Tag: utah

Fish Eating Northern Harriers

 As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, the winter of 2008 was a particularly brutal one in northern Utah.  During January and February there was much more snow than usual and it was bitterly cold.  During most winters our Northern Harriers rely primarily on voles as a food supply but in 2008 with the voles under the deep crusty snow our harriers were desperate for food.  Birds of North America Online provides extensive information on the dietary habits of harriers.  It lists small to medium-sized mammals (primarily rodents), birds, reptiles and frogs as harrier food sources, stating further that the diet of harriers during winter in their northern range (which includes northern Utah) consists of voles “almost exclusively”.  I can find no mention of harriers eating fish, ever! Each year in early February some of our wetlands managers treat some of our ponds with rotenone (a chemical that prevents oxygen from being absorbed across fish gill membranes) in an effort to control the invasive and damaging carp that do so much damage to the emergent vegetation which is so vital for waterfowl.  So, in 2008 for a few weeks, our desperate and starving harriers began to eat fish!  In the three winters since then I have never seen harriers eating fish even though the dead carp are always plentiful after the rotenone kill.    1/1250, 1/1000, ISO 500 Many of the carp are brought to the shores or ice surface by Bald Eagles which makes them available to the harriers who generally cannot retrieve them from the water.      1/1250, f/8, ISO…

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Long-tailed Weasel – Efficient Hunter and Cannibal

Long-tailed Weasels are obligate carnivores (eat meat exclusively), preying largely on smaller rodents but also take rabbits, chipmunks and birds – including poultry.  They take down prey several times their size and occasionally go on killing sprees triggered by the smell of blood. Long-tailed Weasel, summer molt Their long black tipped tail, slender bodies and darker brown coloration above with creamy white ventral parts are identifying features.  The very similar Short-tailed Weasel is smaller and has whiter feet. In this case the prey is another weasel While driving the loop road at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge this weasel ran in front of us carrying another weasel that it had apparently killed.  Weasels are cannibalistic at times and I’m relatively certain that this kill was destined as a meal rather than the kill being made simply out of aggression because the winning weasel was very reluctant to abandon its prize even with us very close.  It took a great effort for the weasel to carry its long-bodied kin through the grasses and reeds and it simply would not abandon it. Hopping with it’s prey Here you can get a feel for how difficult it was to drag the long body through all the obstructions so most of the time it would hop forward, one jump at a time, presumably with its burrow as a goal. Long-tailed Weasel, winter molt As winter approaches, northern weasels molt to white (while retaining the black tipped tail) – the advantage of this is obvious.  Interestingly, many weasels living in the southern part of their range…

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Tree of Death (warning – graphic!)

 In late January my friend Mia and I made the drive to the Promontory area north of the Great Salt Lake in a quest for Golden Eagle photos.  We did find some eagles but were definitely unprepared for what else we stumbled upon.   Second warning – most of these photos are graphic and may be profoundly disturbing to some.  If you proceed further in this post, please – no complaints about what you’ve seen.  You have been twice forewarned.       A misleadingly idyllic scene What we found was the kind of country that I love – wide open spaces, big skies, blissful silence and isolation.  The setting reminded me of the area around Cut Bank, Montana where I grew up.      Tree of death So what a shock it was to come around a bend in the dirt road by this little reservoir and find such a horrific scene!  Someone had apparently shot two Red Foxes, a domestic cat and a Common Raven and deliberately hung them in this tree right next to the road as some sort of a sick trophy display.     First Red Fox in tree This Red Fox had been hung by its neck in a fork of branches.     Second Red Fox in tree This one was simply draped over a stronger branch, very close to the road and with no obstructing branches between the fox and everyone who was forced to look at it as they came around the curve in the road.     Cat impaled on fence post…

