Author: Mary Heers

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A Surprise visit with distant relatives of Cache Valley’s birds

A Surprise visit with distant relatives of Cache Valley's birds: Peafowl Chicks, Courtesy Wikimedia, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Creative_Commons and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Peafowl Chicks
Courtesy Wikimedia, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Awhile back, I was riding my bicycle along country roads in Cache Valley, when suddenly 6 unusual looking chicks ran across the road in single file right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes just in time as the chicks disappeared down the farmhouse driveway on the other side of the road.

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.

Peacock Courtesy Pixabay, Anrita1705, Contributor
Peacock
Courtesy Pixabay, Anrita1705, Contributor

Peahen on Tractor Cab Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer Peahen on Tractor Cab
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Peacock and Chickens Courtesy US NPS, Bent's Fort National Monument, New Mexico Peacock and Chickens
Courtesy US NPS, Bent’s Fort National Monument, New Mexico

Peahen Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer Peahen
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Then 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

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Apricots Feeding Families

Collecting the harvest Courtesy & Copyright Giselle Bandley
Collecting the harvest
Courtesy & Copyright Giselle Bandley

Picking the last apricots Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers
Picking the last apricots
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

Sparky Van Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers Sparky the Harvest Master Van
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

Sparky Van Courtesy & Copyright Giselle Bandley Sparky the Harvest Master Van
Courtesy & Copyright Giselle Bandley

We got there too late Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers We got there too late
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

One of several sharing locations, 'Take what you need. Leave what you can.' Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers One of several sharing locations
“Take what you need.
Leave what you can.”
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

The tree looked like it could also be 100 years old, with some missing limbs and some broken, brittle branches. But the apricots kept coming. Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers The tree looked like it could also be 100 years old, with some missing limbs and some broken, brittle branches.
But the apricots kept coming.
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers

When I started writing for Wild About Utah, I made myself a promise that each piece would be a journey of learning. This meant I had to actually get in my car and go learn something. This month my journey led me to a venerable old apricot tree in a quiet neighborhood in SW Logan. I was tagging along with volunteers from Utah State University’s club Harvest Rescue.

Harvest Rescue is a community engagement club dedicated to harvesting fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste, and then distributing to people in need.
So last week’s journey began with a phone call from owners of a house in Logan who had moved. The new owners had not yet moved in. The apricot tree next to the house was bursting with apricots ready to pick.

Harvest Rescue posted the address on its volunteer page and a note to be there at 7:30 am on July 24. Five pickers showed up. The tree hadn’t waited for us. Lots of the ripe apricots had fallen to the ground. “Not a problem,” said the lead volunteer. “We’ll pick them up and take them to USU’s compost bin.”

The owner of the house had told us the house was built in 1925. The tree looked like it could also be 100 years old, with some missing limbs and some broken, brittle branches. But the apricots kept coming. She had loved to look out her kitchen window at the bright orange fruit nestled up to the green leaves. “I took so many pictures!”

Just as we were finishing gathering the fallen apricots, the Harvest Master van showed up. This van is a real showstopper –bright green with bicycles and dancing vegetables painted on its sides. The van even had a name, “Sparky,” which was emblazoned on the front with the proud words, “I’m 100 % Electric.”

We unloaded ladders and buckets and got to work. In less than an hour we had that tree picked clean. We now had 113 pounds of apricots that we packaged into small paper lunch bags, about twenty to a bag.

It was now time for the second leg of the journey. We drove to a quiet residential street in North Logan and pulled up in front of what looked like an ordinary house. But a closer look revealed a sign saying, “Families Feeding Families.” It was explained to me that food insecurity in Utah is often hidden. Even people working more than one job can hit a rough patch and need a temporary helping hand. Families Feeding Families reaches out to these people by operating four porch pantries in Cache Valley. Their sign says “Take what you need. Leave what you can.” No questions asked.

This house had devoted the entire left side of its wrap around porch to shelves of donated canned goods and other items. Around the corner was a working refrigerator/freezer. We put the apricots in the refrigerator because they were ready to eat.

The next day I couldn’t resist going by the house and peeking into the fridge. Most of the apricots were gone. The Circle of Giving was complete. I felt a little overwhelmed to have been able to witness such kindness and concern for others on the part of the USU volunteers and the community residents.

