Vertebrates Archives - Page 99 of 125

July 12, 2012January 24, 2021

Utah Prairie Dogs

Click to view a larger image of a White-talied Prairie Dogs. Courtesy US FWS, Rhonda Foley, Photographer — Three Utah Prairie Dogs
*Cynomys parvidens*
Courtesy US NPS, Bryce Canyon NP

White-tailed Prairie Dog
*Cynomys leucurus*
Courtesy US FWS
Rhonda Foley, Photographer

Throughout certain areas in southwestern Utah, construction is currently underway. New neighborhoods and subdivisions are being worked on daily, with mounds of dirt displaced. But this isn’t your typical suburban development. Its inhabitants are only 12 inches tall and furry.

The Utah prairie dog is the westernmost of five prairie dog species in the US and is unfortunately the most threatened. Since 1973 it has been a regular feature on the endangered species list, though it was downgraded to ‘threatened’ in 1984 and populations continue to show signs of growth.

Utah prairie dogs are very social creatures, living in large groups called colonies or towns which consist of hundreds or even thousands of individuals and their vast networks of underground burrows. While the group forages for grasses, seeds, leaves, and insects, colony guards or lookouts take turns watching for danger. If a hazard is identified, loud barks echo throughout the colony and foraging dogs run for cover.

Earlier this spring, Utah Prairie dogs in Parowan made national news when the town started construction on a $300,000 fence to keep these industrious critters from burrowing under and buckling the local airport’s runway. Their threatened status means special care must be taken in removing the dogs from airport property and relocating them to nearby public lands. Airport personnel waited until the beginning of July, after this year’s offspring had matured and left home, to begin the specialized trapping and relocation process.

While some consider prairie dogs and their digging habits to be a nuisance, these diminutive creatures are an incredibly important part of their ecosystem. Ecologists have a name for organisms whose role is disproportionately large – a keystone species. In architecture, a keystone is the uppermost piece in an arch – the one on which all the other stones lean. Ecologically speaking a keystone species is one that supports many others that live around it.

It has been estimated that more than 170 species – many of them also threatened or endangered – depend in some way on the Utah prairie dog, generally for either food or shelter. For example, the quirky and unique burrowing owl depends upon abandoned prairie dog homes for constructing its underground nests. Black – footed ferrets, whose population was at one time reduced to only 18 individuals, inhabit abandoned burrows within a large prairie dog colony and rely almost 100% upon the rodents for food.

Other animals that are linked to the Utah prairie dog include badgers, coyotes, sage grouse, Swainson’s hawks, and kit foxes. Like its architectural counterpart, if an ecological keystone is removed the whole system is prone to collapse. Thankfully, with a species recovery plan in place, and a dedicated inter-agency group of supporters, the Utah prairie dog’s housing market continues to boom.

Thank you to the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation for supporting the research and development of this Wild About Utah topic.

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

Credits:
Images: Courtesy & US FWS, images.fws.gov
Courtesy US NPS, https://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/upd.htm

Text: Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon.

Additional Reading:

Hengesbaugh, M.G. (2001) Creatures of Habitat: The Changing Nature of Wildlife and Wild Places in Utah and the Intermountain West. Utah State University Press: Logan, UT,

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Mountain-Prairie Region. (2012) Endangered Species: Utah Prairie Dog. Available online at: https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/UTprairiedog/

National Park Service – Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. (2012) Utah Prairie Dog. Available online at: https://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/upd.htm

Carlton, J. (2012) In Utah, A Town Digs Deep to Battle Prairie Dogs. Wall Street Journal, May 6 2012. Available online at: https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304020104577384642186959960.html

June 21, 2012March 4, 2026

Looking for Nightjars

Click to view the larger image of Common Nighthawk. Courtesy Wikimedia and Gavin Keefe Schaefer, Photographer — Common Poorwill (foreground)
*Phalaenoptilus nuttallii*
Dusky Poorwill
*Phalaenoptilus nuttalli californicus*
Courtesy Wikimedia and
Louis Agassiz Fuertes (artist, 1874-1927)
US Copyright expired

Common Nighthawk
*Chordeiles minor*
Courtesy Wikimedia and
Gavin Keefe Schaefer, Photographer
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Common Nighthawk
*Chordeiles minor*
Courtesy US FWS and
Dave Menke, Photographer

Hi, I’m Holly Strand.

Citizen Science networks are proliferating across the globe. These networks conduct important research that could not otherwise be accomplished –And they do it using nonprofessional, mostly volunteer labor. An army of civilian data collectors can capture more data over a larger area at a relatively small cost. Aside from collecting data, participants can generate ideas, and help coordinate various aspects of a particular program. Many citizen-driven networks collectenvironmental data at prescribed locations. Wielding Smartphones with GPS receivers, anyonecan instantaneously and accurately determine their geographic coordinates to submit along with their observations.

