Author: Jack Greene

Posted on

Mindful Birding

Goldfinch Courtesy Pixabay, Beto MdP, Contributor
Goldfinch
Courtesy Pixabay, Beto MdP, Contributor
Mindful birding- hmmm? Mindfulness has become a common word and way to a better life they say. As I understand, “mindfulness” is a mild form of meditation, where one is “in the moment” focusing on a thought or object that is all consuming. My personal experiences of this type are when I’m painting a picture, weaving a basket, or sitting very motionless for long periods while hunting deer where every sound and sight is in the moment. Birding, not so much, unless an unexpected species presents itself through sight or sound. A goshawk sitting on its kill nearby- a rarity I can vividly recall, including its surroundings. The sound of a peregrine falcon flying above Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Thus, my interest was piqued when I first saw the phrase “mindful birding”. To gain some enlightenment, myself and another Bridgerland Audubon board member attended a “Mindful Birding” workshop in Colorado to gain some insight into this enigma.

These opening statements at the workshop encapsulated its essence- “Mindful birding combines observing birds with mindfulness techniques, creating a practice that incorporates heightened awareness. Labeling or identifying birds is not the primary focus; instead, we intend to slow down and notice, using birds as our guides. Mindful birding deepens our relationship with birds and our connection with the natural world.”

“Whether it's observing a goldfinch delicately pecking at a sunflower seed or witnessing a raptor stealthily hunting its prey, the profound sense of wonder experienced when we slow down and immerse ourselves in nature is truly remarkable. Research demonstrates the mental and physical health advantages derived from engaging with the natural world.”

As the day progressed, we put these statements into practice, as we watched a Swainson’s hawk sitting in a large cottonwood tree while clutching a rabbit in its talons. We surmised it was a young bird whose eyes were larger than its stomach, not knowing quite what to do with such large quarry. Swainson’s typically capture grasshoppers and small rodents. Oops! The highlight came when my traveling companion spotted a barn owl with young in a tree hollow. We all became “mindful” emitting oohs and ahhs to express our delight. For Meg, this was her moment as she focused her powerful camera lens and nailed the perfect photo to capture the moment- mindful photography!

The workshop was emphatic that mindful birding is for everyone, all inclusive, regardless of their seeming limitations or reservations. Bird language was stressed for the blind, which I rely on for songbirds who are often hidden in foliage. This week, I will be presenting birds to an assisted living facility in Logan. I plan to attached a window feeder so residents can enjoy them from their central meeting room: Another mindful bird activity.

“There are times when the primary intention of Mindful Birding may be self-care. And, there are other times when it may be more relational – a search for a deep connection with nature through our love and curiosity about birds.” Mindful birding network

Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society Let us get mindful about Utah’s Wild Birds!

Credits:
Image: Courtesy Pixabay, Beto MdP, Contributor https://pixabay.com/photos/goldfinch-bird-animal-wildlife-7228334/
Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Jack Greene & Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

As a postscript Jack wrote:
Numerous resources and organizations are working towards greater
inclusivity in outdoor spaces, particularly in the birding community. Some
notable groups include:

The American Psychological Association's Inclusive Language Guide is an excellent starting point for guidance on inclusive language.

A Good IDEA for Birding, Birdability, [accessed November 18, 2024], https://www.birdability.org/a-good-idea-for-birding

Lundin M, Bombaci S. Making outdoor field experiences more inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community. Ecol Appl. 2023 Jul;33(5):e2771. doi: 10.1002/eap.2771. Epub 2022 Dec 29. PMID: 36271764. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36271764/

Yuhas, Daisy, Five Ways to Connect With Nature and Boost Your Mood No Matter Your Schedule, Audubon Magazine, Fall 2024, https://www.audubon.org/magazine/five-ways-connect-nature-and-boost-your-mood-no-matter-your-schedule

McGlashen, Andy, Donna Posont Helps Blind People Become Birders—and Whatever Else They Want To Be, Audubon Magazine, Fall 2024, https://www.audubon.org/magazine/donna-posont-helps-blind-people-become-birders-and-whatever-else-they-want-be

Posted on

Bear Stories

Bear Stories: Grizzly Bear on Gravel Road in Denali National Park, Courtesy US NPS, Kaitlin Thoresen. Photographer
Grizzly Bear on Gravel Road in Denali National Park
Courtesy US NPS, Kaitlin Thoresen. Photographer
Everyone loves a good bear story, especially around the campfire. I have accumulated many in my years- all personal and factual. I consider bears my spirit animal, as do many indigenous peoples. Bears are close kinfolk given their many human-like attributes. When the news broke that a bruin was sauntering through a Cliffside residence in Logan Utah a few weeks ago, it sparked a flood of bear encounter memories. From early years in the Northwoods of Wisconsin to recent days with my students in Teton and Yellowstone national parks, the stories continue.

