Boulder Predator Spotted in New York City

Weightless, I spiral on unseen currents, loftily, without effort I leave the earth behind on a soft breeze absorbing the kissing sun up here blanketed from all sound save the soft flutter of my feathers. I oversee the earth, the continuous struggle for perspective and position, knowing my place– alone, and uninhibited, I choose my direction and remain aloft as long as it suits me. I, the hawk, free as air define my days, gliding unnoticed, dreamlike through broad loops, my shadow lost in the landscape…I, THE HAWK (c) Charles Albano,1998.

I was startled by a large Red Tailed Hawk while hiking on Boulder’s Sage Trail yesterday. I groped for my camera to take this shot as the graceful bird ascended from the marsh… 

The Graceful Bird Rose from the Marsh

Soon I noticed another smaller mate waiting above. They circled and dodged about each other in an aerial tango…

Two Hawks Dancing

The experience set me off to find out about the hawk. This tale eventually lead me to New York City’s Central Park… 

-This hawk’s scientific name is Buteo jamaicensis. The genus Buteo is from the Latin buteo (broad rounded wings). The specific label  jamaicensis is named for Jamaica, the country, and from the Latin ­ensis (which means belonging to a place). This refers to the range of the hawk, extending from Alaska to the West Indies. The Buteos are the largest of the hawks. They are the broad-winged, broad-tailed soaring hawks that are more readily seen because of their habit of circling high in the air or perching in dead trees or on telephone poles along the road.  

-According to A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors red tails are North Americas largest Buteos.  They grow to 17-22 inches (45-55 cm) long wth a wingspan of 43-56 inches (110-141 cm) and a weight of 710-1550 grams (18-53 oz) .

Red-tail on Fowler Trailhead

-A red-tailed hawk’s eyesight is eight times more powerful than a human’s eyesight. This allows the hawk to notice any slight movements from prey while soaring at high altitudes. They can spot a mouse from a distance of one mile. Red-tailed hawks have large brow ridges over their eyes. The ridge acts like a visor or a baseball cap to keep the sun out of their eyes when they hunt. They have upper and lower eye lids just like humans. They also have a third eyelid that slides in from the side and is clear. This nictitating membrane protects the bird from injury while going down into long grasses to grab prey. 

-Red-tailed hawks establish permanent, life-long pair bonds.The courtship rituals that have been observed often involve the male and female soaring high into the air and then circling one another in concentric spirals until they are nearly touching. Often times, both of the birds will grasp each others talons at the pinnacle of their ascent and then spiral towards the ground in a circular dive. As with most raptors, the female is nearly 1/3 larger than the male (called reverse size dimorphic) and more aggressive. 

-Red-tailed hawks consume a wide variety of prey, feeding primarily on rodents. They also prey on larger mammals, like rabbits and squirrels, in addition to reptiles, birds, insects, amphibians and fish. Red-tailed hawks will even attack rattlesnakes. 

-Red-tailed hawks are widespread across North America, ranging from Alaska to Panama, including islands of the Caribbean. Since the Red-tail is so successful in its ability to adapt to diversity in habitat, geography, and diet, it is especially well positioned to survive ecological disasters. In addition, “by virtue of its relatively low position on food chains, the red-tail was spared by the devastating population declines many other raptors suffered in the pesticide era. Further, its ability to adapt to human-modified habitats, and its general lack of interference with human interests, together with its tolerance for climatic extremes… probably equip it, as much as any raptor could be equipped, to withstand the challenges of a changing planet” (Synder & Synder 2006). Unlike many other species of raptors, the red-tailed hawk has been doing well in recent decades, its range has been expanding and its population increasing. 

-As an example of it’s adaptive success, one red-tailed hawk named Pale Male has been stalking Manhattan since 1993. This red-tailed hawk chose life in the Big Apple and founded a 25 hawk dynasty on the ledge of a swanky high-rise overlooking Central Park despite being evicted once in 2004 (for messing up the sidewalk).

Photo: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/

Pale Male and his mates and offspring are documented in PBS’ Nature and various books and articles including Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City. Is it is possible that the red-tailed hawk will be an evolutionary winner as the earth warms and the environment changes? After all, ” If he can make it there, he’ll make it anywhere”

Photo: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/

Boulder’s Heart-Warming Fleas

Sometimes the forest harbors interesting and important tales which can be reveled by asking a simple question.

I was out hiking on Boulder’s Ranger Trail near the Green Mountain Lodge today and I noticed some fine black “soot” on the sunny trailside snow banks. 