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Bald Eagle Serendipity

  This is another blog post that will be more about the experience of the photographer than about the quality of the images. My good friend Mia and I spent two days this week looking for eagles – both Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles.  We found several of each species but it was a frustrating experience – driving large distances (over 500 miles) and then having bad light, bad luck, bad timing and lots of fog.   Then, an unexpected surprise!   Bald Eagle waiting for us to get home Immediately after getting home I noticed several neighbors down the street looking up in the direction of the large elm tree in my side yard.   I ignored them at first but they persisted in staring so I followed their gaze and couldn’t believe what I saw toward the top of the tree – an adult Bald Eagle!  I live in suburban Salt Lake City and have never seen an eagle in my neighborhood in almost 25 years.   Of course, both Mia and I got out our photo gear and spent the next hour or so photographing the bird.  It was challenging to get good images because of the steep angle and the fact that the eagle was buried in the tree with branches in front and all around.  There were a few angles where we could get an almost unobstructed look at the bird but even then the background is very busy and there are shadows on the eagle.      Wing stretch The eagle was very relaxed in our presence, even…

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Northern Harriers Battle over a Mallard

Occasionally we have brutally cold winters here in northern Utah.  It’s my opinion that unusually cold temperatures when combined with thick crusted snow gives harriers little access to their staple food around here – voles.  Survival then becomes tenuous for the harriers and they’re forced to move on to other food sources like small birds, dead carp and waterfowl.   When a large meal like a carp or duck is available many harriers often fight over the food item and they do so with ferocity.   During less stressful times of the year I often see these birds skirmish but then it almost seems like a playful interlude that they do simply for “fun”.   Not so when it’s very cold and food is scarce – then it’s deadly serious and incredibly interesting to observe and photograph. First, a disclaimer.  Some of the photos I’ll present here would wither under the scrutiny of critique because of cut off or clipped wings, missing eyes or heads, lack of catch lights and difficult and rapidly changing lighting conditions.  My intent here is to show the behavior with the best images I have but some of them do have obvious flaws.  The calm before the storm I didn’t see harriers make this Mallard kill but it was still fresh when I came across this bird on the duck.  At first I though I’d simply be photographing the harrier calmly enjoying its meal but I was very mistaken.   Thinking about challenging the larger bird for the meal It didn’t take long for other birds to challenge her for the Mallard.  Some were timid…

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Black-billed Magpie Nesting Behavior

This past spring and summer I had the opportunity to observe and photograph nesting behaviors of Black-billed Magpies on Antelope Island in northern Utah.  Magpies are common in Utah and much of the western US but they’re typically difficult to approach (and very challenging to photograph well because of the contrast of their coal-black and almost pure white plumage) but this pair of birds was so intent on their nest-building activities that they virtually ignored my presence.     Mated pair of Black-billed Magpies Magpies are monogamous and typically mate for life.  This is a mated pair on top of their domed nest in a sagebrush.  The male is on the left, the female on the right – males are about 20% larger than females so they are sexually dimorphic.  As you can see from the muddy bill of the female they’ve been actively building the mud-bowl found inside the nest.   Typically the male provides the heavier branches and sticks for the nest and the female delivers most of the mud for the mud bowl, which probably explains why the female’s bill is so muddy while the male’s is not.      Obtaining mud for then nest    The mud for the bowl of the nest was obtained wherever the birds could find it.  When we’d had dry weather they would have to fly quite a distance to get any but after a recent rain they would often get it very close by.  This bird has just scooped up a bill-full.  When it’s available they’ll sometimes use fresh cattle or bison dung in place…

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American Kestrel – The Killing Bite

I have watched American Kestrels consume their prey up close many times.  Usually that prey has been a vole but occasionally it’s been a small bird or mouse.  But until this day the prey had always been already dead when I arrived on the scene.  It was cold and snowy when I spotted this male kestrel with a mouse (I was surprised it wasn’t a vole) that was still very much alive.   As a side note I want to add here that this kestrel was not baited.  Many photographs are taken of raptors when they’ve been baited by mice (they can be bought at pet stores) that have been provided as an enticement by the photographer.  That was not the case here – I do not bait.       Male kestrel with live mouse It was obvious that the mouse was alive because it was struggling slightly, its tail was twitching and its eyes were open.  In my experience these birds often prefer a more stable perch than this while they eat their meal – something like a fencepost or pole that provides some kind of platform from which to eat.  So I didn’t think he would eat the mouse here and I was right.  He gave me time for a few quick shots and then flew off to another perch.     Kestrel on second perch He didn’t go far however and I was able to approach him again.  This next perch was also precarious to eat from because the wind was blowing and both perch and bird were swaying in the breeze. …

