A white tailed buck slowly moves slowly through the fields of dried grass foraging on a few green shoots and the remains of a rocky mountain bee plant.
A regal fellow with head held high.
And a wonderful sight that brought some light to a cloudy gray afternoon.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Enjoying a bit of afternoon sunlight a Bull Elk wandered slowly by.
First sighted by birders in the lowland forests of Borneo over a decade ago the Spectacled Flowerpecker has now been studied and classified as a new species. The species was studied by Chris Milensky and Jacob Saucier from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History while conducting a bird diversity survey. A specimen was captured in the groups mistnet enabling the scientists to collect a DNA sample and confirm that the bird is genetically distant from other known species of flowerpeckers. It is the first new bird species to be found in Borneo for 100 years and a reminder that there are still discoveries to be made.
A quote from Milensky is also a reminder that while there are indeed innumerable scientific discoveries to be made what enables these discoveries is intact habitat for species to exist.
“the discovery of the Spectacled Flowerpecker reflects the boundless biodiversity of the Bornean forests. “Birds are pretty well-studied compared to other organisms, so whenever you find a new bird, you realize just how little you know. Who knows how many insects and invertebrates and other things are still left to be discovered in these forests?” he says. “There are so many other organisms out there that we certainly don’t even know about, that really do require habitat preservation.”
References:
1. Jacob R. Saucier, Christopher M. Milensky, Marcos A. Caraballo-Ortiz, Roslina Ragai, N. Faridah Dahlan, David P. Edwards. A distinctive new species of flowerpecker (Passeriformes: Dicaeidae) from Borneo. Zootaxa, 2019; 4686 (4): 451 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4686.4.1
3.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191017141049.htm
What seems like 5 is only 3 as the sun sets earlier day by day.
No longer Autumn by any means yet winter has yet to fully show it’s face.
Ahhhh…. those Late November Days.
Each winter we are kept good company by at least one and sometimes two Rocky Mountain Cottontails Rabbits which collectively go by the moniker of winter bunns. This years bunn looks happy and healthy but bunny’s beware fox and bobcat tracks have been spotted nearby.
A fine looking Mule Deer Buck takes a moment to relax after a chilly night.
Wishing you a fine weekend.
A recent article presented on CNN titled “The insect apocalypse is coming: Here’s what you can do about it.” reports that up to 41% of insect species may face extinction in the coming decades. A major source for this article was a study authored by Dave Goulson at the University of Sussex in the UK. His report is titled “Insect Declines and Why They Matter.
Dr Goulsons report begins with a statement which will likely hit home to many of you
“In the last fty years, we have reduced the abundance of wildlife on Earth dramatically. Many species that were once common are now scarce. Much attention focusses on declines of large, charismatic animals, but recent evidence suggests that abundance of insects may have fallen by 50% or more since 1970. This is troubling, because insects are vitally important, as food, pollinators and recyclers amongst other things. Perhaps more frightening, most of us have not noticed that anything has changed. Even those of us who can remember the 1970s, and who are interested in nature, can’t accurately remember how many butterflies or bumblebees there were when we were children.”
We all know that insects, like em or leave em, are responsible for pollination of three quarters of our food crops. Thus we can expect to pay dearly if insect populations decline as predicted.
Dr Goulson is not alone in his assessment of the rate of potential insect decline. A review published by Francisco Sánchez-Bayo and Kris A.G.Wyckhuys titled “Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers” reaches similar conclusions citing habitat loss, pesticide use, invasive species and climate change as primary drives of insect loss.1
Both studies suggest we can do a few things to stem the decline in insect populations like:
1 Plant a garden using plants that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.
2.Create more insect habitat like a log or brush pile. These attract humble insects and invertebrates like woodlice, which recycle nutrients and act as food for birds and small mammals.
3.Voice your opinion to your local authorities. Push for planting native trees that flower on streets and parks and plant wildflowers in road medians.
4. Avoid using pesticides and encourage your friends, family and local government to do the same.
Besides their role in a functional ecosystem insects are darn cool to observe and photograph as well. At what cost we will begin see the beauty of life on earth.
Click on any photo to play slide show.
Reference:
1.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.01.020
A few links on creating a pollinator friendly garden. Yes we are going into winter but it’s never too early to think about next years garden.
https://www.fws.gov/midwest/news/PollinatorGarden.html
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/gardening.shtml
Always Quick to disappear into the darkness of the canopy of spruce trees nearby this Stellar’s Jay sat for just a short while in the rays of the afternoon sun exposing their brilliant blue feathers and wonderful black crest. While their calls may be harsh and somewhat scolding in nature they are a pleasure to see adding a big splash of color to brighten the day.
In recent posts we have highlighted findings from a couple of recent studies describing the dramatic decline in avian populations in North America over the last last 30-40 years. Like many of you, we see the decrease in avian population as a harbinger for the rest of life on earth predicting a massive decline in biodiversity resulting from the mass extinction of species of all kinds. Protecting ecosystems and thus the species that inhabit them will be no small task and indeed feels overwhelming.
One group that is attempting to protect and preserve biodiversity is The Half Earth project founded by Edward O Wilson. Their stated mission is to:
“conserve half the land and sea in order to safeguard the bulk of biodiversity and ensure the long-term health of our planet.”
Half-Earth recently held their annual conference and have posted videos of the lectures on their website. We are working our way through the lectures and hope you can find the time to view a couple that interest you. Be it large or small we need to find time to seek solutions even though we may feel overwhelmed.
Hitting that awkward teenage stage even happens to Bighorn Sheep.
nature has no boss 
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