Trailside Soot? (with US Quarter Dollar)

I picked up a handful of this soot covered snow and the little specks hopped away like scared bunnies! On closer inspection and after some research I discovered the tale of an amazing little critter that I learned is called a Snow Flea (Hypogastrura nivicola). The simple question in this case was: why is the snow flea the only insect I have seen in winter?  This lowly 1/16th inch (1-2mm) animal had an interesting tale to tell… 

-Snow fleas are not really fleas, but belong to a group of primitive organisms called springtails (Collembola).  They date back well before dinosaurs, to the middle Paleozoic era, about 400 million years ago.  They are also known as scorpion-flys though they are harmless and lack wings. Not only is the snow flea not a flea, but it may not even be an insect. After studying the springtail’s primitive anatomy in detail, many scientists now consider the creatures to be a special kind of hexapod. Hexapods are the predecessors from which insects are believed to have evolved. 

Dining Snow Fleas

-Snow fleas, like all springtails, have an unusual appendage (a furcula) that folds under the abdomen and can be used to suddenly propel the insects several inches. This means a snow flea can jump about one hundred times its own length. That is a feat equivalent to a grown person jumping the length of two football fields! It can’t steer however so it often lands pretty much where it started. 

-They are found on every continent, and are the only insect that can be found near either pole. They look like black, oval-shaped specks to the unaided eye. They are most easily noticed when they gather by the thousands in a small area to feed on pollen, spores, algae, or bacteria on the surface of the snow. Despite their name, they cannot harm people or pets, and actually play a crucial role in building soil. 

Snow Fleas Meet George Washington

-Here’s the heart warming part of the story (literally). When the cold has removed other insects from the scene these little prehistoric bugs enjoy hanging out on the snow’s surface during winter’s coldest predator-free months. Like other forest inhabitants they use the subnivean and the warmth of  trees (a winter tale for another day) to stay warm.  Unlike the others however, they are able to avoid freezing in temperatures that would spell the demise of a normal bug. Researchers at Queen’s University examined how this little guy can withstand the cold and they discovered a  new antifreeze protein that may lengthen the shelf life of human organs for transplantation. The potent, non-toxic protein produced during the fleas evolution to protect them from freezing is capable of inhibiting ice growth by about six Celsius degrees. This would allow organs to be stored at lower temperatures, expanding the time allowed between removal and transplant. Who knows, maybe some day, thanks to a dose of  “snow flea antifreeze protein (sfAFP)”, we might all enjoy a vacation in the Arctic. 

Sometimes you can’t tell a bug by its cover! 

Colder Boulder and the Subnivian

 

Subnivean Critter Checks Surface Temperature (simulation)

Subnivian, subnivian,

That’s what we’ve all been livin’ in….

By we, I mean us little guys,
We’re hidden from the winter skies.

Down in between the snow and ground,
We insects and we mice have found

A habitat that’s kind of nice,
Protected from the wind and ice.

 -from Subnivian Samba  by Deb Gerace 

Boulder is in the grip of cold and snow. I admit that this is not my favorite time of year. At the urging of snow-loving Mandy the dog we trudged out to Chautauqua Meadow yesterday for a frigid hike. I did manage to capture yet another image of  The Flatirons before my fingers went numb and I ran back to the warm car feeling like a whimpy human…

Frigid Fall Flatirons Captured 6 December 2009 3:45 pm @ 39°59'46.17"N 105°17'15.42"W

When I looked at the blanket of snow in this picture I thought about surviving outside in this bitter cold weather and I remembered learning about the subnivean (under the snow) zone. Many small animals and even some insects take shelter in the space between the warm earth and a hardened snow ceiling. Here are some interesting facts about life under the snow… 

-Thanks to the remarkable insulating nature of snow, in winter regions that don’t have permafrost, the subnivean zone maintains a temperature of close to 32 °F (0 °C) regardless of the temperature above the snow cover, once the snow cover has reached a depth of six inches (15 cm). 

-Animals weighing about seven ounces or less tend to live in the subnivean zone and squirrels are the largest mammal found there. 

-Larger carnivores, like wolves, coyotes and foxes, listen for small mammals rustling around beneath the snow and then pounce, crashing rudely into the quiet and protective realm of the subnivean zone. 

-Resident birds also use subnivean spaces for protection against cold. Chickadees congregate in pairs and groups beneath the snow maintaining precious body heat. Larger birds including ptarmigan and grouse will submerge their bodies in snow to insulate themselves while resting. They often keep their heads above the snow to watch and listen for predators like hawks and owls. 

-The demands of winter may find some species abandoning their solitary lives to practice communal living. In the subnivean world, voles and mice stay warm by huddling together in grassy nests. 

