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Grow Native!

Fire ChaliceCopyright 2010 Annalisa Paul
Stokes Nature Center

With the beginning of summer at our doorstep, many of us look out over our green grass yards and dread the coming heat that will endeavor to turn it brown and stale. One might begin to ponder if there is an alternative to these plants that fill our yards and demand so much of our water. In fact, there is.

Utah may be a desert, but not one naturally devoid of vegetation. Many plants have evolved to live within the bounds of the climate, insect pests, microbes and soil types specific to our region. Once established, many native plants need minimal irrigation beyond normal rainfall. And because they have coexisted for eons, natives have developed their own defenses against many pests and diseases, resulting in minimal pesticide use.

Backyards, gardens, parks, and roadsides planted with native plants also provide wildlife with a “bridge” to the natural areas that remain, interspersed among our heavily developed communities. As the cornerstone of biological diversity, native plants also do the best job of providing food and shelter for our local animals. Ready to get planting? Here are two natives that would be easy, attractive, and low-maintenance additions to many Utah yards or gardens.

Littleleaf Mock Orange is a compact shrub which produces clusters of wonderfully fragrant white blossoms. In the wilds of Utah, it is often found growing in rock crevices and dry, gravelly areas, so it will likely do well in those bare, difficult parts of your yard. It is browsed by mule deer and also provides shelter for native birds.

Little leaf Mock Orange
Philadelphus microphyllus
Image licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Photographer: Stan Shebs

Fire Chalice, alternately known as hummingbird flower, is a low-profile plant with bright red tube-shaped flowers. The plant’s nectar is irresistible to hummingbirds and can help attract a number of native pollinators to your yard.

As with all plants, the right native must be matched with the right spot. Thankfully, there are native plants that thrive in every habitat imaginable. And the best thing is, natives include all different types of plants from mosses and ferns to wildflowers, shrubs and trees. A little bit of research should help you find the best species for your hot, dry slope, that wet swale in the back, or the dry shade under your trees.

For those interested in learning more, the Alterniscapes Garden Tour on June 25 provides an opportunity to view gardens in Millville, Nibley and Providence that feature water-wise and native plants. For more information on native plants or the Alterniscapes Tour, please visit us online at www.wildaboututah.org.

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

Credits:

Photos: Courtesy & Copyright Annalisa Paul, Stokes Nature Center, logannature.org
Courtesy & Copyright: Intermountain Native Plant Growers Association, inpga.org
Little leaf Mock Orange image licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Photographer: Stan Shebs
Text:    Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center, logannature.org
For more information about the upcoming Alternascapes Garden Tour:
Cache Master Gardeners, Alternascapes Garden Tour, Saturday, Jun 25 – 11:00AM to 4:00PM, https://extension.usu.edu/cache/files/uploads/Alterniscapes%20Handout%20Bi-fold%20for%20Web.pdf

For more information about Utah’s native plants:

Utah Native Plant Society: https://www.unps.org

Utah Master Gardeners: https://extension.usu.edu/mastergardener/
Additional Reading:

United States Department of Agriculture, Plants Profile: Littleleaf Mock Orange. Found online at: https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PHMI4

United States Department of Agriculture, Plants Profile: Garrett’s Fire Chalice. Found online at: https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=EPCAG

 

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Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper
Courtesy US FWS and
Photographer: Dave Menke

An ancient Latin proverb declares that: “Nature abhors a vacuum”. Every naturalist comes to learn that Nature also loves an exception. Sandpipers are a good example. Coastal beaches bring sandpipers to mind, their flocks either loafing about the upper beach or manically advancing and retreating just ahead of the surf line. Every beachcomber can picture the scene.

Imagine, then, hearing this solitary call during your hike past some montane stream, lake or beaver pond.

[Spotted Sandpiper recording, hosted by Western Soundscape Archive, J Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah Copyright 2007 Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections]

Spotted Sandpiper Habitat
Courtesy & Copyright 2010 Linda Kervin

That sure sounds like a sandpiper, but isn’t the context all wrong? Here you can trust your ears and not your experience. When the bird flushes and flies away on stiff shallow wing beats, you’ll see that the calling bird was indeed a Spotted Sandpiper, easily recognized by the dark spots that speckle its pale breast. This bird is sometimes called a “teeter peep” too, because it bobs its tail incessantly. Its an odd bird, for it is the male Spotted Sandpiper who tends nest and chicks, while the female busily courts other males. That’s polyandry and among birds, its very rare.

Unlike its more coastal kin, the Spotted Sandpiper is right at home in Utah’s high alpine habitats, just so long as it has shallow water and meadows in which to search for its invertebrate meals. Maybe the Spotted Sandpiper is not so exceptional after all, for the upthrust limestones, shales and other sedimentary rocks that compose many of our mountains were deposited under ancient seas that once inundated Utah. Perhaps the Spotted Sandpiper is just exceptional for its late arrival at that prehistoric beach party.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:
Audio: Spotted Sandpiper audio courtesy and Copyright Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Photos: Courtesy US FWS, Photographer Dave Menke
and habitat photo Courtesy & Copyright 2010 Linda Kervin
Text: Jim Cane, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Spotted Sandpiper on Utahbirds.org, https://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/ProfilesS-Z/SpottedSandpiper.htm

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Blackbirds in Our Wetlands

Blackbirds in Our Wetlands
Male Red-winged Blackbird
Photo Courtesy US FWS
George Gentry, Photographer

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

Now that spring finally seems to be arriving here in Utah, marshes, ponds, and other wetlands have sprung to life. It’s impossible to walk by a wetland without seeing countless birds rushing about collecting nest material, feeding, or advertising and defending territories.