The Audubon’s Society Christmas Bird Count is one of the oldest and most successful examples of citizen science networks. Since 1900 volunteers have been collecting information about local populations of birds. More recent examples include FrogWatch USA (for observing frogs and toads) Project BudBurst (for observing the leafing and flowering of plants in relation to changing weather patterns) and the World Water Monitoring Challenge (for observing water quality indicators).

One project that recently piqued my interest is the US Nightjar Survey Network coordinated by The Center for Conservation Biology in Virginia.

“What in the world is a nightjar?” you might ask. “Is it something you take camping so you don’t have to get out of the tent?” No. A Nightjar is a medium-sized plump-looking bird withlong wings, a broad head and a very short bill. Nightjars have short legs in relation to their bodies. So they aren’t great at walking. They are exceptional fliers though , catching moths and other insects in mid-flight.

Nightjars are very hard to see because of their camouflage plumage and because they are mostly active after sunset and before sunrise. Thus, you’d want to memorize their very distinctive calls if you are going to try to find them.

Two nightjars breed regularly in Utah. We have the common poorwill which sounds like this…[INSERT 3 CALLS OF POORWILL] . That’s the eastern whippoorwill without the whip. Another Utah breeder is the common Nighthawk which sounds like this …[INSERT 3 CALLS OF NIGHTHAWK].

The nightjar survey for Utah and other northern states begins June 27 and runs through July 11, 2012. Individual surveys are easy to perform and do not take more than two hours to complete.Surveyors work at night, when the moon is at least half full. You need to drive, stopping at 10 points along a 9-mile route. At each point, you count all Nightjars seen or heard during a 6-minute period.

To participate in a survey you can sign up for a Pre-existing route or design your own route. There are still many routes left in all parts of Utah.

For pictures of these extremely interesting birds and a link to the remaining Nightjar Surveyroutes 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:

Cleere, Nigel. 2010. Nightjars: A Guide to Nightjars, Nighthawks, and Their Relatives. Princeton University Press. https://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300074574

National Geographic Education Encyclopedic Entry: Citizen Science. https://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/citizen-science/?ar_a=1

[Accessed June 21, 2012]

Woods, Christopher P., Ryan D. Csada and R. Mark Brigham.2005. Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: https://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/032

United States Nightjar Survey Network (Center for Conservation Biology), https://www.nightjars.org/about/center-for-conservation-biology/

Utah Nightjar Survey Routes (Center for Conservation Biology), https://www.nightjars.org/about/center-for-conservation-biology/

Bird Song Recordings:

Common Poorwill links from WildSoundscape.org recordings collection at the University of Utah

Common Poorwill Phalaenoptilus nuttallii : Nathan Pieplow, XC11631. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/11631

Buff-collared Nightjar links from WildSoundscape.org recordings collection at the University of Utah 3 selections

Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor ; Andrew Spencer, XC14400. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/14400

June 14, 2012January 24, 2021

Hummingbird Nests

Click to view a larger image of a Broad-tailed Hummingbird. Courtesy and Copyright (c) 2010 Michael Fish — Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird
*Selasphorus platycercus*
Copyright © 2010 Michael Fish

Glacier Lilies
*Erythronium grandiflorum*
Copyright © 2010 Andrea Liberatore

Adult Black-chinned Hummingbird
incubating eggs in nest
*Archilochus alexandri*
Copyright © 2010 Lyle Bingham
(cell phone through spotting scope)

Young Black-chinned Hummingbird
with beak hanging out of nest
*Archilochus alexandri*
Copyright © 2010 Lyle Bingham

Click to view a larger image of a Glacier Lily. Courtesy and Copyright (c) 2010 Andrea Liberatore — Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird
*Selasphorus platycercus*
Copyright © 2010 Michael Fish

Glacier Lilies
*Erythronium grandiflorum*
Copyright © 2010 Andrea Liberatore

Adult Black-chinned Hummingbird
incubating eggs in nest
*Archilochus alexandri*
Copyright © 2010 Lyle Bingham
(cell phone through spotting scope)

Young Black-chinned Hummingbird
with beak hanging out of nest
*Archilochus alexandri*
Copyright © 2010 Lyle Bingham

The hummingbird feeders at Stokes Nature Center are a busy place this time of year. Little bullets of metallic green zoom in and out jockeying for position, while others rest or await their turn in the branches of nearby box elder trees. The birds are a great source of wonder and amusement for staff and guests alike.

June signals the start of nesting season for Utah hummingbirds. At this point in the year, the birds have mainly recovered from their lengthy migration from places as far away as Central America, and are ready to focus on their next set of challenges: establishing a territory, courtship, mating, and rearing young.

Hummingbird nests are a wonder all their own. Tiny and cup-like, they are generally found affixed to small branches near riparian areas. Nests are constructed primarily of plant materials and are lined with plant down such as the fluffy seeds produced by cottonwood trees. Materials used on the exterior of the nest vary from species to species. Black-chinned hummingbirds use leaves and flowers, while Broad-tailed hummingbirds are partial to decorating with lichens or shredded bark. Regardless of the exterior appearance, hummingbird nests have one important material in common – spider webs. Hummingbirds collect the webs and use them to plaster the outside of the nest, which serves two important purposes: acting as a glue that holds nest materials together while at the same time providing some flexibility that allows the nest to stretch and grow with the developing young.