Black Bear & Cub in Yellowstone, Courtesy US NPS
Black Bear & Cub in Yellowstone
Courtesy US NPS

2024 Campers, Teton Splendor Field Trip, Courtesy & Copyright Meg Kast, Photographer

2024 Campers
Teton Splendor Field Trip
Courtesy & Copyright Meg Kast, Photographer

Two falls ago, I helped lead 30 USU international students for a weekend campout in the Tetons. We ate our lunch at Hidden Falls behind Jenny Lake, then began hiking out. In a few hundred yards, two black bears were busily gulping mountain ash berries on either side of the trail. Most of the students had never visited a national park, and none had seen a bear outside of a zoo. What to do!

“Don’t run!” I tried to convince them, unless they pretended to be a berry, they were safe. Even as a large crowd assembled, the bears were oblivious, attacking the berries with abandonment. For a good fifteen minutes, the students were helplessly under the spell of these glorious berry eating beings.

While working in Denali National Park, I joined a small group for a back country hike led by a young seasonal ranger. She gave us bear safety training before hitting the trail. Into our second hour, in a thick patch of willows, her near panicked “bear” voice put us on alert. We slowly retreated under her direction. Once at a safe distance, we began breathing again, then scrambled up the opposite slope hoping to get a view of our alarm. There, on a grassy ledge, a large mamma griz was lying on her back sound asleep while two tiny frolicking cubs played on their snoozing mom.

Black Bear Near Lake, Courtesy US NPS, Yellowstone's Photo Collection, Harlan Kredit, Photographer
Black Bear Near Lake
Courtesy US NPS
Yellowstone’s Photo Collection,
Harlan Kredit, Photographer
I’ll conclude with an occurrence from many years back when I worked as a fishing guide on Yellowstone Lake where an adolescent black bear befriended me. It would walk several hundred yards with me from my cabin to the boat dock where I would prepare my boat for a day’s fishing. It would disappear in the forest until I finished mid-afternoon, then return with me to my cabin, where I often gave it a snack from last evening’s dinner. In the mid 1960’s feeding bears was common practice.

I was amazed how gentle and polite it was. My buddy bear learned how to open my latch door lock by lifting it up with its nose, inserting a claw, then pulling the door open. It would enter, sniff the table where tidbits of food might be found, grab the treat and rush out the door, not closing it! If no treat was found, it would amble away without incident. After a week or so, to my disappointment, it disappeared.

I have yet to see a bear in the wilds of Utah. May that day come soon!

Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m wild about Utah’s bears!

Credits:
Image: Courtesy US National Park Service, Rights noted.
2024 Teton Splendor group picture, Courtesy &amp Copyright Meg Kast, Photographer https://www.instagram.com/p/C2C4ZPvsKOH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Audio: Courtesy & © Courtesy & Copyright © Anderson, Howe, Wakeman
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/


Bears — A Yellowstone Love Story
Courtesy US NPS, Jennifer Shoemaker, Producer/Videographer/Editor, April 27, 2012

Characteristics of Bears in Yellowstone, National Park Service (NPS), https://www.nps.gov/articles/yell-wildlife-bear-differences.htm
Heers, Mary, A Mendon Bear Story, Wild About Utah, July 24, 2023, https://wildaboututah.org/a-mendon-bear-story/

Kelly, Patrick, In the Eyes of a Bear, Wild About Utah, July 27, 2020, https://wildaboututah.org/in-the-eyes-of-a-bear/

Heers, Mary, Black Bear Country, Wild About Utah, May 18, 2020, https://wildaboututah.org/black-bear-country/

Greene, Jack, Bears, Wild About Utah, October 22, 2018, https://wildaboututah.org/bears/

Boling, Josh, Old Ephraim, The Infamous Northern Utah Grizzly, Wild About Utah, August 7, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/old-ephraim-the-infamous-northern-utah-grizzly/

