Author: Linda Kervin

Linda Kervin is the voice for Bridgerland Audubon Society on Wild About Utah. She has worked as a research technician on a diversity of biological projects from birds to bees, agriculture to ecology. She spends as much time outdoors as possible, wandering the mountains with her dogs and tending her xeric garden. She also serves as treasurer for Bridgerland Audubon Society.
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Pinyon Jays

Click for larger picture, Pinyon Jay courtesy and copyright 2005 Marlene Foard - as found on www.utahbirds.org
Pinyon Jay, Tabiona, Utah
Courtesy & © 2005 Marlene Foard
As found on UtahBirds.org

Click for larger picture, Pinyon Jay Courtesy US FWS, Dave Menke, Photographer Pinyon Jay
Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus
Courtesy US FWS
Dave Menke, Photographer

Few birds have such a strong association with one plant that the plants name becomes part of the birds name. Sage grouse is one, Acorn Woodpecker another, but the Pinyon Jay is our topic today. Pinyon Jays are usually found in close association with pinyon-juniper forests throughout the Great Basin and the nutritious nuts of the pinyon pine are their preferred food. The blue and grey birds collect and cache pinyon nuts in summer and fall for later consumption. They have an uncanny recovery accuracy and excellent spatial memory, which allows them to rediscover these scattered caches and eat pinyon nuts all year. They do not recover all the stored seeds, however, and therefore aid in the dispersal of pinyon pines.

Pinyon Jays have a complex social organization and are highly gregarious. [Pinyon Jay Audio Courtesy Kevin Colver]

They spend their lives in large flocks of up to 150 or more individuals. Nesting is communal, although rarely are there more than 2 or 3 nests per tree. Breeding season is in late winter. Many birds spend their entire lives in the flock into which they were born.

Pinyon Jays are not migratory, but they tend to be nomadic; traveling to wherever there is a good crop of pinyon nuts. They will also eat a wide variety of seeds, insects and berries to supplement their diet and can be found in adjoining sagebrush, ponderosa pine forest and riparian habitats. The conservation status of Pinyon Jays is considered vulnerable. Destruction of pinyon-juniper forests for grazing and changes in fire regimes have resulted in loss of habitat. And what is a Pinyon Jay to do without its pinyon nuts?

Thank-you to Kevin Colver for the use of his bird recordings.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:

Pictures: Courtesy and Copyright © 2005 Marlene Foard, as found on utahbirds.org
Also Courtesy US FWS, David Menke, Photographer
Bird Recordings: Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson as performed by Leaping Lulu
Text & Voice: Linda Kervin, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus (Pinyon Jay), Fire Effects Information, USDA Forest Service, https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/bird/gycy/all.html

Avian Cognition Laboratory, Northern Arizona University, https://www4.nau.edu/acl/index.htm

Pinyon Jays, Utah Bird Profiles, UtahBirds.org, https://utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsL-R/PinyonJay.htm

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Pocket Gopher

Northern Pocket Gopher, Thomomys talpoides. Courtesy NPS, Gillian Bowser, Photographer
Northern Pocket Gopher
Thomomys talpoides
Courtesy NPS
Gillian Bowser, Photographer

Click for a larger view of Pocket Gopher Surface Mound with Open Entrance Hole. Courtesy Lyle Bingham, Photographer Pocket Gopher Mound
with open entrance hole
Courtesy
Lyle Bingham, Photographer

While hiking mountains meadows in spring, you will likely encounter earthen tubes that meander across the soil surface. These are remnants of the winter tunnels of pocket gophers. Often called ropes, these dirt cores result from pocket gophers burrowing for food all winter long. They dig under the snow, backfilling their tunnels with dirt. Another surface clue to pocket gophers’ presence are the hills of soil that they push to the surface. The tunnel opening in the hill is closed with an earthen plug.

Pocket gophers are superbly adapted for their subterranean lifestyle. Their eyes and ears are tiny. In compensation for poor eyesight, they have long whiskers or vibrissae on their snout. The vibrissae are very sensitive to touch and allow them to navigate in their dark tunnels. In reverse, they rely on their stubby, hairless tails to guide them as they run backwards.

