Podcast: Wild About Utah

The snow is melting down from the high country; the rivers, creeks, and streams are swollen with runoff and sediment; wildflower blooms are hitting their stride; and schools are officially offline. Summer has arrived ahead of its solstice again. How do we begin to navigate this new beginning in a time of extremely abnormal circumstances?

The hashtag “#StayHome had its moment…[b]ut quarantine fatigue is real,” writes Julia Marcus, professor of population medicine at Harvard Medical School. Americans are going to head for the outdoors, now; and in places like Utah, we feel we’ve been isolated from our playgrounds and sacred spaces for far too long. But how do we venture safely into the back of beyond, or, for that matter, the hidden wild spaces of our cities?

Experts at the Cleveland Clinic tell us that “it’s important to remember that the same rules of social distancing that you follow indoors still apply while outdoors.” For the most part, this should be relatively easy to achieve. Personally, I follow the parking rule: if I can’t find a spot to park my car at the trailhead or my blanket at the park at least six feet away from others, I’ll head somewhere else.

The Guardian Newspaper recently surveyed a group of experts on the pros and cons of wearing masks outdoors. The answer was not a blanket “yes” or “no” to the question of outdoor mask-wearing; but there are considerations individuals should make when considering the outdoor space they will be using and whether or not they should wear a mask. First, it’s important to note that viral shedding is more prevalent when taking deeper, harder breaths—as one does climbing a steep switchback or running along a trail. More droplets; more virus, they say. Experts recommend at least doubling the social distance when exercising outdoors and forgoing the trail altogether if you’re feeling ill. Even for those without symptoms, considering a mask is important. Asymptomatic spread is a known possibility, and “the purpose of the mask is more to prevent you from spreading the virus as opposed to keeping you from getting it,” said one expert to The Guardian.

Preliminary studies have shown that if we follow these guidelines when recreating outdoors and use common sense strategies to limit exposure to those outside of our household, we’re at a relatively low risk of contracting the virus. The New York Times reports that “one study of 1,245 coronavirus cases across China found that only two came from outdoors transmission.”

As a backcountry enthusiast, the current pandemic has challenged me to rethink my recreation. I can no longer call up a buddy and set up a car shuttle for a 15-mile ridge walk or a leisurely paddle down the river. I’ve had to find the quiet spaces between neighborhoods while the snow melts and the curve flattens. But, in the process, I’ve been reminded of how to stretch a half-mile of trail into a half-day adventure, of the sounds of nature when man-made noise is absent, and of the care we have for one another’s safety when a family walks single file on the sidewalk past me.

I’m Josh Boling, and I’m Wild About Utah

Credits:

Photos: Courtesy NPS/Matt Turner
Sound: Courtesy & Copyright Kevin Colver
Text: A New Beginning: Josh Boling, 2018

Additional Reading

Coronavirus (COVID-19), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Coronavirus, State of Utah, https://coronavirus.utah.gov/

McGregor, Nick, Want to Get Outside During COVID-19? Here’s How To Do It Safely, University of Utah Health, https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/postings/2020/04/exercise-during-covid19.php

Sullivan, Peter, Evidence mounts that outside is safer when it comes to COVID-19, The Hill (Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., A Subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.), May 6, 2020, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/496483-evidence-mounts-that-outside-is-safer-when-it-comes-to-covid-19

Kaufman, Kenn, As Coronavirus Sows Turmoil and Fear, Seeking Solace in Nature’s Calendar, Audubon Magazine, March 30, 2020, https://www.audubon.org/news/as-coronavirus-sows-turmoil-and-fear-seeking-solace-natures-calendar

The stunningly beautiful evening grosbeaks are mystery birds that come pouring from the canyons to invade our urban areas on a daily cycle- an eruptive population here in Cache Valley. I always hear their loud chirp notes high above, often beyond sight. They alight in towering trees where they feed and converse with chirps and trills all the while. Highly social, evening grosbeaks are unlike their four solitary grosbeak cousins.

Their behaviors leave me puzzled. – Why this daily ritual of flying back and forth from rural to urban? Where and when do they nest? Do they nest close together given their flock behavior? Are they urban or rural nesters? I was able to find some answers, but there are yet many gaps in on their behaviors and highly variable populations.

The Evening Grosbeaks were of much interest from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, resulting from its eastward range expansion. Comparatively few recent studies have been conducted other than breeding ecology and behavior in Colorado during the 90’s. They were formerly restricted to the western United States but have expanded their range eastward across the country, perhaps a result of the establishment of box elder trees in eastern cities with abundant seeds that persist through the winter, and outbreaks of eastern forest insects which they feast on.

As is the case with many irruptive, nomadic species, it is difficult to determine their true population. Unfortunately, this bird has almost disappeared from the east once again, and has all but disappeared in the Appalachian Mountains and has suffered heavy declines elsewhere. A focus on understanding what is driving population trends is needed for developing conservation strategies to help it recover.

Potential causes of the Evening Grosbeak’s decline are tar sands mining, which has destroyed large swaths of its Canadian boreal forest breeding habitat. Pesticides used to control spruce budworm, an important food for Evening Grosbeak, may also be a factor. Large numbers are killed by window collisions, and cars during winter, when they gather on roadsides to pick up road salt and grit.

During the breeding season, their behavior is quite secretive, and courtship occurs without elaborate song or display. This secretiveness makes it difficult to study this species’ life history. They breed in high altitude and high latitude various forest types throughout North America. Nests are typically located high up in trees, on horizontal branches well out from the trunk. The female builds the nest, which is a loose saucer of roots and twigs lined with fine grass, moss, rootlets, needles, and lichen. Both parents, generally monogamous, help feed the young. They forage in treetops for insect larvae during the summer, buds in spring, and seeds, berries, and small fruits in winter. They sport heavy, strong beaks which can crack open the toughest shells, including cherry pits- a favorite. Evening Grosbeaks are known to snip off the twigs of Sugar Maple trees and sipping the sweet sap- yum!

As birders and citizen scientists, we must document all we can to supply the much needed dearth of data on this marvelous bird, and report it to www.ebird.org

This is Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon- and I’m wild about Utah and its evening grosbeaks!

Credits:

Pictures: Courtesy Pixabay, Alain
Courtesy US FWS,
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Evening Grosbeak, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Evening_Grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak, Coccothraustes vespertinus, Birdweb.com, Seattle Audubon Society, https://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/evening_grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak, Coccothraustes vespertinus, eBird.org, https://ebird.org/species/evegro