Two birds most commonly seen and heard in Utah’s wetlands are the red-winged blackbird [Red-winged Blackbird call, © Kevin Colver]and yellow-headed blackbird[Yellow-headed Blackbird call, © Kevin Colver]. As their names suggest, both are black birds a little smaller in size than a robin. The red winged blackbird has a red shoulder with a yellow bar below, and the yellow-headed blackbird has a bright yellow head.

Both the red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds eat the same foods, which primarily include insects during the summer, and seeds at other times of the year. They also both prefer to nest in stands of cattails, bulrush, or other wetland plants emerging from standing water. So, how is it that two very similar species of birds can coexist with the same habitat preferences?

Male Yellow-headed Blackbird
Photo Courtesy US FWS
Dave Menke, Photographer

Well, competition and exclusion might be better descriptions than coexistence. While the red-winged blackbird can successfully nest in a variety of habitats near wetlands, the yellow-headed blackbird specializes in nesting in the emergent wetland plants. This could be a disadvantage for the yellow-headed blackbird if it wasn’t for the fact that it typically nests in groups, or colonies, and are better able to defend a territory from intrusion by the more solitary nesting red-winged blackbird. So, in wetlands where only red-winged blackbirds occur, they are able to nest in the preferred habitat. But, when yellow-headed blackbirds are present, they force the red-wings to nest in less suitable habitat, even in tall trees far away.

While red-winged blackbirds can often be seen year-round in Utah, the yellow-headed blackbird is usually only here for the summer breeding season. So, think of it as if we were red-winged blackbirds and our distant, out-of-state cousins came to visit for the summer. They get the most comfortable beds in the house, and they eat all of our favorite foods. But, come the end of summer, they head back south, and we can enjoy our homes to ourselves.

To see photos of the two blackbirds mentioned in this program, please visit wildaboututah.org.

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

Credits:

Audio: Blackbird calls courtesy and Copyright Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Images: Courtesy US FWS: https://Images.fws.gov
Text:     Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.
Additional Reading:

Miller, R. S. 1968. Conditions of Competition Between Redwings and Yellowheaded Blackbirds. Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Feb., 1968), pp. 43-62.

Minock, M. E., and Watson, J. R. Red-Winged and Yellow-Headed Blackbird Nesting Habitat in a Wisconsin Marsh. Journal of Field Ornithology, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Summer, 1983), pp. 324-326.

 

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Owls and iPods

Great Horned Owl and Chick, Courtesy US FWS Digital Library, George Gentry Photographer
Great Horned Owl and Chick
Photographer: George Gentry
US FWS Digital Library

Hi I’m Holly Strand.

In early spring, my friends and I went owling in a northern Utah canyon. We were hoping for modest success—just to see or hear a northern pygmy or great horned owl — both common owls in our area.

To better the odds we brought an iPod with prerecorded owl sounds. We played the northern pygmy call for 20-30 second intervals and listened intently in between intervals.

After 10 minutes of off-and-on playbacks we heard an answering call from a nearby conifer grove. We were ecstatic that we had made contact with an actual owl. But wait! Was it an owl we heard or just another iPod user?

Pygmy Owl, Courtesy US FWS Digital Library, Bob Miles Photographer
Pygmy Owl
Photographer: Bob Miles
US FWS Digital Library

According to David Sibley, author of the Sibley Guide to Birds, the proliferation of digital audio devices and recorders among birders has both pluses and minuses. On the plus side, you can often entice certain birds out of hiding using playbacks. For example, if a territorial male thinks a rival bird is threatening to encroach on its territory, he may come out to confront the intruder. Or he may sing his “I’m Here, So Stay Away” song. A female bird might approach the recording source as a potential date. Using playbacks, you can target specific species to see or hear without disturbing others.

On the flip side, overuse of these playback devices can cause unnecessary stress and distraction in the target birds—and annoyance among other birders. In one study, the use of playbacks upset the avian apple cart by causing high-ranking black- capped chickadee males to lose status. The rest of the flock perceived them as losers as they were unable to drive away an unwanted phantom intruder.

Because the widespread use of recorded playbacks is relatively new, proper etiquette is still evolving. But here are some key points.

  • Keep the volume low and use only occasional snippets of sound—less than 30 seconds at a time. Leave a long pause between snippets. Definitely do not broadcast loud or continuous sound.
  • It is illegal to disturb endangered or threatened species. And these recordings can be interpreted as disturbance. So stick with sounds of non-threatened species.
  • Finally, check the rules at your birding location. The use of playback is prohibited in some parks and refuges.

For source material and websites with bird sound recordings, go to www.wildaboututah.org.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Photos: Courtesy US FSW Digital Media Library
Text: Holly Strand

Sources & Additional Reading:

Sibley, David. 2011. The Proper Use of Playback in Birding. Sibley Guides: Identification of North American birds and trees. https://www.sibleyguides.com/2011/04/the-proper-use-of-playback-in-birding/ [Accessed May 19, 2011]

Recordings:

Soundscapes for Birders by Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections

https://www.xeno-canto.org/ shared bird sounds from the whole world

Beletsky, Les, editor. 2010. Bird Songs Bible: The Complete, Illustrated Reference for North American Birds Contains digital audio player.

Ipods and mp3 apps:

iBird https://www.ibirdexplorer.com

Audubon Birds Field Guide https://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html

The Sibley eGuide to the Birds of North America https://www.mydigitalearth.com