-The subnivean environment is very humid. Under thin snow packs in spring, light levels permit limited photosynthesis for lichens and evergreen tundra shrubs. This is an important adaptation given the short growing season. Plants in the “greenhouse of snow” created by the subnivean cavity can start to grow weeks before neighbouring plants covered by deep snow. 

-For nearly half the year, plants and small animals find heavenly habitat sequestered beneath the snow in their subnivean world. So don’t think of a blanket of snow as a casket for the dead of winter, but as a warm, protective comforter for a universe of winter wildlife. -Eric Orff, Wildife Biologist

So I guess I should stop being so whimpy about the cold and just try to adapt.

Mandy explores subnivian...

But finds nothing of interest

Boulder Falls Trail…A Remembrance

As reported in The Daily Camera The City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department has decided to indefinitely close the popular Boulder Falls Trail after finding it too expensive to fix the area’s rock-fall danger. This historic spot near the confluence of the North and Middle Boulder Creeks was given to the City of Boulder by Charles G. Buckingham in 1914 for recreational purposes, hence “saving this beautiful spot from the encroachment of the great tungsten boom.” It is the furthest, shortest, most visited and most spectacular trail in the 130 miles of the Boulder trail system. In addition to it’s natural beauty the easy access from Boulder Canyon’s SR 119 made this the place to meet and greet people visiting and admiring Boulder from all over the world. If any of you are interested in exploring public or corporate fund raising for a solution to reopen this Trail please post your comments.

Fortunately I was able to capture this image from the base of the Falls last summer before the closure. I will miss this spot…

Boulder Falls
captured 30 June 2008 2:00 pm

@ 40° 0′20.44″N 105°24′22.77″W

Boulder’s Bears Get Drowsy

I admit to a weakness for bears. Maybe it’s because my urban childhood was filled with cute and fatherly images of Teddy and Smokey. It wasn’t until I moved here to Boulder Colorado that I saw a real bear and now I’m delighted to see them every fall. I still think they are pretty cute but not at all fatherly as the males have no role in raising cubs.

It was during my hike up the popular Mesa Trail from the Chautauqua Trailhead yesterday that I noticed a few excited folks acting like paparazzi photographing three black bear near the junction with the Bluebell Baird Trail. This mother and her two cubs seemed pretty sleepy and not at all concerned about having their pictures spread all over the blogosphere. Unaware hikers on the McClintock Trail came within 50 feet of a chubby cub fast asleep splayed across a tree branch. I was somewhat surprised to see these bears after our big snowstorm last week but I guess the return of warmer temperatures brought these drowsy Ursus americanus out from their den for another look around. Black bears are not true hibernators. During their winter dormant period they do not eat, drink, urinate, or defecate, but may wake up if disturbed.

Here are some photos of the event…

Paparazzi Photograph Bears

Drowsy Mom and Her Cub Watch Humans

Bear Cub Sleeps on Tree Branch

Black bears are amazing animals. To learn more about them you can check out The North American Bear Center and National Geographic websites.

A Fall Color e-Hike on Boulder’s South Side

After leaf peeping around Colorado’s high country I returned to one of my favorite places for fall color: Boulder’s South Mesa Trail. Now is the time to go to this magnificent place with your camera and a dog. While there are no aspens here, the sumac are bright crimson and the grasses and shrubs are rusting. Since the impending snow and cold will soon end the visual fireworks I went out to capture some pixels and to take a 3.5 mile virtual tour. Please join me.

To get to the trail head we go 1.7 miles west of Highway 93 (South Broadway) on Eldorado Springs Drive (Highway 170). The GPS coordinates are 39°56′19.56″N  105°15′29.56″W. It’s a spectacular drive as you head west towards Eldorado Canyon and the State Park. The trails are mostly dog friendly and a Boulder Voice and Sight green tag permits your dog to let you off leash in many places. On-leash areas are well marked and should be observed to protect wildlife and not tick off the bears and Rangers. I recommend printing the OSMP Circle Hikes Guide for a map and helpful information about regulations.

 

This trail head area has everything: pit toilets, streamside benches, beaches and picnic areas…

a little ditch for little dogs…

and a big creek for big dogs…

The trails from here provide sweeping mountain and prairie vistas as well as a rich cultural landscape.  Click on this link for a Cultural Resources Map  provided by Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department.