Nests are occasionally constructed on the foundation of last year’s home, and two eggs around half-an-inch in length are laid and incubated by the female for about 16 days before hatching. Young will fledge and join their mother at your feeder about 20 days later. If nesting is successful, the family migrates south in the fall and will return to the same general area next May.

Finding food in early spring, however, is becoming more of a challenge each year to hummingbirds in the American West. A recent study published in the journal Ecology shows that hummingbird migrations and spring flower blooms are becoming out of sync. Broad-tailed hummingbirds in particular rely upon the nectar of petite, yellow glacier lilies – one of the first flowers to bloom in spring. Scientists have found that due to global temperature increases glacier lilies are blooming about 17 days earlier than they did in the 1970’s. The birds, however, haven’t altered their migration timing and so often arrive to find the flowers already in full swing. If this trend continues, scientists predict that within the next 20 years, the birds could miss the glacier lily bloom entirely. Hope lies in the hummingbirds’ ability to adapt– either by migrating farther north to places where lilies bloom later, or shifting their own migration time to match the changing bloom dates.

Photos of glacier lilies, Utah hummingbirds, and their nests, can be found on our website, www.wildaboututah.org. Thank you to the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation for supporting the research and development of this Wild About Utah topic.

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

Credits:
Images: Courtesy & Copyright 2010 Mike Fish
Courtesy & Copyright 2010 Andrea Liberatore
Courtesy & Copyright 2010 Lyle Bingham
Text: Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon.

Additional Reading:

Harrison, H. H. (1979) Peterson Field Guides: Western Birds’ Nests. Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston

Ehrlich, P.R., Dobkin, D.S., Wheye, E. (1988) The Birder’s Handbook: a field guide to the natural history of north American birds – The Essential Companion to Your Identification Guide. Simon & Schuster/Fireside Books: New York.

National Science Foundation press release, 05-30-2012, Where Have All the Hummingbirds Gone? Retrieved online at: https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=124345&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

Live Webcam of black chinned hummingbird nest:
https://www.livestream.com/hummingbirdsociety

Nature News, Evolution News and Views, David Klinghoffer, The Genius of Birds: Watch a Hummingbird’s Tongue in Action – See more at: https://www.evolutionnews.org/2013/06/the_genius_of_b073491.html

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

May 31, 2012March 4, 2018

Rubber Boas

Mention boas and we imagine steaming South American rain forests, home to emerald tree boas and enormous boa constrictors. However, the canyons of northern Utah are home to the rubber boa, one of only two native North American boas. Rubber boas range from northern Utah west to the Pacific coast and north to Vancouver. An adult rubber boa resembles a thin kielbasa sausage in size and shape, having both a blunt tail and head. Juveniles are the size of a crayon. A rubber boa’s leathery skin is the color of creamy coffee, its small scales giving it a rubbery texture. Like other boas, it has vestigial hind legs, called spurs, with which males stimulate females during mating.

Rubber boas are active at night during the summer. In spring they can be among the first snakes to come out from the talus slopes and rock crevices where they hibernate. In Cache County, rubber boas can be found basking from March through November. From April to August, pregnant females use these rocky habitats to maintain body temperatures around 88 degrees. When not pregnant, rubber boas stay remarkably cool for a snake, around 57 degrees. In late summer, females bear an average of four live young. They only reproduce every two to three years, so juvenile survival must be quite high. In captivity, rubber boas can live 30 years or more.

It’s hard to imagine these docile, slow-moving snakes as predators, but rubber boas eat mammals, birds, reptiles and eggs. Like other boas, they have no venom and kill by constriction. Rubber boas often consume whole litters of nestling mice, voles, pocket gophers, shrew and moles. The snakes fend off the protective rodent parents with their short, blunt tails, which often bear bite scars. Both rubber boas and rodents evolved in Asia about 45 million years ago which suggests that they have been predator and prey for a very long time.

Thanks to Andrew Durso, Utah State University herpetology student, for today’s essay.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy and Copyright Andrew Durso and Edmund ‘Butch’ Brodie

Text: Andrew Durso, Utah State University herpetology doctoral candidate, https://www.biology.usu.edu/htm/our-people/graduate-students?memberID=6753

Additional Reading:

Life is Short, but Snakes are Long: https://snakesarelong.blogspot.com/2012/04/utahs-boa.html

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=charbott

Cox DT & WW Tanner (1995) Snakes of Utah. Bean Life Science Museum, Provo, UT https://www.amazon.com/Snakes-Utah-Douglas-C-Cox/dp/0842523316

Ernst CH & EM Ernst (2003) Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. https://www.amazon.com/Snakes-United-States-Canada-Ernst/dp/1588340198