Then I heard that someone had shared a recipe for apricot sauce on the Families Feeding Families website. This recipe had worked well for her. For me, it was one more reason to smile.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Living in Utah

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy and Copyright Mary Heers as well as Giselle Bandley
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © 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’ Wild About Utah Postings

Porch Pantry Locations Courtesy & Copyright Utah Families Feeding Families
Porch Pantry Locations
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Families Feeding Families
Utah Families Feeding Families, https://www.utahfamiliesfeedingfamilies.com/

How to Grow Apricots in Your Home Garden, Extension, Utah State University, https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/apricots-in-the-home-garden

Harvest Rescue, Christensen Office of Service & Sustainability, https://www.usu.edu/service-sustainability/

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Falconry

Falcon on Forearm Courtesy and Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Falcon on Forearm
Courtesy and Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
In 1962, Rachael Carson rocked the bird watching world with her book Silent Spring. She identified the commonly used pesticide DDT as the culprit responsible for declining populations of eagles, falcons and hawks. Rachael was able to prove that once DDT got into the food chain, it fatally weakened the eggshells of these birds. DDT was banned the following year.

Would the raptor populations be able to respond? The answer to this question was spearheaded by Hawk Watch International. They recruited volunteers to camp out near Mendon Peak which overlooks a major flyway for migrating birds in the fall.

Armed with pencils and paper, these volunteers checked off each raptor that flew by. It was a tough camp, because once the snow melts, any water on top had to be carried up there. Sometimes my family and others would hike up and give them oranges. Every year the news got better. The raptor populations were rebounding. In 1999 they were officially taken off the endangered species list.

At this time, for most people in Utah, getting a close look at a raptor required a trip to the Hogle Zoo to see the bird show. COVID shut down these shows. But luckily, a young volunteer at the zoo, Nick Morris, stepped up, got the licensing needed to own raptors, and created a traveling show called Long Wing Inc.

When I was able to meet Nick on his home turf, he told me that in Shakespeare’s time, most every man owned some kind of raptor. The kings owned eagles. The nobility owned falcons. It was no accident that talk of falcons worked its way into the spoken language.

For example, falconers kept ankle bands on the bird’s legs attached to short study strings. Before flying their birds, falconers held these strings in a tight fist with their thumbs pressing down hard. This is why we say we keep things “under our thumb.”

Falcons were always easier to handle while being transported with a hood slipped over their heads. This led to our saying today that when someone does not see something clearly, he is “hood winked.”

Morning chores were underway when I showed up at Nick’s house. He carried each bird out into his driveway and put a piece of quail on a sawhorse. The bird was happy to hop over and eat it. Nick then put a piece of quail down the driveway on top of his fence. This was a chance for the bird to spread his wings and fly to the treat. Everything was going to plan until one bird took off and settled on the roof of the house. There were a few tense minutes. Nick admitted to me he had once had to chase a runaway bird all the way to Evanston.
Shakespeare captures a moment like this when Juliet is on her balcony and Romeo has walked away.

Juliet says, “Oh for a falconer’s voice to lure this tassel-gentle back again.” Once we know that a “tassel” is Shakespeare’s word for a male falcon, we can see that Juliet is seeing Romeo as a noble and beautiful creature. Juliet sees herself as the falconer, hoping that Romeo will return and possibly be tamed by her.
Just as Romeo ran back to Juliet, Nick’s bird came down from the roof.

Nick explained how falcons were not pets in the traditional sense. Falconry is an ancient sport going back thousands of years. In Shakespeare’s time, it was a way of putting food on the dinner table.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy and Copyright Mary Heers,
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Mary Heers and 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’ Wild About Utah Postings

The Story of Silent Spring, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), August 13, 2015, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/story-silent-spring

The Wellsvilles Hawkwatch Site, Bridgerland Audubon Society, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/our-projects/the-wellsvilles-hawkwatch-site/

Utah’s Hogle Zoo, https://www.hoglezoo.org/

Tracy Aviary at Liberty Park, https://tracyaviary.org/liberty-park/visit/programs/daily-programs-activities/

Falconry, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Natural Resources, https://wildlife.utah.gov/hunting/main-hunting-page/falconry.html

Falconry terms in the English Language:

  • Bate: In falconry, “bate” refers to a hawk’s attempt to fly off its perch while still tethered. This has become “bated breath” in common English, meaning to be in a state of nervous anticipation or anxiety, according to Wingspan Bird of Prey Centre.
  • Fed up: A falcon that is well-fed has no incentive to hunt, leading to the term “fed up” meaning to be bored or uninterested.
  • Haggard: A “haggard” hawk is one caught from the wild as an adult, often difficult to train. In common usage, “haggard” describes someone looking exhausted or unwell.
  • Under his thumb: In falconry, this refers to the way a falconer holds the jesses (straps) of a hawk to control it. In general usage, it means being completely under someone’s control.
  • Hoodwinked: Originally, a “hood” was used to calm a hawk by covering its head. “Hoodwinked” means to be deceived or tricked, often subtly.
  • Rouse: A “rouse” in falconry is when a hawk shakes its feathers. This has evolved into the general meaning of shaking or awakening.
  • Pounce: A falcon’s “pounce” is its claws, used to seize prey. The word has entered common usage to describe a sudden, forceful movement.
  • Gorge: In falconry, a hawk “gorges” itself when it eats to capacity. This has become the general term for eating to excess.

