Looking like it just finished a meal this Red tailed Hawk was right back at it. Watching the fields intently for a mouse to stir and trying to make the most of the short days this time of year.
Month: December 2019
Goldfinch and Thistle
An American Goldfinch was working over these thistle plant pretty good for an afternoon meal and from the looks of it this chubby guy is well versed at extracting thistle seeds.
Nose to the wind
A mule deer buck with nose to the wind taking in his surroundings with all his senses.
Wishing you a great weekend and a little time outside to take in yours.
Song birds are shrinking
Bergmann’s rule posits that populations and species of larger sizes are found in colder regions while in warmer regions species are smaller.
A study published yesterday in the Journal Ecology Letters reports that over the pervious four decades there has been, on average, a 2.4 percent decrease in the size of the length of the tarsus bone, a standard marker for bird size, in a sample population of over 70,000 birds from 52 species. The changes in tarsus length were correlated with the increase temperature. The lead authors of the study suggested two explanations for the decrease in body size.
In addition, the study found consistent increases in the wing length of 1.3 percent in 40 of the species. The reason for in increase in wing length is unclear but the authors hypothesized that increasing wing length may represent a compensatory adaptation to maintain migration as reductions in body size have increased the metabolic cost of flight. Like many of the consequences of climate change, the changes measured in bird size, are not perceptible to the naked eye.
There is a good summary of the study here by the Audubon society.
Click any image for slide show.
Beauty
She’s a beauty don’t you think?
There is just something special, call it perfection if yo will, about how pronghorn fit in so well with the dry fall grasses in their habitat. A beauty that is laid bare and obvious. A beauty in nature’s design. A beauty we could perhaps call truth.
Mammoth Monochromes
A monochrome afternoon on monochrome late November day. The air had a bit of chill and the sky full of cloud yet not threatening in any way.
Peeking between trees for a wonderful views.
A few inches of snow still on the ground from a recent storm letting you know real winter is only a storm away.
Big views across terraces where the earth demonstrates it is indeed alive.
A beautiful afternoon despite the flatness of the sky.
Seeking Solutions: A global deal for nature
As humanity marches on seemingly ignorant, yet keenly aware, the earths climate continues to warm faster than predicted and the sixth-extinction event picks up momentum like a snowball rolling down hill one group of scientists recently published a paper titled “A Global Deal For Nature: Guiding principles, milestones, and targets” in the journal Science Advances proposing a solution to put a halt to our global crises. In this paper the authors make the case that:
“the most logical path to avoid the approaching crisis is maintaining and restoring at least 50% of the Earth’s land area as intact natural ecosystems, in combination with energy transition measures.”
The authors clearly state that measures to protect ecosystems, biodiversity and any aversion or mitigation of anthropogenic climate change is a time bound matter and action must come sooner than later.
The paper lists five major goals of the project:
(3) maintain ecological function and ecosystem services
(4) maximize carbon sequestration by natural ecosystems
In addition the paper gives clear scientific evidence for their proposal and priorities that include: protecting biodiversity, mitigating climate change and reducing future threats. This is a well presented paper and one clearly worth reading.
A short article summarizing the project can be found here and is a good jumping off point prior to reading the whole study. It’s a beautiful world and diverse world and something too important to loose.
Click image to view slideshow.
References:
1) A Global Deal For Nature: Guiding principles, milestones, and targets.
Townsend’s Solitaire
One of our frequent winter visitors is the Townsends Solitaire. Usually sitting high up on a tree or on top of a juniper bush singing either a wonderful melodious song or calling out a high pitched tew-tew-tew.
Morning Color
Finding a bit of color on a Monday morning along narrow gauge terrace. The sun peeking though steam and lighting up the rock. Monday morning color at its finest.
The Fungus Among Us
I have always found mushrooms fascinating life forms. Not plant, not animal yet vitally important for the health of both plants and animals. However, they are a bugger to photograph yet I never stop trying.
Paul Stamets wrote a great book on Fungus call “Mycellium Running” and delivered a very interesting TED talk several years ago:
nature has no boss 
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