of the forest, before the fires of 1988. Snags; dead standing boles stripped of green. Good for woodpeckers and cavity nesting birds. Thousands of young lodgepole pines formed a new forest, with trees about ten feet tall. It's all part of natures master plan and fire is as much a part of the forest as the coyote, the grizzly, the aspen.

Leaving the Park, on the way back to Jackson, I pulled off on a side road, along a large sagebrush meadow. The bull elk were bugling that time of the year, and I could hear several of them, off in the distance. The eerie primeval whistling noise echoed through the forest. I had my elk bugle with me and I called out several times. One or more bull elk answered back or perhaps they were ignoring my fake call, and sending their warnings to other bulls. I put my bugle away at the approach of a Park Ranger, who was driving down the main highway. No sense getting in trouble for harassing the wildlife. Oh but what the heck. Where is my breech cloth and spear, my bow and arrows. We all need to prepare for winter.