A Surprise visit with Cache Valley’s distant bird relatives
Courtesy Wikimedia, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
I got off my bike and ventured partway down the driveway. Suddenly I found myself face to face with a fully grown peacock. This distant relative of Cache Valley’s native birds seemed quite at home in the shady backyard. As I glanced around, I realized it was his home. From where I was standing I could see at least ten more peacocks and peahens.
Courtesy Pixabay, Anrita1705, Contributor
Peahen on Tractor Cab
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Peacock and Chickens
Courtesy US NPS, Bent’s Fort National Monument, New Mexico
Peahen
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, PhotographerThen I noticed the farmer sitting in his truck at the end of the driveway. He beckoned me over and gave me the whole story.
Many years ago, he had gone to Idaho and purchased a peacock and a peahen. The peahen ran off, so he went back and got another pair. This time it worked. The pair produced a nest full of eggs which the peahen diligently sat on for four weeks. She then tended the baby chicks for the week it took them to learn to fly up into the relative safety of the trees in the yard. The small family made itself at home, settling into a routine of spending their days on the ground and their nights in the trees.
Occasionally an owl or a racoon would take their toll, but these hardy birds proved they could not only survive but thrive. Knowing that these birds originally came from India , I was amazed that they could withstand the bitter cold of Cache Valley’s winters. Perhaps it helped that the farmer had a kindly wife, who would throw out some cracked corn, an occasional cup of cat food, and – on very special occasions- some hot dogs.
Peafowl are omnivores, and on this sunny day I could see them pecking away to their heart’s content in the adjacent grain fields. Luckily this band of birds avoided the fate of the six peacocks who used to free roam the zoo in Logan’s Willow Park. The zoo birds caught the bird flu virus in 2022 and all of them died.
I told my new friend, the farmer, that I was surprised how the females didn’t look the least bit like the males. The peahen is much smaller and is a rather drab brown. He explained that the peahen needs good camouflage because she lays her eggs on the ground and then has to sit there for four weeks with absolutely no help from the male.
The farmer invited me to take as many pictures as I wanted. So I pulled out my cell phone and stepped closer to the birds. That’s when I found out just how fast they can run. They stepped away and out of sight almost before I could blink. Peacocks have been clocked running as fast as 10 mph.
It wasn’t mating season, so the peacocks weren’t fanning out their tails and trying to impress the females. But I was already completely impressed to simply find out there are 200 feathers in the peacock tail. On top of that, the peacocks molt. Each year all 200 tail feathers fall out, and the peacock has to regrow them. No wonder the colors stay so bright!
This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild about all the birds who make themselves at home in Utah.
Credits:
Images Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer, US NPS, Pixabay and Wikimedia
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Anderson, Howe, and Wakeman.
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading
Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Postings
Winged Bullets of Beauty
Courtesy Pixabay, Premek Hajek (hapr80), Contributor
I watch them drink while in flight, as I have hummingbirds, another remarkable aerialist, skimming the water surface with beak scooping in. If you rarely see them on the ground, they will be resting on their stomachs, lacking abilities to stand, hop, or run. Their legs atrophied from spending most of their lives on the wing.
Courtesy US FWS, Lee Karney, Photographer
Cliff Swallow Nest with Chicks
Courtesy US FWS, Jacob W Frank, Photographer
Bank Swallows Flying Over Bank Nest Cavities
Courtesy US FWS, Lee Karney, Photographer
Tree Swallows in Flight
Courtesy US FWS, Ron Wrucke, Photographer
Annas Hummingbird (Calypte Anna)
Courtesy US FWS, Robert McMorran, PhotographerTwo species of swallows construct elaborate nests from mud. If you visit a bridge, you may find a long row of cliffs, wallow gorge-shaped nests attached to the bridge underside above the water. The nest opening is near the same diameter as the bird’s girth. Young birds may be slightly larger than adults, making their maiden flight a bit difficult as they squeeze through the narrow exit. Their mud nests are made of 1000s of BB-sized pellets glued together with a mix of bird saliva and mud. Both add plant fiber, strengthening their adobe nests. Barn swallows construct cup-like nests on flat surfaces, oftentimes above a door, which makes it a bit tricky to avoid getting nipped by a parent as one passes through.
Swallows engage in elaborate aerial courtship displays to attract and bond with a mate. The male will pursue the female in flight, often performing swoops, dives, and glides to showcase his flying skills. If interested, the female may reciprocate by mirroring the male’s maneuvers. The pair may continue these synchronized flights throughout the breeding season to strengthen their pair bond.
Swallows hold significant cultural symbolism in various native traditions, often representing renewal, hope, and transformation. They are featured in numerous myths and stories, reflecting their importance in spiritual and ecological narratives.
Beyond swallows, incredibly important natural pest control, their presence is also a key indicator of environmental health, reflecting the condition of wetlands, grasslands, and open habitats.
Swallows by day, bats by night, both critical for controlling insect populations. With our crashing insect numbers due to insecticides, habitat loss, and a rapidly changing climate, my concern for the future of this specialized bird family continues to rise.
Climate change, with rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events, are disrupting ecosystems. This impacts the availability of food and nesting sites, altering the timing of insect emergence, potentially creating a mismatch between the availability of insects and the breeding season of swallows. As temperatures rise, suitable habitats may shift northward, forcing populations to relocate or face extinction.