Leavitt, Shauna, Orphaned Cub Rehabilitation, Wild About Utah, January 23, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/orphaned-cub-rehabilitation/

Larese-Casanova, Mark, Sleeping the Winter Away, Wild About Utah, February 23, 2012, https://wildaboututah.org/sleeping-the-winter-away/

Larese-Casanova, Mark, Blackbears, Wild About Utah, June 23, 2011, https://wildaboututah.org/blackbears/

Liberatore, Andrea, Sleeping Winter Away, Wild About Utah, January 20, 2011, https://wildaboututah.org/sleeping-winter-away/

Strand, Holly, The Bear Facts Old Ephriam, Wild About Utah, June 17, 2008, https://wildaboututah.org/the-bear-facts-old-ephriam/

Posted on

American Pika

Pika, Courtesy Pixabay, Makieni77 Contributor
American Pika
Courtesy Pixabay, Makieni77 Contributor
As I hike the high country, there is a non-bird call that always brightens my way. A mini rabbit, or rock rabbit in Jack vernacular, the pika, has been declared North America’s cutest mammal. I won’t argue with this declaration, unless it’s compared to my grandkids.

On a scramble up two gnarly peaks above Alta Ski Resort a few weeks ago, my spirits went sky high with an abundance of pika busily gathering hay for their winter larder. Their Ehhhhh! Notes surrounded us, tiny furry forms darting in and out of boulder fields while we made our way to the summits.

This was especially heartening given the warming trends, which push these little spirits beyond their limits of heat tolerance in too many locations. Pikas have disappeared from more than one-third of their previously known habitat in Oregon and Nevada. Despite this, the American Pika has not been listed under the Endangered Species Act. The pika can overheat and die within 6 hours when exposed to temperatures as mild as 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

American Pikas are famously vocal. They chirp, sing, and scream in an effort to protect their territory. They use their signature call to alert others in the colony of an approaching predator, to establish boundaries, and in some cases, to attract mates.

Pikas spend a great deal of time gathering vegetation for winter which they cure on rocks to prevent molding, then store their piles under rocks for safekeeping, occasionally moving them so they don't get rained on. Haystacks, as they're called, weigh a whopping 61 pounds on average. The timing of haying seems to correlate to the amount of precipitation from the previous winter. They appear to assess the nutritional value of available food and harvest accordingly. Pikas select plants that have the higher caloric, protein, lipid, and water content. They also enjoy their fecal pellets, which have more energy value than stored plant food, by consuming them directly or store for a later sweet treat.
Cedar Breaks National monument in southern Utah has adopted the pika as its token mammal. You can get your own stuffy who has a remarkable resemblance to the real deal. Your donation will help the Monument with its field research on the pika and other park critters.

Considering pika are mostly found in alpine and subalpine environments with cool temperatures and deep snow, I was shocked to find them occurring at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho averaging 6000’ elevation. Summer temperatures at the Monument can soar to 170 degrees on the black rock surface, which would fry a pica in short order. Yet, here they are, finding relief in lava tubes and deep crevasses. Unlike their diurnal alpine cousins, they are primarily crepuscular- active early morning- late evening.

The American pika can be found throughout the mountains of western North America, from Canada to New Mexico. Of the 30 global species, only two inhabit North America, which includes the collared pika found in Alaska and Canada.

Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m wild about Utah and its rock rabbits!

Credits:
Image: Courtesy Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/pika-animal-wildlife-nature-cute-5326942/
Audio: Courtesy & ©
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/

Cane, Jim, Voice: Dick Hurren, Pikas, Our First Haymakers Wild About Utah, October 28, 2008, https://wildaboututah.org/pikas-our-first-haymakers/

Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw, Pika Country: Climate Change at the Top of the World, September 18, 2020, https://www.amazon.com/Pika-Country-Climate-Change-World/dp/1970039027

Plumb, Sally, A Pika’s Tail, May 1, 2012, https://www.amazon.com/Pikas-Tail-Sally-Plumb/dp/0931895251

American Pika, Utah Species, Field Guide, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=ochotona%20princeps

American Pika, Animal Diversity Web, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ochotona_princeps/

Booth, Michael, Chirp one out for the pika: Climate change is destabilizing previously perfect Rocky Mountain habitat, December 4, 2025, https://coloradosun.com/2025/12/04/colorado-pika-population-global-warming/

Posted on

Mountain Meadows

Mountain Meadows: Wild Flowers in Tony Grove Meadow Courtesy USDA Forest Service, Teresa Prendusi, Photographer
Wild Flowers in Tony Grove Meadow
Courtesy USDA Forest Service
Teresa Prendusi, Photographer
Mountain meadows- where clouds of flowers can transport the human occupant to a state of nirvana, which enveloped my comrades and I on a recent hike in the Bear River Range of Northern Utah. I’ve experienced similar moments on many occasions from top to bottom of our meadowed state- Cedar Breaks National Monument, Mt. Timpanogos, Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Snow Basin, Uintah’s, Tony Grove – an endless list of bliss.