Mandy and I started our hike by crossing the bridge over the South Boulder Creek…

once over the Creek we  followed the Homestead Trail west past the Dunn House  (at moonset)…

Soon the trail heads north leaving the South Boulder Creek to cross a wide valley where the view west reveals Eldorado Canyon and the southern foothills…

 Climb the steps up the mesa…

where  forest views give way to spectacular foothill vistas …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandy appreciates Boulder’s convienent trailside water bowls…

After 1.1 miles we reach the junction of the Towhee and Homestead Trails…

Follow the Towhee Trail  for .2 miles along the creek toward Shadow Canyon… dog guardians will need to leash up for this stretch…

As we proceed west, the Matron appears at the entrance to Shadow Canyon. This rock is home to raptors and a challenge for climbers (but not at the same time)…

We continued west to the Shadow Canyon Trail. You can free your green tagged pooch since this is a Voice and Sight trail …

Once on this trail I went left (west) about .1 mile to get this photo of the McGilvery Cabin (good location, needs work)…

If you continue west on this trail for another .1 mile it leads to a colorful view of  The Matron. I took this at GPS coordinates °56′39.34″N 105°16′59.81″W…

The Shadow Canyon Trail west connects to the Mesa Trail at two places before continuing up the Canyon. We turned back east here and reconnected with the Mesa Trail in about .3 miles. This wide and level trail gently descends back down to the South Boulder Creek and South Mesa parking lot…

As if providing a visual finale this hike offers spectacular views looking west …

Thanks for the hike!

Boulder Wolfs Host Bears

This time of year in Boulder the black bears get so hungry they drop their shyness and make an appearance where ever they can find a good meal. They are preparing for a long winter of temporary hibernation known as torpor by chomping down about 20,000 calories per day.  Our Open Space trails provide lots of fruit and berries so off I went into the woods to capture some photos of these amazing creatures. It’s pretty easy knowing when you are getting close to a bear from the trail scat. After several days tracking bear poop for my readers my wife called with the news that three bears were hanging out in the locust tree in my front yard! While our trails can be a good source of calories,  our local neighborhoods can be a virtual bear buffet with fruit, berries and some very nice garbage and compost for desert. Here is the story of the three bears that came for an unexpected visit to the Wolf home…

At about 2:00 pm Mom and her two cubs were spotted in our tree:

Mom and Her Two Cubs Arrive (Photo: Wendy Wolf)

After about an hour of aerial gymnastics the folks from Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks and the Colorado Division of Wildlife decided to tranquilize the sow to get her out of harms way.

Wildlife Crew Attempting to Outwit Mama Bear

They missed and mom took off leaving the cubs at our house.

Mom Takes Off

After a few minutes of heart wrenching crying, the cubs settle down to chew on tree bark and enjoy watching the entertaining humans who have begun to assemble. They are just waiting for Mom to return.

Where's My Mom?

Having parked the kids in our tree Mom proceeds to loot the neighborhood for calories.

Mom Has a Snack (Photo:Karima Gebel)

She tries to come back to pick up the kids but decides it is too risky.

Maybe She'll Pick Them Up Later

At about 5:30pm the cubs scooted down the tree and set out to find mom. I spoke with Larry Rogstad of the Colorado Division of  Wildlife get to the conclusion of this family drama. He told me that after they left my house he followed the cubs back to the tree where they had been earlier that day with Mom. They stayed there until dusk entertaining the humans by playing with branches. They eventually sauntered off in the direction of where Mom was thought to have bedded down for the night. Nothing was heard of them today and this is good news. If they were not spotted in town that means they found their way back to the foothills to live happily ever after…or at least until tomorrow.

Ok Folks, The Show Is Over

Information about living with the  American Black Bear can be found on the Smithsonian National Zoo website. Here are ten fun facts from The American Bear Association:

Black Bears…

1. eat mostly berries, nuts, grasses, carrion, and insect larvae

2.  have color vision and a keen sense of smell

3.  are good tree climbers and swimmers 

4.  are very intelligent and curious 

5.  can run up to 35 miles per hour

6.  weigh an average of 125 to 600 pounds

7.  can go without food, urination and defication for up to 7 months during hibernation in northern ranges

8.  usually give birth to 2 to 3 cubs during the mother’s sleep every other year

9.  can live over 25 years in the wild (average age in the wild is 18)

10.  are typically shy and easily frightened

Tips on living with this beautiful creature can be found in Living With Bears  from the Colorado Department of Wildlife

Quaking Aspen Exposé

Caribou Ranch Aspen Grove Captured 27 September 2009 1:45pm @ 39°58'53.69"N 105°31'9.96"W

The wildflowers are playing out their last act of the summer here in Colorado and it is just about the time to focus on fall colors. Unlike the Eastern US with its maples and other colorful deciduous trees, here the primary source of sweeping fall color is our beloved Aspen (Populus tremuloides).