These little rodents have formidable tools for digging. Their front claws are long and stout and powered by impressive shoulder muscles. As with all rodents, the incisor teeth grow constantly, offsetting the abrasion of biting through hard soil and roots. Cleverly, the lips close behind their front teeth which keeps their mouth clean of dirt. These gophers really do have pockets: fur-lined cheek pouches which they use to carry food to the storage areas of their burrows.

Pocket gophers are vegetarians, eating roots and bulbs below ground and stems and leaves above. Their plant diet and tunneling cause many farmers and homeowners to consider them a terrible nuisance, but pocket gophers also contribute to a healthy ecosystem. One pocket gopher will move up to 4 tons of soil each year, alleviating soil compaction. They bring fresh mineral soil to the surface and fertilize belowground with their droppings and leftover stashes of vegetation. Their tunnels provide habitat for other animals that live underground. Many mammals, birds and snakes dine on pocket gophers.

If you find a gopher mound, try watching quietly. If you are really lucky, as our Wild About Utah web guru, Lyle Bingham was, you may see one pop its little head out for a quick look around.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy NPS, Gillian Bowser, Photographer
Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson Leaping Lulu
Text: Linda Kervin, Bridgerland Audubon Society https://www.bridgerlandaudubon.org
Video:

Additional Reading:

Pocket Gophers – About Exploring the Nature of Wyoming
University of Wyoming Extension

Northern Pocket Gopher — Thomomys talpoides. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Retrieved on April 30, 2013, from https://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_AMAFC01040.aspx

About Exploring the Nature of Wyoming, University of Wyoming Extension, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frfxuO6oYkA

Wiscomb, Gerald W., Messmer,Terry A., Pocket Gophers, Wildlife Damage Management Series, Utah State University Cooperative Extension, https://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/NR_WD_005.pdf

Pocket Gophers, Identification, School IDM, Utah Pests, Utah State University Cooperative Extension, https://extension.usu.edu/pests/schoolipm/structural-pest-id-guide/pocket-gophers

On Being Misunderstood:: Pocket Gophers, The Metropolitan Field Guide, https://www.metrofieldguide.com/on-being-misunderstood-pocket-gophers/

Pocket Gophers, Living with Wildlife, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Washington State, https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/pocket-gophers

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Colorado Pikeminnow

Colorado Pikeminnow, Image courtesy US FWS, J.E. Johnson, Photographer

Colorado Pikeminnow
Ptychocheilus lucius
Image courtesy US FWS,
J.E. Johnson, Photographer

One of the largest minnows in the world, the Colorado pikeminnow was once found throughout the Colorado River basin. This is no bait minnow. Also known as the Colorado squawfish, it reputedly grew to a whopping 6 feet in length with a weight topping 80 pounds and a life span of 40 years. The largest caught in recent times have been only 3 feet long and 9 pounds.

Colorado pikeminnows once flourished throughout the Colorado River and most of its major tributaries. Historically, these abundant, torpedo-shaped fish were prized for their fine flavor. They were an important food fish for Native Americans and welcomed at restaurants as far away as San Francisco. Also called white salmon by early settlers due to their migratory behavior, pikeminnows journeyed 200 miles to spawn in turbid backwaters.

Then we built dams which blocked the migratory runs of pikeminnows. Below the Grand Canyon, the last wild Colorado pikeminnow was caught in 1976. The proliferation of dams has drastically restricted their range. Moreover, reservoirs flood what was suitable river habitat, and their dams alter river flows and water temperature downstream.

The Colorado pikeminnow was one of the first fish given full protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Today, there are two remaining wild populations. One resides in the upper reaches of the Colorado river system, the other in the Green River system. Efforts underway to restock Colorado pikeminnow in the San Juan River basin appear to be successful.