Wildflower Meadow below Brian's Head Peak, Courtesy USDA Forest Service, Cedar Breaks National Monument
Wildflower Meadow below Brian’s Head Peak
Courtesy USDA Forest Service, Cedar Breaks National Monument

Balsamorhiza macrophylla along Old Snowbasin Road. Courtesy USDA Forest Service, Teresa Prendusi, Photographer Balsamorhiza macrophylla along Old Snowbasin Road.
Courtesy USDA Forest Service
Teresa Prendusi, Photographer

Wasatch penstemon (Penstemon cyananthus) and Nuttall’s linanthus (Linanthus nuttallii) in an Albion Basin meadow. Courtesy USDA Forest Service Teresa Prendusi, Photographer Wasatch penstemon (Penstemon cyananthus) and Nuttall’s linanthus (Linanthus nuttallii) in an Albion Basin meadow.
Courtesy USDA Forest Service
Teresa Prendusi, Photographer

Beyond the rapture and pure joy they provide, mountain meadows are critical ecosystems- biological hotspots. They are home to unique communities of plants that cannot survive under the forest canopy. Deer and elk depend on them for forage. Predatory birds, unimpeded by trees, use meadows for hunting grounds. And a diversity of butterflies, moths, and insects rely on meadow flowers for pollen and nectar. Meadows provide an important breeding ground for insects), a key food source for many birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Meadow plants also provide food and habitat for small mammals providing an important prey base for predators.

A healthy meadow has a diverse mosaic of habitats with wet meadow and riparian vegetation. Surface water flow from snowmelt spreads out across the meadow, allowing sediment deposition. A high ground water table that is fed from snowmelt percolates down allowing stream channels to flow later in the summer. By holding the water in the mountains, the risk of valley flooding is reduced significantly. Our water delivery systems are dependent on the role that meadows play in maintaining this flow.

The health of meadows can be degraded however, where activities interrupt or alter the natural flow and percolation of water within the meadow. Mountain meadows have a short growing season with relatively shallow soil and may be very sensitive to even small changes in water availability. An unhealthy meadow is one in which the natural storage of water is reduced, the groundwater table is lowered, wetland vegetation is replaced by xeric vegetation; stream channels are incised with increased sediment transport; and soils are compacted. Another threat results from forest encroachment due to climate change and mismanagement of fire and livestock grazing.

Other human-induced factors may include trampling, roads, non-native plants, altered fire regimes, air pollutants and altered precipitation (especially the timing and amount of snowmelt). Further, identifying roads and trails that intercept, divert, or disrupt natural surface and subsurface water flow allows meadow remediation to occur.

I’ve spent many hours recreating and working in meadows from the European Alps (alps meaning mountain meadow) to the Peruvian Andes, which has vastly heightened my appreciation for these mountain jewels. None have surpassed those in our Utah highlands for unadulterated splendor! So, consider adding a meadow visit to your calendar!

This is Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m wild about wild Utah mountain meadows!

Credits:

Images: Courtesy US FWS, USDA Forest Service and US NPS. All photographers acknowledged with images
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver and Anderson, Howe, Wakeman.
Text:     Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading Links: Jack Greene & Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Wild About Utah Pieces by Jack Greene, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

A few mountain meadows with campgrounds in Utah:
Wetlands in Utah, Utah Geologic Survey, Utah Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://geology.utah.gov/water/wetlands/wetlands-in-utah/

Christmas Meadows Campground, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, USDA Forest Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/uwcnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=9129
also Recreation.gov: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232029

Big Meadows, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, USDA Forest Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/uwcnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=9045
also Recreation.gov: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/poi/247198

Ledgefork, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, USDA Forest Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/uwcnf/recarea/?recid=9416
also Recreation.gov: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/231939