Category: Birds

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Blue, Blue, My World is Blue…

Blue, Blue, My World is Blue…Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Courtesy US FWS
Steve Maslowski, Photographer

Spring Azure(Male)
Celastrina ladon
Courtesy Wikimedia,
D. Gordon E. Robertson, Photographer
Licensed under Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Holly: Hi, I’m Holly Strand.

If I were to ask you what your favorite color is, odds are your answer would be blue. All around the world most people prefer blue over any other color.

Maybe this is because blue is quite unusual in nature. We rarely see blue in animals or plants. Animals are brown, ruddy or grayish—sometimes white or black makes an appearance. Plants are green, brown, red and yellow. So the blue exceptions really stand out.

There are two main ways to be blue. The first way is thorough pigmentation. Pigments are chemical substances that selectively absorb light. We see color based on the light wavelengths that are not absorbed but reflected. For it is these reflected wavelengths that hit our eyes.

Blue flowers are the result of anthocyanin pigments. These pigments usually reflect red or purple, but in Uinta’s Alpine Forget-me-nots they create a pure sky blue that will stop you in your tracks.

The other way to be blue is through a physical rather than chemical approach. A physical or structural color is produced when incoming light interacts with nanoscale biological structures on an object’s surface. In birds, different shapes and sizes of tiny air pockets and keratin in feathers can cause different shades of blue. The lazuli bunting gets its bright blue head and back via structural color. So do indigo buntings and mountain bluebirds.

Some birds change color depending upon the angle at which you look at them. This shimmering iridescence is caused by a more complex interplay of light and feather structure which sends light bouncing off into different directions. Some of the light waves coincide to intensify color; nd others crash and cancel each other out. In Utah look for iridescent blue on the head and back of the tree swallow and on the black-billed magpie’s wing and tail.

Iridescence is quite common in insects—think of colorful beetle and butterfly wings . The dazzling morpho is the most striking example of an iridescent blue. While we don’t have morphos in Utah, we do have several species of butterfly in a subfamily group of the gossamer winged butterflies. This group is appropriately called “ the blues.”

By now Utah’s blue creatures have mostly expired or flown south. However, you can still get your blue color fix. Just look up! Utah’s sky is a deep and satisfying blue due to our aridity and high elevation.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Image: Courtesy and Copyright 2003 Michael Kuhns, Extension.usu.edu
Text: Holly Strand

Sources & Additional Reading:

Color
Angier, Natalie. True Blue Stands Out in an Earthy Crowd. NY Times. Oct 22, 2012
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/science/with-new-findings-scientists-are-captivated-by-the-color-blue.html?emc=eta1

Fields, Helen. Why Are Some Feathers Blue? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Why-Are-Some-Feathers-Blue.html [accessed November 15, 2012]

Murphy, Pat, and Paul Doherty. 1996. The Color of Nature: An Exploratorium Book San Francisco: Chronicle Books

WebExhibits. Causes of Color. https://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/15A.htm l [accessed November 15, 2012]

Color Preference
Grieve, K.W. (1991), “Traditional Beliefs and Colour Perception,” Perceptual and Motor Skills, 72 (4], 1319-23.

Krishna, K.P. (1972), “Colour Preferences as a Function of Age and
Sex,” Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 9 (1), 10-13.

Madden, Thomas, Kelly Hewett, and Martin S. Roth. 2000. Managing Images in Different Cultures:
A Cross-National Study of Color Meanings and Preferences. Journal of International Marketing. Vol. 8. No 4 pp. 90-107

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Fall Frost

Frost on a Hairy Leaf
Copyright © 2012 Andrea Liberatore

Frost on a Leaf
Copyright © 2012 Andrea Liberatore

Frost Damage on a Tomato
Copyright © 2012 Andrea Liberatore

Evergreens take hardiness
to the Extreme
Two-needle Pinion Pine
Copyright © 2009 Linda Kervin

Fall has descended in earnest across Utah. Leaves have flashed their colors and dropped to the ground. Juncos have replaced the flycatchers on my backyard’s best perches, and my garden has been cleaned up and tilled under. As I watched the fall weather affect plants in my vegetable garden, I began to wonder about the different reactions they had to the changing temperatures. My tomatoes and squash turned brown and wilted at the merest suggestion of cold temperatures. Other plants, like kale, carrots and onions are still bright and fresh, even after an early snowfall. What is it about some plants that allow them to withstand frost, while others succumb right away?