This is Jack Green for Bridgerland Audubon Society. I’m wild about these winged bullets of beauty.
Credits:
Winged Bullets of Beauty
Picture: Courtesy Pixabay, Premek Hajek (hapr80), Contributor
Additional Images Courtesy US FWS, Photographers noted for each image, Jacob W Frank, Lee Karney(2x), Ron Wrucke, and Robert McMorran.
Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading:
Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/
Swallows Nesting in Nuisance Locations, Division of Migratory Birds and Habitat, Pacific Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov/story/nuisance-swallows
Barn Swallow, Natural Pest Control, BirdNote, https://www.birdnote.org/show/barn-swallow-natural-pest-control
Barn Swallow:
Barn Swallow, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/id
Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica, Profile, UtahBirds.org, Utah County Birders, http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/Profiles/BarnSwallow.htm
Barn Swallow, Migration and Annual Cycle, JourneyNorth, Arboretum, University of Wisconsin-Madison, https://journeynorth.org/tm/swallow/News.html
Bank Swallow:
Bank Swallow, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bank_Swallow/id
Bank Swallow – Riparia riparia, Profile, UtahBirds.org, Utah County Birders, http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/Profiles/BankSwallow.htm
Cliff Swallow:
Cliff Swallow, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cliff_Swallow/id
Cliff Swallow – Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, Profile, UtahBirds.org, Utah County Birders, http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/Profiles/CliffSwallow.htm
Tree Swallow:
Tree Swallow, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tree_Swallow/id
Tree Swallow – Tachycineta bicolor, Profile, UtahBirds.org, Utah County Birders, http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/ProfilesS-Z/TreeSwallow.htm
Violet-green Swallow:
Violet-green Swallow, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Violet-green_Swallow/id
Violet-green Swallow – Tachycineta thalassina, Profile, UtahBirds.org, Utah County Birders, http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/ProfilesS-Z/VioletGreenSwallow.htm
Northern rough-winged Swallow:
Northern rough-winged Swallow, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Rough-winged_Swallow/id
Northern rough-winged Swallow – Tachycineta thalassina, Profile, UtahBirds.org, Utah County Birders, http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/ProfilesL-R/NorthernRoughWingSwallow.htm
Purple Martin:
Purple Martin, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Purple_Martin/id
Purple Martin – Progne subis, Profile, UtahBirds.org, Utah County Birders, http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/ProfilesL-R/PurpleMartin.htm
Connecting Classroom Learning to the World
Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
(Icterus bullockiorum)
Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
Female Belted Kingfisher-(Megaceryle alcyon)
Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, PhotographerMy birding classroom goes well beyond a few fun birding crafts or cute bird stickers. My students study a bird each week with reading passages, complete bird-related math activities, go on weekly field trips to find birds while keeping an ongoing writing journal about those experiences, and create their own birding guide over the course of the year about the birds they’ve studied.
Students can also send in bird sighting photos from home, and then we as a class, try to identify what bird they saw. Here points to one piece of evidence that kids are engaged outside of the school walls, with their families, in a special way. Just this year I had over 500 bird photo submissions from my 25 students. Each of these submissions in an independent, outside of school action that kids take – necessitating technological support from family – to make a connection from nature to the classroom. This type of connection is magical and indicative that learning at school is spreading beyond its walls, and that the students involve their family in the process.
Additionally, I receive emails from parents of students in my class saying things like “…ornithology prompted likely a lifelong love for birds in Jasmine, and has spread to our whole family. She even takes her little sisters on birding walks around the block to see what they can find.” or “Denis brought the whole family up Logan Canyon this weekend so we could look for birds!” Never before in all my years of teaching did I have families sharing how the work we did in class directly impacted the engagement of the family with nature outside of school. Now, kids are advocates to their families for engagement in the natural world.
Finally, you know something special is happening when families sacrifice their precious time outside of school and work hours to engage in learning. One hectic Monday in April, I sent out an impromptu email to my families that said “Let’s go birding! Meet at 5:00 PM on Thursday at Maple View Park, bring your family, and let’s see what we can find!” In my mind, a few of my passionate little birders would show up for the adventure. In reality, over 30 students, adults, and siblings, bustled into the parking lot ready for their binoculars and for the exploration! The group consisted of dads with spotting scopes, a family dog named ‘Tate,’ and lots of eager and inquisitive minds thrilled to look for birds in a new environment. The two hours went by in a flash, and nature didn’t fail to stun with the bright orange, black, and white of a Bullock’s Oriole; and the chattering Belted Kingfisher, frustrated that we had disturbed his evening fishing routine.
In the end, centering classroom instruction on this real-world theme of birds has made classroom learning something that is no longer bound within the school walls. It has become something that students need, use, and apply to the world around them in their everyday lives. Furthermore, their eagerness to make these classroom-to-world connections quickly draws their families into the same type of engagement. As a teacher, I could only ever hope that my impact would have such a reach, where kids go back to their families and become advocates for learning, advocates for awareness, and advocates for nature.
This is Dr. Joseph Kozlowski, and I am wild about outdoor education in Utah!
Credits:
Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer, Used by Permission
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver and including contributions from Anderson, Howe, and Wakeman.
Text: Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Joseph Kozlowski & Lyle Bingham
Additional Reading: