Birds Archives - Page 11 of 82

September 23, 2024October 5, 2024

West Nile Virus found in Mendon

West Nile Virus Sign in the Mendon Post Office
Photo courtesy Mary Heers, Photographer

Cache Valley Mosquito Trap
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Cache Valley Mosquito Trap
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Cache Valley Mosquito Trap
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Cache Valley Mosquito Trap, Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer — West Nile Virus Sign in the Mendon Post Office
Photo courtesy Mary Heers, Photographer

Cache Valley Mosquito Trap
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Cache Valley Mosquito Trap
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Cache Valley Mosquito Trap
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

“West Nile Virus Found in Mendon.” This warning, printed in big block letters, definitely caught my attention when I walked into the Mendon Post Office. The poster included a picture of a mosquito and a message saying “Please take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and your loved ones.”

The warning came from the Cache Mosquito Abatement District. Curious, I called them up. I found out that their staff goes out once a week and activates 18 mosquito traps at rural locations throughout the valley. They invited me to go along and see how they collect their test mosquitos

I was surprised to find out its carbon dioxide that attracts the mosquitos. The sun was setting when we pulled up to the first stop and found the cylinder of CO2 already in place on the ground. The first step was to turn on the CO2, a slow flow emitting about as much as a human exhaling. Next, they snapped a battery into place on the underside of a metal disc that was hung a few feet above the CO2 cylinder. This disc, that looked a lot like a broad brimmed man’s hat, also held a small fan which now started whirring. The last step was to tie on a white mesh bag below the fan.

The trap was now emitting an enticing trail of CO2. When the mosquitos arrived, the fan would blow them into the mesh bags.

Early the next morning, it was time to turn off the CO2, and retrieve the batteries and the mesh bags.

Back at the lab, the mesh bags made a quick trip into the freezer, which killed the mosquitos.

Then the mosquitos were emptied onto a black tray and counted. Of the varieties of mosquitos in Cache Valley, only the Culex carries the West Nile virus.
To the trained eye of the staff, it was short work to separate the Culex from the rest. These mosquitos were then packed into small vials and sent to the lab in Salt Lake which runs the tests for the West Nile virus.

We now know that West Nile is one of the viruses transmitted by a mosquito bite. And with the help of high-powered microscopes, we can see that a mosquito bite is actually the complex work of 6 needlelike shafts housed in the female mosquito’s protruding mouthpiece. Two shafts with serrated edges saw through the victim’s flesh, two hold the cut open, and two are inserted into the cut. These last two function like straws, one to suck blood up and one to carry down anti-coagulant saliva to keep the blood flowing. It’s the mosquito’s saliva that transmits the virus.

For most people who become infected, West Nile feels like a bout of flu. But for 1 in every 150, it can lead to deadly neurological problems. Now that we’ve been warned, we would be wise to take some precautions: Drain any stagnant pools of water in our neighborhoods where mosquitos can breed. Wear long sleeve shirts and long pants after dusk- the Culex fly at night.

And let’s not forget that some of our valley bats are helping us. Some bats can eat as many as 500 mosquitos in an hour. But that’s a story for another day.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah

Credits:

Images Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio upr.org & Cook Laboratories https://folklife.si.edu/archives-and-resources/cook-labs-records
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 Pieces by Mary Heers

Cache Mosquito Abatement District, visited September 25, 2024, https://www.cachemosquito.gov/

West Nile Virus, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.cdc.gov/west-nile-virus/index.html

Goddard, Amanda, First human West Nile case confirmed in northern Utah; officials encourage prevention, The Leader [Tremonton], (HJNews), https://www.hjnews.com/tremonton/news/local/first-human-west-nile-case-confirmed-in-northern-utah-officials-encourage-prevention/article_3b654032-79c3-11ef-b350-3b31f525dce1.html

West Nile virus, Utah Epidemiology, Utah Department of Health and Human Services, https://epi.utah.gov/west-nile-virus/

August 26, 2024September 3, 2024

I Ate A Bug

Bugfest Poster, Utah Museum of Natural History (UMNH), Courtesy Mary Heers — Bugfest Poster
Utah Museum of Natural History (UMNH)
Photo Courtesy Mary Heers

UMNH I ate a BUG button
Courtesy Mary Heers

Never one to say no to an adventure, this month I found myself sitting in the front row at the Bug Bar at the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake. I was waiting for the Bug Bar to open and serve up some insects.

This was the first day of the museum’s annual Bug Festival, and the lobby was full of interesting displays and presenters. But the one that intrigued me the most was the one that suggested we should be bringing insects into our kitchens.

Soon Megan Bartley, an anthropologist and professional chef, walked onto the stage along with the museum director. She began by telling us North America and Europe were the only two places on earth where people did not routinely eat insects.

After all, she said, insects are high in protein, have no carbs, no fat and are gluten free. Furthermore, they can be raised with a lot less water than other foods, and do not create greenhouse gases.

With all this going for them, Megan was here to prove that insects can also be very tasty.

“Are you ready to chow down?” the museum director shouted.