Frost occurs when the temperature of an object – in this case a plant leaf – falls below the dew point of the air. Moisture from the atmosphere collects on the surface of the leaf and freezes when temperatures drop below 32 degrees. Just seeing frost on a plant doesn’t necessarily mean it will die – it’s the internal tissue temperature that counts. Like humans, plants are made mostly of water – upwards of 80-90% in an herbaceous plant like lettuce. When temperatures drop, the water inside plant cells expands as it freezes, tearing cell walls and causing irreparable damage.

The amount of harm done to a plant depends on many different factors and is generally referred to as a plant’s hardiness. Species or individuals that are more compact will incur damage at a lower temperature than others due to their reduced surface area. Those growing close to the ground are more protected by their proximity to the warm earth. Plants with darker colored leaves such as the deep greens of spinach and chard may be hardier because their leaves absorb and retain heat better than lighter-colored leaves. Fuzzy or hairy leaves also fend off cold temperatures better than their smooth counterparts.

Perhaps the best defense of all is found in plants that protect themselves with natural antifreeze. When frost hits these plants, the relatively pure water in the space between leaf cells freezes first, which in turn draws more water out of the surrounding cells. The remaining cellular fluid contains a high concentration of sugars and other molecules, which reduces the fluid’s freezing point and protects the cell’s contents from ice.

Evergreens, of course, take hardiness to the extreme, utilizing a number of different tactics to remain alive and photosynthesizing throughout the winter. These tactics include compact leaf size, a thick leathery consistency, and a waxy coating that both insulates and prevents water from escaping into the dry winter air.

Frost damage to less hardy plants can be postponed by human interventions such as covering with blankets, but as the cold spells get longer and more frequent, damage is inevitable. Everything has its season, and now is the time to harvest the last of those hardy fall greens and tuck the garden in for the coming winter.

For the Stokes Nature Center and Wild About Utah, this is Andrea Liberatore.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy &
            Copyright 2012 Andrea Liberatore
            Copyright 2009 Jim Cane
Text:     Andrea Liberatore,
            Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon.

Additional Reading:


Savonen, Carol (2012) Some plants make natural antifreeze to cope with winter’s wrath. Oregon State University Extension Service. Available online at: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/847


Frost And Your Plants: What You Need To Know, Farmer’s Almanac, November 17, 2021, https://www.farmersalmanac.com/frost-temperature-outdoor-plants-9788

Huber, Kathy (Feb 16, 2002) What Happens When a Plant Freezes. The Houston Chronicle. Available online at: https://www.chron.com/life/gardening/article/What-happens-when-a-plant-freezes-1635570.php

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Sunflowers, the late summer feast

Sunflowers, the late summer feast: Click for a larger view of the sunflower garden. Image courtesy and copyright Jim Cane
Stand of ornamental sunflowers
in Cache Valley
Image courtesy and Copyright Jim Cane

Click for a larger view. Image courtesy and copyright Jim CaneHoney bee foraging at sunflower
Image courtesy and Copyright Jim Cane


Click for a larger view. Image courtesy and copyright Jim CaneMale Melissodes bees and a skipper
butterfly sleeping on a sunflower at dusk
Image Courtesy and Copyright Jim Cane

Now, in late summer, the sunny golden blooms of sunflowers adorn gardens, roadsides and wild places across much of the United States. Utah is home to five sunflower species, four of them annuals. You are most likely to see Helianthus annuus, the aptly named “common sunflower”. Early domestication of common sunflower by Plains Indians led to the major oilseed crop that the world enjoys today.

Humans are not the only species seated at the sunflower dining table, however. The grub of one specialist weevil bores in sunflower stalks; as do larvae of 2 long-horned beetles. Another weevil hollows out the seeds. A third decapitates the flowerhead before ovipositing. One moth’s caterpillar gnaws the roots; several cutworm species topple seedling sunflowers, and several more kinds of butterfly caterpillars skeletonize sunflower leaves. In your garden, though, sunflowers generally escape pestilence. Chickadees and both American and Lesser Goldfinches cling to the ripe seed heads to pluck out the nutritious seeds. Listen for the plaintive call of the Lesser Goldfinch which is very distinctive.

