Vertebrates Archives - Page 88 of 125

June 26, 2014July 13, 2026

Sandhill Cranes, Utah’s Meadow Dancers

Sandhill Crane Pair, Grus canadensis, Courtesy US FWS, Justine Belson, Photographer — Sandhill Crane Pair
*Grus canadensis*
Courtesy US FWS,
Justine Belson, Photographer

Cranes of the Swaner Nature Preserve by Michael Flaherty, Nesting cycle of Sandhills Cranes, Swaner Nature Preserve, Park City, UT

Hi, this is Mark Larese-Casanova from the Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.

The grace of sandhill cranes draws our attention when we see them in the marshes, meadows, and fields across northern Utah. As one of the tallest birds in the state, the sandhill crane is hard to miss. They’ll glide low over farm fields, with their large slate-grey bodies and red caps making them difficult to mistake with any other bird.

Northern Utah is near the lower end of the sandhill crane’s breeding range, so we’re fortunate to see them. They’ll arrive to Utah beginning in March, and stay for the summer breeding season.

Sandhill cranes develop pair bonds for life, and their choice in mates is influenced by elaborate courtship dances. Crane dances are like awkward avian ballet, with an assortment of bows, flapping wings, and leaps into the air with wings outstretched. At times, sticks or plants are grasped with their long, dagger-like bills and tossed into the air. At up to four feet tall with a wingspan of five feet, the sandhill crane as it dances is quite a sight to see!

Sandhill cranes are often heard before they’re seen. Their loud, rolling trumpets fill the air, even for a couple miles. Males and females call in unison, as a loud duet that helps reinforce their pair bond.

Once a suitable nest location is found on the ground or on shallow water, both the male and female toss plant material over their shoulders to build their large nest. As spring now fades to summer, sandhill cranes can be seen strolling through farm fields with their young colts, encouraging them to feed, and protecting them from predators. While the dance of the sandhill cranes has mostly ended, their elegance hangs in our memory until next year.

As Aldo Leopold wrote in A Sand County Almanac, “our appreciation of the crane grows with the slow unraveling of earthly history… And so they live and have their being- these cranes- not in the constricted present, but in the wider reaches of… time. A crane marsh holds a paleontological patent of nobility, won in the march of aeons.”

For Wild About Utah, I’m Mark Larese-Casanova.

[End with Kevin Colver, WesternSoundscape.org sandhill crane call again https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=1117102&q=sandhill+crane]

Credits:

Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson Leaping Lulu
Images: YouTube video Courtesy and Copyright Michael Flaherty, Park City. UT
Audio: Copyright Kevin Colver
Text & Voice: Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.

Additional Reading:

References:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Sandhill Crane. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/sandhill_crane/lifehistory

Leopold, A. 1986. A Sand County Almanac. Ballantine Books. https://www.amazon.com/County-Almanac-Outdoor-Essays-Reflections/dp/B00J5SEZ6S

National Wildlife Federation. Sandhill Crane. https://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/birds/sandhill-crane.aspx

Tekiela, S. 2003. Birds of Utah. Adventure Publications, Inc. Cambridge, Minnesota. https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Field-Guide-Identification-Guides/dp/1647554071

Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Wildlife Resources. Sandhill Crane. https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=antigone%20canadensis

US Geological Survey. Sandhill crane summer distribution map. https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/htm96/map617/ra2060.html

Photos:
Category:Grus canadensis, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Grus_canadensis#mediaviewer/File:Grus_canadensis,_two,_Bosque_del_Apache_NWR.jpg

Category:Grus canadensis, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Grus_canadensis#mediaviewer/File:Sandhill_Crane_in_Love^_%28_Grus_canadensis_pratensis_%29_-_Flickr_-_Andrea_Westmoreland.jpg

A Sandhill Crane flying at Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge, Dayton, California, USA., Courtesy USFWS, Steve Emmons, Photographer, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Grus_canadensis_in_flight#mediaviewer/File:Grus_canadensis_-Sacramento_River_National_Wildlife_Refuge,_Dayton,_California,_USA_-flying-8.jpg

June 5, 2014March 4, 2026

Gardening for Hummingbirds

At long last, summer has returned as have the hummingbirds who zip around my garden, visiting flowers and chasing off intruders. (Kevin Colver: Songbirds of Rocky Mountain Foothills. Broad-tailed Hummingbird) Hummingbirds are a delight in the yard and so we plant flowers specifically to attract and feed them. In general, hummingbirds prefer long tubular flowers especially those that are red, orange or violet. But not all these flowers are created equally.Gardening for Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds visit flowers for their nectar which fuels their flight. Their long tongue reaches well beyond the tip of their needle like bill when they lap up nectar; capillary action then draws the sweet liquid up tiny grooves along the length of the tongue.