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Bald Eagles in Utah

Every winter hundreds of Bald Eagles migrate south from Canada and Alaska and winter in Utah.  They do so because of our relatively mild winters and they are able to find sufficient food here.  Typically they begin arriving in November and leave in March when the ice begins to melt.  They can be found in many areas of the state but a large percentage of them winter on the wetlands surrounding the Great Salt Lake where there are a number of bird refuges and other suitable areas to accommodate them.  Adult Bald Eagle in flight Each year I spend many hours at some of the Great Salt Lake wetlands photographing eagles.  What attracts them to some of the refuges is fish – lots of fish,  especially carp.  Carp are a nuissance for wildlife managers because they root in the mud of the shallow impoundments which makes the water cloudy and unable to transmit light to the bottom.  This disrupts the healthy growth of desirable plant species needed by birds so some refuges “poison” the carp, usually in mid-winter, with rotenone – a non-toxic chemical that forms a film on fish gills preventing oxygen transfer from the water to the blood which kills the carp.  Then it’s feast time for the eagles. Bald Eagles and gulls on the ice It’s common to see several hundred Bald Eagles from one spot.  One refuge counted 408 eagles.   I’ve personally seen 150 – 200 birds on several occasions. Immature Bald Eagle with carp This is why they’re here – fish!  Specifically, carp.  Lots of carp…

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Weather Loach in Utah – Another Invasive Species

  On December 12, 2007 I photographed this Common Goldeneye with a fish at Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area.  At the time I didn’t pay much attention to what kind of fish it might be and then just kind of forgot about it.  Male Common Goldeneye with unidentified (at the time) fish    The moment of capture Then, on October 2, 2008, I took some photos of a Snowy Egret fishing, also at Farmington.  Finally, I became curious about the unusual fish – noticing the atypical elongated almost eel-like body in particular. I made some casual inquiries of refuge personnel about fish species present there but didn’t get anything definitive that would match this fish.   More time went by, then I finally showed Justina Parsons-Bernstein some of the photos and asked her about the fish.  She is the Director of The Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay WMA and she was also curious as to what species of fish it was so she sent some of my images to a vertebrate specialist with the state of Utah.  He keyed it out as a Weather Loach. It turns out that the Weather Loach or Dojo Loach as it is also known (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is quite a remarkable fish.  The name Weather Loach comes from the fact that it is highly sensitive to minor changes in barometric pressure and when it perceives such a change its behaviour becomes erratic, active and animated.  Humans have kept them captive as a weather indicator for centuries.  They are a very hardy species, capable of surviving poor conditions by swallowing atmospheric…

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Northern Harriers Fight to Survive Harsh Winters

  Typically life is good for the hundreds of Northern Harriers who spend fall and winter in the marshes and prairies surrounding the Great Salt Lake after spending breeding season up north.  Here their diet consists almost exclusively of microtine voles (small rodents resembling mice).  These voles are incredibly abundant and relatively easy prey.  It’s quite unusual to see a harrier even attempt to catch a songbird or anything else for that matter.    Harrier hunting voles near the Great Salt Lake   However the easy life takes a major turn for the worse during unusually harsh winters with intense cold and deep snow packs.  During these times the voles spend most of their time underground eating roots and dried vegetation which means the primary source of food for harriers is suddenly unavailable just when they most need nourishment for warmth.  And since most songbirds (their fall-back food source) have either migrated south or have already succumbed to the many American Kestrels in the region, simple survival for the harriers is suddenly very precarious.  Now, out of desperation,  harriers begin to go for larger prey – ducks and coots for example.     Harrier on a duck kill frozen into the ice They aren’t able to take these prey often and when they do they can’t eat them quickly like they can a vole.  The result is intense aggression – fighting fiercely over food.  Typically I see very little true aggression(other than territorial squabbles) between harriers but all that changes when food becomes scarce.  A relatively large prey item will provide multiple…

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