    • Sources for Falconry terms in the English Language:
    Evans, Andrew, How falconry changed language, BBC. February 24, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20170111-how-irish-falconry-changed-language
    The Language of Falconry, Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust, https://www.wingspan.co.nz/falconry_language.html
    Amy, Falconry terms in common language, Powered by Birds, February 26, 2010, https://www.poweredbybirds.com/falconry-terms-in-common-language/
    Assembled by Google AI https://ai.google.com

    Utah Falconers Association, https://www.utahfalconers.com/

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    Climate Data Recording

    USU Climate Measurement Instrument Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
    USU Climate Measurement Instrument
    Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
    Last week while walking across the Utah State University campus, I rounded the Northeast corner of the University Inn and suddenly found myself face to face with a giant stick figure made of steel tubing. Painted a gleaming white, it looked like an elegant butler standing stiffly at attention. Planted firming on three sturdy legs, its rectangular body soared up 12 feet, and two of its outstretched arms seemed to be holding a bowl in one hand and a ball in the other.

    Then I noticed the interactive display pedestal nearby. I discovered my “butler” was actually holding a rain gauge and an air temperature sensor. In fact, there were almost 30 sensors attached to the frame. Tapping on each picture of the sensor, I could see the exact measurement it was making at the moment. More tapping and I could look back as far as 500 days ago.

    This magnificent machine was recording data so smoothly that I had to laugh when I remembered how in the early days of climate monitoring it wasn’t so easy.

    In the 1980’s, after moving to Cache Valley, I was getting used to the cold temperatures and wondering how cold could it get. The engineers at Campbell Scientific, including my husband Art, had just developed a new temperature and wind sensor that could record its measurements into a box. The box would then send a radio signal to a relay station on top of Mt Logan, and then on to the base computer in Logan. They installed the sensor at Peter Sinks, near the summit overlooking Bear Lake. Then they sat down in front of the base computer to wait. They watched the temp drop, -55, -65. Then a tiny gust of air would blow by and the temperature would rise. Finally, they went to bed. But the datalogger kept working. In the morning, they looked at the data sheet – and there it was in black and white: -69.3 degrees Fahrenheit! In the early morning Feb 1, 1985, a record was set for the coldest temp ever recorded in Utah that still stands today.

    But my favorite memory from the early days is the farm kid who bought one of the first Campbell Scientific dataloggers, the CR10. Art and I were on a road trip when he realized we were close by. We rang the doorbell. His mother told us to go upstairs. There was the young kid sitting on his bed. The CR10 was on the floor. He showed us how the datalogger was recording the level of oxygen in the water in his nearby catfish pond. When the Oxygen level dropped to a dangerous low, the CR10 would turn on a giant eggbeater-like machine that would throw the pond water high into the air. When the water fell down, it carried Oxygen with it into the pond. The kid was all smiles. Gone were the days when he had to get up every night at 3 am, march through heavy mud, check his Oxygen sensor, and manually turn on the eggbeater.

    The kid pointed to the CR10 on the floor.

    “Piece of your brain in there?” he asked Art.

    “Yes,” answered Art, “And a piece of my heart.”

    This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah.

    Credits:
    Photos: Courtesy and Copyright Mary Heers,
    Featured Audio: Courtesy & © 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’ Wild About Utah Postings

    Peter Sinks Temperature Monitoring, Utah Climate Center at Utah State University, https://climate.usu.edu/PeterSinks/

    Tonks, Sara, Peter Sinks, UT, Was Over 50 Degrees Below Zero Wednesday Morning. Here’s Why That’s Both Unusual And Normal, Weather News, The Weather Channel, February 13, 2025, https://weather.com/news/weather/news/2025-02-13-temperature-sinks-cold-explained-geography

    Campbell Scientific, Inc., https://www.campbellsci.com/
    Company History, https://www.campbellsci.com/history

    Franchi, John, Man reflects on recording all-time Utah low temperature in 1985, Fox 13 News, Scripps Media, Inc., February 03, 2023, https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/man-reflects-on-recording-all-time-utah-low-temperature-in-1985

    Davis, Jim, Where is the COOLEST Spot in Utah?, Survey Notes, v. 45 no. 3, September 2013, Utah Geological Service, Utah Department of Natural Resources, https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/coolest-spot-in-utah/