“Yes,” we shouted back. There was no turning back now.

First up on the menu was Spicy Giant Water Bug Pasta. Small samples were handed out and I glanced cautiously into the paper cup. I recognized bowtie pasta, and a little cilantro, carrots and onions, No sign of a water bug. I ate my forkful, and it was delicious. Megan told us the water bugs had been ground up and hidden in the imported Thai chili paste. It was the water bugs that gave the pasta a bit of a musky flavor.

We moved on to Raspberry Ant Pastries. Here, the ants weren’t ground up, but more or less hidden in the raspberry jam. Megan told us it was the ants that gave the pastry its citrus kick.

Then it was time for the ‘Apple Slaw with Candied Crickets.’ The crickets had been toasted in melted butter, sprinkled with sugar and a pinch of salt, and then tossed into an apple and cabbage slaw. There was a slightly unnerving crunch when I bit into this sample, but I had to admit it too was delicious.

The final sample was Grasshopper Tacos. The dehydrated grasshoppers had been sauteed in olive oil with garlic, onions and chipotle peppers. They were served on a dollop of guacamole. A quick look and I could clearly see the grasshopper. But by then I was ready to go for it. It was predictably crunchy – and also delicious.

Megan had proved her point that eating insects could be very tasty. More importantly, she got us thinking that it was time to consider this sustainable source of protein that can help curb food insecurity in our rapidly growing world.

Megan wrapped up with a caution about eating the insects that live around our homes. There’s no telling what these insects have been eating. Better to stick with the ones farmed in controlled environments.

I whipped out my phone and ordered some black ants and some toasted crickets online.

Then I pinned on one of the museum’s “I Ate a Bug” buttons and proudly wore it home.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah

Credits:

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Postings

Natural History Museum of Utah, Rio Tinto Center, University of Utah, https://nhmu.utah.edu/

Bugfest, Natural History Museum of Utah, Rio Tinto Center, University of Utah, https://nhmu.utah.edu/programs/bugfest

Edible Insects, Entosense, Inc, https://www.edibleinsects.com/

July 8, 2024October 29, 2024

Mountain Goats in Northern Utah?

Mid-September, 2016, while rambling in a seldom-traveled area of the Mount Naomi Wilderness, my son Nate asked, “Dad, what’s the coolest animal you’ve ever seen in the Bear River Mountains?”

“Oh, all the regular creatures you’d expect,” I said. “Deer, elk, moose, coyotes, porcupines, lots of cat tracks, and a couple of badgers.”

We took a few more steps and I glanced at the cliff bands above. Atop a limestone crag was the unmistakable massive shoulders and white wool of a Rocky Mountain goat.

“Uhhhh,” I stammered and pointed, “THAT is actually the coolest animal I’ve ever seen in the Bear River Range.”

We laughed at the timing as the goat nonchalantly climbed out of sight.

The previous spring I spotted a mountain goat on a rock outcrop on the south side of Highway 89, not far from Brigham City. It was absolutely a mountain goat—Oreamnos Americanus. If there was a mountain goat in Box Elder Canyon, then they certainly must be in the Wellsvilles. It is logical that Willard Peak goats would move north.

But this goat in the heart of the Bear River Range was perplexing. Where had it come from? Had it wandered south from Star Valley or worked its’ way northeast from Willard Peak? Either way is a lot of ground to cover where a mountain goat would be vulnerable to predators.

Mountain goats thrive in the highest and harshest alpine environments. They have a two-layer coat—hollow, longer strands of polar-bear-like hair that grow up to 8 inches long and dense wool beneath. They can subsist on moss and lichen. Specialized hooves enable them to climb places predators can’t follow. Their best defense is their climbing skills. Cliffs provide safety, but that comes with a caveat—the leading causes of death of mountain goats are avalanches, rock fall, and, well, falling.

When I returned home that day, I called the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) and asked a slew of questions. The previous year there had been several sightings of a solitary mountain goat near Cinnamon Creek, then in Logan Canyon, and then our sighting further north. There were also sightings in the Wellsvilles. In the years since, several reports trickled in of mountain goats on Cherry Peak. Last spring, a goat carcass was found up Blacksmith Fork Canyon in an avalanche run-out zone.

Mountain Goat Looking Over the Cliff Edge
Courtesy & Copyright, Eric Newell, Photographer

In 1967 six Rocky Mountain goats were transplanted from Olympic National Park to the Lone Peak Wilderness. Since then another 270 were released in various other locations. Utah goat populations peaked in 2011 around 2,100 animals. Interestingly, the Willard Peak herd has declined from around 200 to about 30 goats.

The 2018 Utah DWR Management Plan states:

“A number of records exist that document the historical presence of mountain goats in Utah prior to reintroduction…. However, there are not as many documented records as with some other wildlife native to Utah, which has led to some controversy about their native status…. They are certainly native to the Northern Rocky Mountains and neighboring states to Utah. UDWR’s position is that mountain goat habitat exists in Utah and that mountain goats are a valuable part of our wildlife resource diversity and are a legitimate part of our modern Utah faunal landscape.”

