Wild About Utah

March 22, 2012June 30, 2020

The Call of Springtime- Utah’s frogs and toads

Click to view larger image of Columbia Spotted Frog, Photo Courtesy US FWS — Single Chorus Frog
Photo Courtesy US FWS
Katherine Whittemore, Photographer

Columbia Spotted Frog
Photo Courtesy US FWS

Woodhouse’s toad
Photo Courtesy US FWS
Gary M. Stolz, Photographer

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

For me, nothing rings in the arrival of spring like a chorus of frogs and toads at the nearby wetlands. Male frogs and toads emerge from hibernation in spring to establish territories along the edges of wetlands, and the females return to find mates and lay eggs.

The most common native frog that can be heard in spring is the western, or boreal, chorus frog. It’s our western equivalent of the spring peeper in the east. The call of this tiny frog is unmistakable- just run your fingernail along the teeth of a comb.

The introduction of the American bullfrog west of the Rocky Mountains has contributed to declines in native amphibian populations. Adult bullfrogs are voracious eaters, consuming nearly anything that will fit in their mouths. Other tadpoles, smaller frogs, insects, and even mice make a tasty meal for a bullfrog. Their great ability to outcompete native frogs has contributed to their abundance among Utah’s wetlands statewide. Their low, humming call seems to fill the air in springtime.

Northern leopard frogs were once quite common in Utah, but it’s thought that they are in decline. As one of the largest native frogs, it has perhaps suffered the most from competition with bullfrogs. Still, leopard frogs can be found throughout Utah. Keep an ear out for their low tapping call.

The two most common toads in Utah are Woodhouse’s toad and the Great Basin spadefoot toad. Since toads are usually more terrestrial than frogs, they can often be found further away from water. The call of Woodhouse’s toad is enough to put anyone on edge in the middle of the night!

Spadefoot toads are very common at lower elevations in Utah’s deserts. But, they spend most of their time buried in the soil, emerging to breed only during spring and summer rainstorms.

Less-common species include the boreal toad and Columbia spotted frog among wetlands in the mountains, and southern Utah is home to the canyon treefrog and red-spotted toad.

The best time to listen for frogs and toads is just after sunset in an area close to water. To learn more about Utah’s frogs and toads, and to join a volunteer frog monitoring program, get connected with Utah’s Chapter FrogWatch USA on Facebook, or visit wildaboututah.org.

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

Images: Courtesy US FWS images.fws.gov

Text: Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.
Additional Reading:

Utah Conservation Data Center https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/ucdc/

FrogWatch USA. Field Guide for Northern Utah. Utah’s Chapter FrogWatch USA. Suzanne Zgraggen (szgraggen [at] hoglezoo.org)

https://www.aza.org/frogwatch/

https://www.aza.org/frogs-in-utah/

March 15, 2012July 18, 2022

A Grand Old River

The Colorado River from Dead Horse Point State Park, near Moab,Utah, USA Courtesy Phil Armitage, Photographer — The Island Acres Part of
James M. Robb Colorado River State Park
Fruita, CO
Courtesy Daniel Smith, Photographer

The Colorado River from
Dead Horse Point State Park,
near Moab,Utah, USA
Courtesy Phil Armitage, Photographer

Confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers
in Canyonlands National Park
Courtesy USGS
Photo by Marli Miller, Photographer

Confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers
in Canyonlands National Park
Courtesy National Park Service

Map of the Colorado River Watershed
by Karl Musser based on USGS data
This file is licensed under the
CCA ShareAlike 2.5 License.

Hi, I’m Holly Strand of Stokes Nature Center in beautiful Logan Canyon.

The Colorado River is the largest waterway in the southwest. 1,450 miles long, the Colorado River basin drains 248,000 square miles in 7 large states. In Utah, the river enters near Cisco south of I-70, winds its way through Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, then flows through Glen Canyon and exits south into Arizona.

Less than 100 years ago, the Colorado River wasn’t in Utah or even in Colorado. Until 1920, “Colorado River” referred only to the river section downstream from Glen and Grand Canyons. Upstream, it was called the Grand River all the way up the headwaters in the Colorado Rockies. Thus we have Grand County in Utah and the town of Grand Junction in Colorado.

According to Jack Schmidt, professor in Utah State University’s Department of Watershed Sciences and a longtime scholar of the river, the good citizens of the state of Colorado weren’t pleased with the Colorado River’s location.
So in 1920, the Colorado Legislature renamed Colorado’s portion of the Grand River, with a somewhat awkward result: The Colorado River began in Colorado, became the Grand River at the border with Utah and then became the Colorado River again at the confluence with the Green.

