Birds Archives - Page 8 of 79

September 30, 2024March 4, 2026

Ripple Effects: Enhance Backyard Birdwatching When You Feed & Protect Birds

Applying Anti-Strike Film to Window Courtesy US FWS Brett Billings Photographer — [Downy Woodpecker Male at] Bird Feeder
Courtesy US FWS, Leah Schrodt, Photographer

Applying Anti-Strike Film to Window
Courtesy US FWS
Brett Billings Photographer

Birdwatching is a fun hobby for all ages and it is a great way to connect with nature and increase self-efficacy, so let’s discuss the benefits and the importance of a safe environment for feeding our backyard birds. First, the benefits of supplemental feeding, and second, preventable deaths from cats and window collisions.

Supplemental food and water are important ways we can reduce stress for backyard birds, especially through the winter months. Sites with bird feeders attract more birds over time than those without feeders, and the birds are in overall greater health than birds at sites without feeders. A higher percentage of chicks hatch at sites with bird feeders, and the survival rates are significantly higher, but supplemental feeding must be done in a safe environment.

Free ranging domestic cats and window collisions are leading causes of bird deaths in North America. The American Bird Conservancy estimates that outdoor cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds every year in the United States alone. Approximately one billion birds are dying from window collisions each year in North America – that represents about ten percent of our birds dying from crashing into windows (1), and combined, that’s over three billion fewer insect eaters, fewer pollinators, fewer seed spreaders, and fewer parents for the next generation.

Cats should be kept indoors, and windows should be treated, especially if they reflect trees and shrubs. If you have seen a ghostly bird imprint or heard the sickening thump of a bird hitting your windows, then those are windows in need of treatments such as screens, translucent UV tape, or even tempera paint designs, because even birds that manage to fly away have potentially life-threatening internal injuries. Feeders less than 3 feet away don’t allow birds to build up too much speed before they collide, so it’s good to put feeders and birdbaths 3 feet or closer to a window or greater than 30 feet away.

Feeders placed on or near windows have the added benefit of being easy to access and monitor. In addition to a window suet feeder, one of my favorite window feeders is actually a clear plastic suction-cup toothbrush cup holder from the dollar store – it’s easy to clean and there’s no need for binoculars!

In addition to enhancing a backyard bird watching hobby and improving bird health and survival, the ripple effects of feeding birds, keeping cats indoors, and preventing window collisions include pest control in our gardens where birds feast on slugs, snails, aphids and grasshoppers. I for one particularly appreciate Black-billed Magpies when they remove wasp nests from my house! The Bridgerland Audubon website has tools, coloring pages, checklists, and science-based information on window collision prevention. Solutions can be as simple as the careful placement of bird feeders and keeping cats indoors. Find us at bridgerlandaudubon.org, that’s Bridgerland Audubon – A-U-D-U-B-O-N dot org.

I’m Hilary Shughart, and I’m wild about Bridgerland Audubon, wild about Utah Public Radio, and Wild About Utah!
Supplemental food and water are important ways we can reduce stress for backyard birds
Credits:
Images: Courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service, Leah Schrodt and Brett Billings, Photographers
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver
Text: Hilary Shughart, President, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Hilary Shughart and Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional ReadingSupplemental food and water are important ways we can reduce stress for backyard birds
WildAboutUtah pieces by Hilary Shughart, https://wildaboututah.org/author/hilary-shughart/

Procure Bird Seed from local Audubon Chapters:
Great Salt Lake Audubon
2024 Seed Sale: https://greatsaltlakeaudubon.org/events/full-calendar/sunflower-seed-fundraiser-pickup
Bridgerland Audubon
Other Statewide Birding Groups

Hellstern, Ron, Build a Certified Wildlife Habitat at Home, Wild About Utah, July 17, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/build-community-wildlife-habitats/

Hellstern, Ron, Attracting Birds and Butterflies to Your Yard, Wild About Utah, May 28, 2018, https://wildaboututah.org/attracting-birds-and-butterflies-to-your-yard/

Beorchia, Mykel, How To Create a Bird Friendly Yard, Wild About Utah, November 9, 2020, https://wildaboututah.org/how-to-create-a-bird-friendly-yard/

Shughart, Hilary, To Grow Your Own Bird Food, Native Plants Are Key!, Wild About Utah, April 12, 2021, https://wildaboututah.org/native-plants-are-key/

Kervin, Linda, Bird Feeding, https://wildaboututah.org/bird-feeding/

Kervin, Linda, Cane, Jim, Feed the Birds, Wild About Utah, December 1, 2011, https://wildaboututah.org/feed-the-birds/

Creating Landscapes for Wildlife… A Guide for Backyards in Utah, Written by Sue Nordstrom and Illustrated by Kathlyn Collins Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University with Margy Halpin, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources; Second Printing 2001,
Updated for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, by Frank Howe, DWR Avian coordinator; Ben Franklin, DWR–Utah Natural Heritage Program botanist; Randy Brudnicki, DWR publications editor; and landscape planning illustrations by Stephanie Duer.,
Published by:
State of Utah Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources,
Utah State University Cooperative Extension Service and
Utah State University Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning;
1991 updated 2001 https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/landscapingforwildlife.pdf

Sizemore, Grant, Cats Indoors–Cats and Birds, American Bird Conservancy, https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/

Bird-Strike Prevention: How to Stop Birds From Hitting Windows, American Bird Conservancy, https://abcbirds.org/glass-collisions/stop-birds-hitting-windows/

Messmer, Terry, Cowell, Samuel, Dietrich, Dietrich, and Sullivan, Kimberly, Ask an Expert: Seven Tips to Keep Birds from Hitting Your Windows, Utah State University Extension, March 28, 2017, https://extension.usu.edu/news_sections/agriculture_and_natural_resources/bird-windows

Cowell, Samuel, Dietrich, Dietrich, Sullivan, Kimberly and Messmer, Terry, Reducing the Risk of Birds Colliding into Windows:
A Practical Guide for Homes and Businesses [NR/Wildlife/2017-01pr], Utah State University Extension, March 2017, https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2682&context=extension_curall

Klem, Jr., Daniel, Solid Air: Invisible Killer: Saving Billions of Birds from Windows, Hancock House Publishers, October 5, 2021, https://www.amazon.com/Solid-Air-Invisible-Killer-Billions/dp/0888396465

For the Birds (Download Brochure PDF), US Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, rev March 2001, https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/api/collection/document/id/1107/download

Morse, Susan, To Feed or Not to Feed Wild Birds–Bird Feeders Can Be Sources of Joy — and Disease,, US Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.fws.gov/story/feed-or-not-feed-wild-birds

Make Your Home a Safe, Healthy Home for Birds,, US Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Sep 13, 2021, https://www.fws.gov/story/2021-09/backyard-birds

Celley, Courtney, Helping wildlife while avoiding common pitfalls,, US Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.fws.gov/story/helping-wildlife-while-avoiding-common-pitfalls

West Nile virus bird identification, , Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, October 20, 2017, https://wildlife.utah.gov/bird-identification.html

Dragon, Sydney, (Student Conservation Association intern), Conservation in Urban Areas: Backyard Bird Feeding, US Fish & Wildlife Service Bird Walks (Texas), U.S. Department of the Interior, Apr 27, 2021, https://youtu.be/2bkliew6aj8

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