The Bridgerland Audubon Society’s stance is that mountain goats are a non-native species that may damage endemic plants. Fellow Wild About Utah contributor Jack Green, wrote a 2020 opinion piece opposing the introduction of Oreamnos Americanus in the Bear River Mountains and suggested focusing on restoring bighorn sheep populations instead.

One complication is that bighorns are more susceptible to disease from established domesticated sheep herds than mountain goats are. And for perspective, domestic sheep grazing has far greater impacts on habitat than a small herd of mountain goats ever will.

The Utah DWR has no plans to “introduce” goats into the vicinity because they are already here. Biologists are conducting surveys to understand the impacts goats have on endemic plant species to inform management decisions.

No matter how it all shakes out for the few solitary mountain goats that have worked their way into northern Utah, it is a thrill to watch these impressive climbers roam the wildest and craggiest portions of the mountains—with blasé confidence.

I am Eric Newell, and I am Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Friend Weller, Retired Engineer, Utah Public Radio, https://www.upr.org/people/friend-weller
Text: Eric Newell, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University
Additional Reading: Eric Newell & Lyle Bingham, Bridgerland Audubon

Additional Reading

WildAboutUtah pieces by Eric Newell, https://wildaboututah.org/author/eric-newell/

Bridgerland Audubon Society, Rocky Mountain Goats in the Bear River Range, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/our-projects/advocacy/mountain-goats-in-the-bear-river-range/

Chadwick, Douglas, A Beast the Color of Winter, Sierra Club Books, 1983, https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Color-Winter-Mountain-Observed/dp/0803264216/

Chadwick, Douglas, Darling Guardians of the Heights, National Geographic, Vol. 154, NO. 2, August, 1978 Available with subscription through https://archive.nationalgeographic.com/

Green, Jack, Locals Can Still Halt Harmful Mount Goat Introduction, Herald Journal, July 24, 2020 https://www.hjnews.com/opinion/columns/soapbox-locals-can-still-halt-harmful-mountain-goat-introduction/article_e85f7536-5201-55d7-b766-f089eb57d7ed.html

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Mountain Goat State Management Plan, https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/bg/mtn_goat_plan.pdf

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Where to See Mountain Goats in Utah this Spring, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/1384-where-to-see-mountain-goats-this-spring.html

June 24, 2024March 4, 2026

Canada Geese

At the end of last February, I was delighted to see hundreds of Canada geese settling into the swampy fields by the Logan airport. There was still snow on the ground, but the message was clear: Spring was just around the corner. Soon the mated pairs would be building their nests and raising their families.

Interestingly, just as the goslings are starting to grow their first feathers, their parents are losing theirs. The adults will discard their frayed and somewhat battered flight feathers before growing a whole new set. This molting process takes 4-5 weeks, during which time the geese simply can’t fly.

This is when the folks at the Department of Natural Resources get out their airboats at Ogden Bay. It’s time to round up the flightless geese and slip a small aluminum band on their leg.

So, early morning on June 14, I joined a small group of volunteers at Ogden Bay. I was told to hop on Airboat #4. My job was to lie down on the front lip of the airboat ( just inches above the water line) and grab any geese we got close to.

The driver then punched the accelerator and we shot out across the bay. Soon we were gaining on a goose who heard us coming and picked up his paddling pace. Just as I tried to grab him, he dove down and out of sight in the muddy water. I reached down and came up with a handful of pond weed.

The driver suggested I hook my feet on the side rail and lean out further over the front of the boat.

“Don’t worry, he said. “If you fall out, just stand up. It’s pretty shallow.”

The airboat doesn’t have any brakes, but he promised to circle back and pick me up.

I got braver and caught the next goose. I think the goose was as surprised as I was. I was expecting a fight, but no. The goose settled quietly into a crate, and we were off and going after the next goose. It turns out the shallow water was key to our success. Under ordinary circumstances a goose can dive out of reach, 30 to 40 feet underwater

By the end of the round up the DNR will have caught, banded, and released about 2000 geese.

What we learned from this banding project is that the Canada geese now in Utah will not be going to Canada. Most of the geese banded in Cache Valley will spend the winter in Idaho along the Snake River between Idaho Falls and Twin Falls.

These geese are very adaptable. Where they see open space with a good supply of grass and water, they will move in. Some geese opt out of migration entirely, like the ones who spent last winter at Logan’s First Dam.

As for the ones who leave, we can expect to see the females back here next Spring with a lifetime mate in tow. As for the males – they will go where the females take them.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah

Credits:

Images Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://upr.org/
Bird Sounds Courtesy & Copyright Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
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

Canada Goose, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/overview

Canada Goose, Audubon Field Guide, National Audubon Society, https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/canada-goose

Canada Goose, Utah Bird Profile, Utah Birds/Utah Valley Birders, https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/canada-goose
Other Photos: http://utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsA-C/CanadaGoose.htm

Davis, Troy, Grabbing geese from airboats, Wildlife Blog, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, June 22, 2016, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/wildlife-blog/688-grabbing-geese-from-airboats.html