The Quaking Aspen is a graceful tree whose leaves dance in the slightest breeze. They are usually found swarming in large groves and at this time of the year their colorful season finale descends from the high altitudes in a glorious display. These swarms turn yellow and red and we Coloradians log on to the local weather to find out where to worship them with our cameras.

Enjoy them while you can. Almost a third of Colorado’s aspen trees could be dead in the next few years. The white-barked tree is suffering from what scientists call “sudden aspen decline” or SAD. The die-off troubles environmentalists and business owners. The number of tourists checking out the fall foliage is down this year — partly due to the aspen die-off. The sad story can be found on this audio link from National Public Radio and at this article from Reuters.

Longs Peak Aspen Vista Captured 25 Sept 2008 1:15pm @ 40°15'11.87"N 105°32'12.51"W

Caribou Ranch Aspen Vista Captured 9 September 2009 2:15pm @ 39°58'55.61"N 105°31'10.87"W

Eldora Colorado Aspen Grove captured 26 Sept 2008 10:15am @ 39°56'54.93"N 105°33'47.78"

Kebler Pass Aspens captured 25 Sept 2009 11:40am @ 38°52'5.15"N 107° 9'59.85"W

There is more to this popular poplar than meets the lens. It turns out this plant has a very interesting ecological back story. Here are some facts:

-It propagates itself primarily through root sprouts, and extensive clonal colonies are common. Each colony is its own clone, and all trees in the clone have identical characteristics to the original mother tree and share a single root structure.

-A stand of aspen is really only one huge organism. Think of aspens as large systems of roots that remain hidden underground until there’s enough sunlight. Then the roots sprout up white things called trunks (or suckers) that then leaf off green things called leaves. This is called “vegetative” or asexual reproduction. This makes the grove hardy and independent of pollinators but it also halts evolutionary progress making adaptation to environmental change impossible.

-Entire aspen colonies can be lost due to the encroachment of spruce and fir into its ecosystem. Aspen is dependant on fire, avalanche, or other “clearing” disturbances to keep stands open allowing sunlight to permit reproducing from suckers. Grazing and fire suppression are causing loss of aspen habitat.

-Thanks to a common genetic blueprint, all members of a clone will all have a uniform shade of color transitioning from green to yellow at the same time. By examining  the different color patchwork along a mountainside in the fall you can distinguish individual clonal colonies from each other.

-Dispite their solitary method of reproduction,  aspen seeds do exist. They have very specific conditions needed to germinate and under adverse climatic conditions seldom produce aspen seedlings that survive. Aspens here in the Western US have not propagated from seed since the last Ice Age which means that this ancient organism hasn’t evolved for over 10,000 years!

-A group of 47,000 Quaking Aspen clones nicknamed “Pando” in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah (USA) is sometimes considered the world’s largest organism by mass, covering 43 hectares (110 acres).

Wet Your Pup on Sanitas

The August heat can be tough on our canine companions. The Sanitas Valley Trail is a great place to wet your pup and go for a great hike. It is easy to get there from Mapleton Avenue in Boulder. This trail is unique. It has amazing Boulder geology and  history, cool clean water from The Silver Lake Ditch, and a loop hike to a local peak named Mt. Sanitas with great views of the priarie and continential divide. Not surprisingly it is very popular with dogs, guardians, babies, a mutant black fox, and the occassional black bear. Beware: parking on weekends is limited.

Wet Mandy in Silver Lake Ditch @ 40° 1'23.28"N 105°17'45.73"W

Continental Snow Cone

When the temperature exceeds 90 degrees (F) in Boulder I am especially intrigued by the sight of snow on the Continental Divide. It is easy to drive/hike to some of that snow by heading to a glacier. Located on the steep slopes of  the Apache (13,441′) and Shoshoni (12,967′) Indian Peaks (which form a stretch of Continental Divide) is Isabelle Glacier. This Glacier is the origin of the South Saint Vrain Creek and is Lake Isabelle’s main source of icy cold water. Isabelle Glacier is a couple of hours away from Boulder by car and foot. Just drive to the Brainard Lake Recreation Area and go to the Long lake/Isabelle Glacier Trailhead in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. The 2 mile Trail to the Glacier is pretty easy up to the lake and passes by some spectacular alpine meadows and forest. For a virtual loop hike over the Divide and back down the Glacier check out a post entitled Apache Peak.

Here’s a view from the Lake looking toward west toward the Glacier…

Lake Isabelle & Isabelle Glacier 05 August 2009 1:40pm @ 40° 4'11.30"N 105°37'15.78W"

Here’s an interesting fact: glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to the oceans as the largest reservoir of total water!

Melting Isabelle Supplies this Wellspring of the South St. Vrain @ 40° 4'7.89"N 105°36'30.97"W