My neighbor Crandall stops by.

“How are you doing?” I ask.

“Everything is nearly copacetic. I haven’t slept for a week, which is OK because that’s way too long to sleep. The reason I’ve been unable to sleep is that I got myself a universal remote control. Getting that clicker changed everything. It’s just like when I ran away with the circus, except for the part where Pop made me return it. Remember the time the coach put me in the football game. I was a sophomore and hadn’t played a single down for the varsity, but on my first play on the field, I took the handoff and ran down the field faster than lightning on its best day. The other team tried to tackle me. It wasn’t long before I carried all 11 of the defensive players, seven substitutes, two cheerleaders, the water boy and the opposing coach into the end zone. I should have been given more than six points for that.”

“No, I don’t remember it. You’d think I’d recall something like that,” I say.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We forget stuff. Take me, for example. I can’t find my new clicker.”

“Did you lose it?” I ask.

“No, it just isn’t where I want it to be.”

 

Nature by the yard

John Hay wrote that without birds, the days would go by without definition. I watched Canada geese fly over, some in flocks and some in pairs. One flock was flying in a V-formation, honking while booking it northward. One goose was far behind the rest. It had a formation of one. I imagined it honking, “Hey, guys, wait up.”

I heard a red-tailed hawk’s raspy scream that sounded as a raptor should sound. At least, that’s what Hollywood directors must think. Whenever a raptor appeared onscreen during my young years, the shrill cry on the soundtrack was almost always that of a red-tailed hawk.

A branch provided purchase for the tiny feet of a junco. I watched starlings perch on utility wires. They are a species adapting to its environment.

Soon the frost boils will be blooming on our roads. Does spring bring the birds or do the birds bring spring?

Stay curious.

 

While working in Louisiana

It wasn’t just birds in the air. I saw helicopters everywhere, flying offshore oil workers to here and there. Striking white ibises with blue eyes that would have made old blue eyes, Frank Sinatra, croon a sad song, delighted me.

The densest population of bald eagles in Louisiana is in the Morgan City area. Their breeding season in the Pelican State runs from October through mid-May. The eaglets fly 8 to 14 weeks after a 35-day incubation period. The young are dependent upon parents for another 4 to 6 weeks.

A 1963 survey found 417 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states. At one time, fishermen accused eagles of causing the decline of salmon fisheries in Alaska. In 1917, the Alaska Territorial Legislature established a bounty on eagles. By 1953, eagles were still fair game with a bounty of 50 cents to $2 paid for each pair of eagle feet presented. During those 36 years over 128,000 eagles were killed for the bounties. In 1953, the territorial legislature removed the bounty because of the lack of evidence that eagles had caused the decline of salmon.

Nationwide, the number of bald eagles has doubled every seven to eight years over the past three decades. In 1972, six bald eagle nests were found in Louisiana. Survey flights by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries done in February 2015 found 647 nests, with 356 active. Great horned owls had taken control of many nests.

 

Q&A

“What is the difference between horns and antlers?” Horns are found on bovids — sheep, goats, cows and bison. Antlers are on cervids — deer, elk, moose and caribou. Horns have a bony core covered in keratin (like our fingernails) and don’t have branches like antlers often do. They grow throughout an animal’s life and aren’t deciduous. Antlers are made of bone. They are shed each year and a new set grows in time for the mating season. Horns usually grow on both the male and female members of a species. Antlers grow almost exclusively on males. Female caribou being the exception. Hollowed horns can be made into drinking cups or musical instruments.

“What is the Manitoba maple?” It’s another name for the box elder tree.

 

Golden Eagle Project

The National Eagle Center and Audubon Minnesota released a female golden eagle with a GPS-linked satellite transmitter on March 11 at Camp Ripley, a National Guard training facility in central Minnesota. Golden Eagle Project co-coordinator Scott Mehus said, “The capture and release of this golden eagle at Camp Ripley really expands our understanding of golden eagles. Until recently, we would not have thought golden eagles were regular winter residents in the central part of the state.

Tracking her movements will provide new data and insights to help us manage and conserve habitats for golden eagles in Minnesota.”

The eagle is one of three observed overwintering at Camp Ripley. Raptor expert Frank Nicoletti used a net trap on a deer carcass to capture the eagle. Mark Martell, project co-coordinator and director of bird conservation with Audubon Minnesota, attached the transmitter and released the bird. The transmitter, the size of a pack of gum fitted to the bird by a durable fabric backpack, allows tracking of the bird’s movements anywhere. It has a small solar panel, allowing it to recharge when the bird is in sunlight and could transmit data for five to seven years. The project has released six golden eagles with transmitters. Three are still transmitting data, allowing a better understanding of the migration patterns, range and habitat use of golden eagles.

 

Thanks for stopping by

“A man who makes no mistakes makes nothing.” — Winston Churchill

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” — James Allen

 

Do good.

 

Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. Email him at SnoEowl@aol.com.