A broadly based coalition of partners established the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program in 1988. This program focuses on 4 species of fish: humpback chub, bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow and razorback sucker. Their goal is to restore and manage stream flows and habitat, reduce competition from some non-native fish species and increase populations using hatchery raised young. If they are successful, this giant piscine predator will once again take its rightful place in the upper Colorado River ecosystem.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:

Photos: Courtesy US FWS, images.fws.gov
Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson Leaping Lulu
Text & Voice: Linda Kervin, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Other Wild About Utah Pieces by Linda Kervin

Colorado Pikeminnow, Wikipedia, wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_pikeminnow

Researchers Capture Fourth Largest Endangered Colorado Pikeminnow in San Juan River Since 1991, US Fish & Wildlife Service, December 13, 2010, https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/pressrel/10-84.htm [Link Updated December 2023]

Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, 2012, https://www.coloradoriverrecovery.org/general-information/the-fish/colorado-pikeminnow.html [Link Updated December 2023]

Colorado Pikeminnow, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Formerly held at https://www.ndow.org:80/wild/animals/facts/fish_colorado_pike_minnow.shtm [Not working December 4, 2023]

Colorado Pikeminnow, Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=ptychocheilus%20lucius [Link Updated December 2023]

https://wildlife.state.co.us/Fishing/SpeciesID/Pages/FishID.aspx [Not working December 4, 2023]

https://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/nonnative/endangeredfishfacts.pdf [Not working December 4, 2023]

Colorado Pikeminnow endangered in Carbon, Daggett, Emery, Garfield, Grand, San Juan, Unitah and Wayne Counties, Utah’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need Species by County,
https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/WAP/utah-sgcn-list-by%20county-10-23.pdf

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Antlions and Tiger Beetles

Ant Lion pit
showing loose sides that slide victims
to awaiting jaws at the bottom

Courtesy & Copyright,
Jim Cane, Photographer

Courtesy Wikimedia
Licensed under
GNU Free Documentation License

Lions and tigers in Utah. Oh my! But fear not unless you are an insect. Ant lions and tiger beetles are fierce, diminutive predators. They are not related to each other and the adults look very different, but the larval stages behave in very similar ways. Both await their prey in earthen lairs.

The conical pits of antlions are found in dry, soft sand, frequently under trees, rock overhangs or house eaves. The larvae dig their pit by crawling backwards in a spiral, plowing with their abdomen. The slope of the sides reaches the angle of repose, which is the steepest angle that the sand can lie before it collapses from a slight disturbance. They embed themselves in the sand at the bottom of the pit with their enormous mandibles open like a bear trap. Any small insect that inadvertently steps over the edge of the pit will tumble to the bottom into waiting jaws.

Tiger beetle larvae also await their prey in a burrow, but theirs is a narrow cylinder. The adult female inserts her eggs in the soil. The young larva uses its formidable mandibles to loosen the surrounding dirt, pushing it to the surface with its head and thorax. The larva’s lower back has a prominent hump with two pairs of large hooks. With these, it anchors itself to the burrow wall, its mandibles poised at soil level. Woe to the insect that walks nearby.

The adults of these two underground predators differ in both appearance and lifestyle. The adult antlion resembles a damsel fly with two pairs of long, transparent wings and a weak, nocturnal flight. The adult does not feed and only lives about 3 weeks. Conversely, the diurnal adult tiger beetle is an aggressive, mobile predator. For its size, it is the fastest running insect. It runs so quickly that it cannot see its prey, so sprints and stops repeatedly to track its intended victim. Tiger beetles come in diverse colors and patterns including bright, iridescent greens and blues. In Utah, look for them on bare ground, such as trails in open country or on dunes.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy and Copyright Jim Cane
            And Courtesy Wikimedia
Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson Leaping Lulu
Text & Voice: Linda Kervin, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Other Wild About Utah Pieces by Linda Kervin

Tiger Beetles:

https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/chasing-tiny-tigers

A field guide to the tiger beetles of the United States and Canada [electronic resource] : identification, natural history, and distribution of the Cicindelidae / David L. Pearson, C. Barry Knisley, and Charles J. Kazilek New York : Oxford University Press, 2005. (via Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/Field-Beetles-United-States-Canada/dp/0199367175/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_beetle

Antlions:
https://bugguide.net/node/view/137
https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/pljuly97.htm