This arrangement did not last long –again because of a Colorado legislator. U.S. Representative Edward T. Taylor, petitioned the Congressional Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce to rename the entire river as the Colorado. Despite objections from Utah and Wyoming representatives and the U.S. Geological Survey, the name change was made official by the U.S. Congress on July 25, 1921.

The objections were legitimate: In the 1890s the Federal Board on Geographic Names established the policy of naming rivers after their longest tributary. The former Grand River of Colorado and Utah was shorter than the Green River tributary by quite a bit. So the Green river should have prevailed and the Colorado should have been one of its tributaries.

However, if you judge tributary primacy by volume, the Colorado wins hands down. 100 years ago, the upper Colorado (or former Grand River) had a significantly higher total flow than the Green.

But what’s in a name? Prior to widespread European settlement, the Grand River was known as Rio Rafael and before that, different parts of the river had numerous Native American and Spanish names. A thousand years from now the rapidly evolving Colorado could have an entirely different identity. The main thing is that Utahns can enjoy and appreciate the habitat, scenery and many resources that this important waterway provides.

Thanks to the USU College of Natural Resources and the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation for supporting research and development of this Wild About Utah topic.

For Wild About Utah and Stokes Nature Center, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Images:

JamesMRobbColorado_riverDanielSmith.jpg: Taken in the Island Acres Part of James M. Robb Colorado River State park by Daniel Smith and released into the Public domain.

DeadHorsePtSP_UtahPhilArmitage.jpg: The Colorado River from Dead Horse Point State Park, near Moab, Utah, USA. Photo by Phil Armitage (May be used for any purpose)

ConfluenceUSGSMarliMiller.jpg: Confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers in Canyonlands National Park. USGS Photo by Marli Miller.

ConfluenceNPS.jpg: Confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers in Canyonlands National Park. National Park Service.

Colorado River Watershed Map, by Karl Musser based on USGS data, licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License: In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. Official license

Text: Mary-Ann Muffoletto, Holly Strand, Content reviewed by Jack Schmidt of Utah State University’s Department of Watershed Sciences and a longtime scholar of the Colorado River.

Sources & Additional Reading:

Benke, A. C., and C. E. Cushing (editors). 2005. Rivers of North America. Academic/Elsevier. Amsterdam/Boston, 1168 pages.

Casey, Robert L. Journey to the High Southwest. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2007, p. 20.

Colorado Historical Society, Frontier Historical Society, www.bioguide.congress.gov

https://www.postindependent.com/article/20080325/VALLEYNEWS/68312863

”First Biennial Report of the Utah Conservation Commission, 1913,” Salt Lake City, Utah: The Arrow Press Tribune-Reporter Printing Co., 1913. p. 131.

McKinnon, Shaun. “River’s headwaters determined by politicians, not geography.” The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2004.

James, Ian, Scientists have long warned of a Colorado River crisis, The Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-15/scientists-have-long-warned-of-a-colorado-river-crisis

March 8, 2012January 24, 2021

Bald Eagles

bald eagle feeding, Courtesy and Copyright 2011 Bryan Olsen, Photographer — Bald Eagle Feeding
Copyright © 2011 Bryant Olsen

Bald Eagle in Flight
Copyright © 2011 Bryant Olsen

Juvenile Bald Eagle in Flight
Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene

Flying Immature Bald Eagle
Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene

Flying Immature Bald Eagle

Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene, Photographer

bald eagle in flight, Courtesy and Copyright 2011 Bryan Olsen, Photographer — Bald Eagle Feeding
Copyright © 2011 Bryant Olsen

Bald Eagle in Flight
Copyright © 2011 Bryant Olsen

Juvenile Bald Eagle in Flight
Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene

Flying Immature Bald Eagle
Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene

Flying Immature Bald Eagle

Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene, Photographer

When winter arrives in Utah, a number of our bird species hit the road – some flying thousands of miles to Mexico and Central America in search of a warm winter home.

But there is one notable bird that actually migrates to Utah in the winter – the bald eagle. In general, birds migrate because of seasonal food shortages. Think of the hummingbirds that rely on flower nectar and insects, which Utah cannot provide in winter, but which are abundant other times of the year. The same is true for bald eagles, whose main food source is fish. Winter comes on strong in Alaska and Canada, freezing lakes, ponds, and all but the strongest flowing rivers. So the birds travel to seek out the relatively mild winters found farther south.