[Lesser Goldfinch, Audio recording courtesy Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections: Songbirds of the Southwest Canyon Country]

All those sunflower seeds are the direct result of pollination by bees. In the American West, more than 200 species of native bees visit sunflowers for nectar or pollen, a remarkably large fauna for any flower. None is more charming than the male of the bee genus Melissodes. They are discernible by their extra long antennae. Melissodes males dart among sunflowers all day long, seeking willing mates. Come sunset, the males bed down on the flower heads to snooze. They become drowsy enough to pet with your fingertip, and being males, have no sting. So if you have sunflowers at hand, chances are you have Melissodes bees around too. Look over your sunflowers this evening, and you may be lucky enough to find these dozing bachelor bees with their extra long antennae.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:

Audio: Courtesy Kevin J. Colver, 7loons.com and On Amazon.com
Photos: Courtesy and Copyright Jim Cane
Text: Jim Cane, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

LeBuhn, Gretchen, Greenleaf, Sarah, Cohen, David, The Great Sunflower Project, Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, https://www.greatsunflower.org/

Charlet, Larry D., Brewer, Gary J., Sunflower Insect Pest Management in North America, Radcliff’s IPM World Textbook, University of Minnesota, https://ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/charlet2.htm

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A Modern Day Phoenix

“Phoenix,” an immature Golden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Courtesy Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah (WRCNU.org)

Elk Bath
From a 2000 fire in the
Bitterroot National Forest in Montana

Courtesy Wikimedia &
USDA Forest Service
John McColgan, Photographer

Hi, I’m Holly Strand.

You may have heard about the golden eagle nestling that was badly burned during a recent Utah wildfire. Its nest was totally destroyed, but the little eagle had fallen to the ground and survived. After the fire, he was found by Kent Keller, a volunteer for Utah’s Div. of Natural Resources, who had banded the young eagle a month before. The eagle was dehydrated—his feathers, face, and feet were badly burned. So Keller obtained a permit from wildlife officials to intervene. Now in the care of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah the eagle is recovering rapidly. Even so, it will take a while for the damaged feathers to be replaced by healthy new ones. Phoenix–as is he was aptly named–won’t learn to fly for at least another year.

With this and other fire-related stories in the news, I‘ve been wondering about the fate of animals caught in wildfires. Scientific observations of animal behavior during fire events are rare. But by conducting post-fire surveys, and comparing results with unburned areas, some researchers have been able to piece together an idea of who survives, who dies and who thrives.

Obviously, faster and more mobile animals have the advantage. Birds can fly away and most mammals can outrun the spreading flames. Spring fires can be disastrous, destroying birds who haven’t fledged –like Phoenix– or mammals who are still too immature to escape. Fortunately, fires are more frequent in mid to late summer when little ones have matured.

If a fire moves through an area quickly, without superheating the ground, dormant animals or those hiding in burrows can survive. The surrounding soil provides plenty of insulation. Soil also protects most soil macrofauna and the pupae of many insects.

Animals that live their lives totally or partially in the water may not suffer at all during a fire. However, smaller bodies of water, such as streams, can quickly heat up fairly quickly. Oxygen loss is a problem as well. And fire-fighting chemicals dumped from the air can end up in water, killing fish, frogs and other animals.

Indirectly, the alteration of habitat by fire can also restructure animal populations. Interestingly, there are quite a lot of animals that benefit from post-fire habitats. For example, the insect population above ground may plummet during a fire, but then increase above pre-fire levels when fresh young plants start to grow back. Burned trees are attractive to certain beetles as breeding sites. An increase in beetles is a windfall for the woodpeckers that devour them. Swallows and flycatchers use burned dead trees as perch sites. They survey from on high and then swoop to catch their insect dinner. Seed eating birds like Clark’s Nutcracker, gobble up conifer seeds when cones open in response to fire.

Among mammals, ground squirrels, pocket gophers and deer mice generally increase after severe fires. Even large herbivores such as pronghorn or deer may benefit from the increased food and nutrition on recent burns. In turn, predators of these creatures enjoy a bumper crop as well.

For images of Phoenix the recovering golden eagle and a link to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah go to www.wildaboututah.org.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy Wikimedia, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Gavin Keefe Schaefer and Dave Menke, US FWS images.fws.gov
Text: Holly Strand

Sources & Additional Reading:


Baker, William L. 2009. Fire ecology in Rocky Mountain Landscapes. Washington, DC: Island Press.https://islandpress.org/ip/books/book/islandpress/F/bo7019409.html

Bradley, Anne F.; Noste, Nonan V.; Fischer, William C. 1992. Fire ecology of forests and woodlands in Utah. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-287. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_int/int_gtr287.pdf

Hutto, RL. 1995. Composition of bird communities following stand-replacement fires in northern Rocky-Mountain (USA) conifer forests in Conservation Biology Volume: 9 Issue: 5 Pages: 1041-1058 https://www.fsl.orst.edu/ltep/Biscuit/Biscuit_files/Refs/Hulto%20CB1995%20fire%20birds.pdf

Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah https://wrcnu.org/