Floral nectar evolved to attract potential pollinators. The floral nectary is generally found inside the flower, at the base. When probing for nectar, floral visitors brush by the reproductive structures. Pollen adheres to parts of their body and then at the next flower of the same species, some pollen sticks to the female stigma. This transfer is pollination.

Many nectar-rich flowers grow well in Utah gardens. In the xeric garden, Penstemons are a good choice, as are Red Hot Pokers and Zauschneria, sometimes called Hummingbird Trumpet. In more moist sites, red flowered Heuchera is popular. Some red flowered cacti and Trumpet Creeper are good choices, as are Agastache and many Salvias.

Watch which flowers hummers visit. They will check out many blooms, but the ones they routinely return to are the ones yielding generous nectar. Many flowers produce little or no nectar, including some that look to us like good hummingbird flowers. Also, many horticultural hybrids and doubled flowers produce paltry amounts of nectar.

To encourage hummingbirds to remain in your garden, you can grow trees and shrubs for cover. Nectar is only part of their diet. For protein, they regularly eat insects and spiders small enough for their tiny bill so a garden free of insects is not desirable. They also appreciate a place to perch where they can digest, wait for a tasty insect to fly by and keep an eye out for potential rivals. So grab your trowel and lets feed those hummers.(Kevin Cover: Songbirds of Rocky Mountain Foothills. Broad-tailed Hummingbird)

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy and Copyright Jim Cane, Photographer
Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson as performed by Leaping Lulu
Text & Voice: Linda Kervin, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Linda Kervin’s pieces on Wild About Utah

Hummingbirds and How to Attract Them, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, https://wdfw.wa.gov/living/hummingbirds/

Hummingbirds 101, The Hummingbird Society, https://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/hummingbirds-101/

Coro Arizmendi Arriaga, Maria del, Hummingbirds of
Mexico and North America, In Spanish and English, CONABIO, 2014, https://www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/Difusion/pdf/colibries_mexico_y_norteamerica.pdf

Gardening for Hummingbirds
Gardening for Hummingbirds
Gardening for Hummingbirds

May 17, 2014March 4, 2026

The Raft River Mountains

Hi, I’m Holly Strand of the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University.

In each of Utah’s six corners you’ll find one or more remarkable natural features. Moreover, each corner represents a totally different geographic environment. No doubt you are familiar with turquoise blue Bear Lake in the upper northeast and the magnificent High Uintas near the angle formed by Wyoming. Flaming Gorge and Dinosaur National Monument flank the lower northeast corner. The ancient ruins and Monument Valley draw international visitors to the southeast corner. The numerous canyon parks in Utah’s southwest corner offer endless opportunities for exploration.

That’s five corners. But what do you know about the northwest corner of our state? I live in Northern Utah and I had never been there. Resolved to correct this omission I consulted a map as well as Joan Hammer of Box Elder County’s Office of Tourism. I concluded that the Raft River Mountains were worth checking out. The highest point in the County, Bull Mountain is here. And the 40 mile long range defines the southernmost section of Sawtooth National Forest.

The Raft River Mountains are unusual in that they run east-west. The normal pattern for Basin and Range country is north-south. The east-west orientation creates an important geographic dividing line. For Clear Creek drains the northern slopes of the Raft River Mountains. Then Clear Creek joins the Raft River which flows north to the Snake River. Thus the mountains form the sole—and very small—piece of Utah real estate that belongs to the great Colombia River Basin. The southern slopes are part of Great Basin. Rain or snow falling on this side is absorbed into the ground or evaporates.

Another interesting fact: The Raft River Mountains is where you can view some of the oldest rock in Utah. In this region, outcrops of Precambrian material are 2.5 billion years old. The largest and thickest exposures are in the eastern half of the range.