One of the largest birds of prey you’ll see in our Utah skies, a mature bald eagle can have a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet and stand almost three feet tall. Only the golden eagle rivals it in size. Pairs are thought to mate for life, and they are also responsible for the largest nests of any bird in North America. One record-setting abode measured 9 feet wide, 20 feet deep, and weighed more than 2 tons.

And to think, we almost lost this incredible species. Since DDT and hunting heavily affected bald eagle numbers in the early half of the 20th century, the birds have made a truly remarkable comeback. From a low point around 4,000 individuals in the lower 48 states, they are now thought to number in the tens of thousands, and have been removed from the Threatened and Endangered Species lists.

Perhaps as their comeback continues, Utah will once again see these majestic animals make their massive nests here, fishing in our many rivers and lakes year round. For now, though, aside from a few rare exceptions, bald eagle enthusiasts will have to make the most of their short winter stay. To observe bald eagles, consider a visit to the Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay. Every year, the Bay plays host to hundreds of eagles, from November to March, and while this milder-than-usual winter has brought in fewer numbers of eagles, you may still be able to catch a glimpse. They will likely be heading north later this month, however, so don’t delay. And be sure to keep your ears tuned into the bald eagle’s haunting song:

[Bald Eagle call from https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections]

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.

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

Credits:

Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Kevin Colver
Photos: Courtesy & Copyright Bryant Olsen and
Courtesy & Copyright Terry Greene
Text: Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center, logannature.org

Additional Reading:

Parrish, J. and Walters, B., Editors. (2009) Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: Wildlife Notebook Series No. 3. https://wildlife.utah.gov/publications/pdf/2010_bald_eagle.pdf

National Geographic Society (2012) Animals: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
https://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/bald-eagle/

March 1, 2012June 27, 2016

Bird Bathing

Click for more a larger view of a Northern Flicker and two American Robins at a bird bath. Courtesy and Copyright 2012 Linda Kervin, Photographer — Two American Robins and a
Northern Flicker Drinking
Copyright © 2012 Linda Kervin

Three American Robins Drinking
Copyright © 2012 Linda Kervin

Click for more a larger view of three American Robins at a bird bath. Courtesy and Copyright 2012 Linda Kervin, Photographer — Two American Robins and a
Northern Flicker Drinking
Copyright © 2012 Linda Kervin

Three American Robins Drinking
Copyright © 2012 Linda Kervin

No songbird can be led to water, and you certainly cannot make them drink. Give them a birdbath, though, and many birds will drink and bathe with gusto, especially here in the arid West. As a yard ornament the idea is not so old; the word “birdbath” was first coined in the Gilded Age. At our birdbath, robins daily crowd the rim, as many as six at a time, alternately bobbing and thoughtfully swallowing. Few birds can suck in water with their beak immersed. Instead, they lift their head with a beak full of water which they drink down in a few gulps. The gray Townsend’s solitaire, another regular visitor, perhaps needs to wash down its winter diet of dry, tangy juniper berries.

Birds like to bathe, even in winter. Just why they bathe is not so obvious. Cleaning their insulative layer of down may keep it fluffy to trap maximum heat. After bathing, birds often nibble their flight feathers. This preening removes dirt, feather detritus and parasites, while realigning each feather’s barbs so that they lock together for flight. Feathers repel water not by oils, but through their fine structure. Some game birds, such as quail, take dust baths, squatting in a shallow dirt scrape to ruffle loose dust through their feathers. When quail were experimentally denied dust baths, their plumage became greasy and disheveled. Bathed, preened birds are dapper.

So what features make a good birdbath? It should be shallow, just an inch or two deep and placed two feet or more above the ground to thwart terrestrial predators. A nearby preening perch is helpful. The bath should be convenient to refill, both because bathing birds splash a lot, and also because changing the water frequently deters disease transmission. Our birdbath mounts to our deck railing and has a low wattage heating element that prevents freezing. If you are already feeding birds, consider adding a birdbath. The exuberance of a bathing bird is a joy to behold.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:

Text: Jim Cane, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Bird Notes from Sapsucker Woods, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2004, https://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/Members/BirdNote09–ProvideWater.pdf

Providing Water for Birds, Great Backyard Bird Count, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.birds.cornell.edu/bbimages/gbbc-email/ProvidingWater.pdf