The Raft River Mountain peaks may not make it onto post cards. But when I saw them they were nothing less than beautiful. The lower slopes of sagebrush had the grayish-green tint that emerges all too briefly in the spring. Snow still gleamed on the 8-9000 foot summits. Clear Creek was running full through riparian forest that was just starting to leaf out. There were no people at the campground but wildlife was plentiful. I saw wild turkey, deer, jackrabbits and squirrels. A few pronghorn looked up as I drove out through the sagebrush. All in all, I found Utah’s sixth corner to be well worth a visit.

For pictures and more information about the Raft River Mountains, go to www.wildaboututah.org

For Wild About Utah, and the Quinney College of Natural Resources, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy and Copyright Holly Strand
Text: Holly Strand

Additional Reading

Doelling, Hellmut H. Geology and Mineral Resources of Box Elder County. Utah Geological and Mineral Survey. 1980. Bulletin 115.,

Stokes, William Lee. 1988. Geology of Utah. Salt Lake City: Utah Museum of Natural History. SummitPost.org Bull Mountain. https://www.summitpost.org/bull-mtn-ut/183282https://www.summitpost.org/bull-mtn-ut/183282 [Accessed May 13, 2014 and July 10, 2020]

USDA Forest Service. Sawtooth National Forest, Raft River Division. https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/sawtooth/recarea/?recid=5806 [Accessed May 13, 2014 and July 10, 2020]

Hylland, Rebecca, What are Igneous, Sedimentary & Metamorphic Rocks?, Glad You Asked, Utah Geological Survey, https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/igneous-sedimentary-metamorphic-rocks/

April 25, 2014July 13, 2026

Killdeer, the bird that lives dangerously

Hi, this is Mark Larese-Casanova from the Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.

The onset of springtime brings nesting birds in abundance. In the past week alone, blackbirds have been defending their territories in the marshes, goslings can be seen trailing behind their parents, and swallows are swooping and perching near their nests.
One bird that is impossible to ignore is the killdeer. Its call is loud, and easily recognizable.
[Audio Recording: Killdeer call, Audio file copyright 2006, Kevin Colver. All rights reserved, https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=1117069&q=killdeer WesternSoundscape.org:
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License] It’s no coincidence that its scientific name is Charadrius vociferous.

Killdeer are a type of plover, similar to the snowy plovers that nest along the shores of Great Salt Lake. The killdeer, however, is well at home in dry upland habitats. The most peculiar characteristic of killdeer is that they are often seen and heard in the most unlikely of places- dirt roads, parking lots, or even construction sites.

Killdeer nest on open ground, digging just a shallow scrape in the soil. Gravel roads are often ideal nesting habitat because killdeer eggs blend in well with nearby pebbles. The spotted eggs and young hatchlings are very cryptic, invisible to the eye even when they are underfoot. This dangerous breeding strategy can often lead to trampled nests. Or, if a predator has a good sense of smell, the eggs and young are easily eaten.

Although, the killdeer has a trick up its sleeve (well… its wing)! When a predator, such as a fox, approaches the nest, the adult killdeer feigns a broken wing while walking away from its nest. This draws the attention of the predator, which thinks it’s found an easy meal, away toward the adult. Once it’s led the threat far enough from the nest, the adult killdeer takes off in flight, taunting the predator with its call.

It’s very hard to see a killdeer nest even when it’s obvious the adults are near it. Keep in mind, though, that time spent looking for a killdeer nest is time that the adults are not tending to the eggs or hatchlings, which puts their survival at risk. A bird that lives so dangerously can use all the help it can get.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Mark Larese-Casanova.

Credits:

Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson Leaping Lulu
Images: Courtesy Wikimedia, Curt Hart as well as Clinton & Charles Robertson, Photographers
Audio: Courtesy Marriott Library, University of Utah & US National Park Service
Text & Voice: Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.

Additional Reading:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Killdeer. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/killdeer/id

Tekiela, S. 2003. Birds of Utah. Adventure Publications, Inc. Cambridge, Minnesota.
https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Utah-Field-Guide-Tekiela/dp/1591930197

Killeer, Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Services, Utah Department of Natural Resources. Killdeer. https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=charadrius%20vociferus