Since last we met...

Thousands of cranes, waterfowl, marsh birds, and raptors counted.

Great Horned Owlet looks like a fluffy cat on the limb.

Hundreds of ducks banded. Ducks hunted, with a few in the gumbo pot to share with friends.

B'Dawg fetches a male Northern Pintail.

Dove hunted...

 then prepped as appetizers for future visitors.

Dove breasts stuffed with cheese and jalapenos, wrapped in bacon

 

Packed for the freezer.

 Deer and turkey scouted and hunted. Alas, no tidy vacuum-sealed packages for the freezer.

 On private land; how did they know the season started?

Traveled to Seattle, WA and Washington, DC for work; to NorCal wine country to celebrate birthdays... 

A cure for palate fatigue: fresh oysters, cold beer, Goat Rock Beach.

and to southwestern Florida for fun while MDMNM was in class all day.*

These birds were regulars on the beach outside our hotel. We see the Snowy Egrets at our refuge fairly often; 
in a rare sighting a few weeks ago we saw a lone Little Blue Heron there, too.

Good friends were hosted. Spring sprung.

And we lost the eldest in our clowder...

You might remember him from this post.

so here we are. Next time we're together, let's go for a walk in the garden.

*Yes, Intrepid Reader, we did manage to get in a half-day of fishing without missing a single CLE credit.

All in a day's...

work volunteering at a National Wildlife Refuge. Have I told you how privileged I feel to be able to do this? Here's why (in part):

On Wednesday mornings during the winter this is where you'll find me drinking my coffee, waiting for the cranes to fly and be counted.

ah, glorious sunrise

Another view through the window of my mobile office.

The faraway lake is a perfect roosting site for a lovely winter's night

At this refuge the lesser Sandhill Crane population peaked at ~26,000 in early November, at which point we were counting by 100s and 1,000s as they took off en masse. This time of year the cranes are easier to count.

one, two, skip a few...99, 1257

This week is all about the mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey so after the sunrise crane count we head out to look for ducks, geese, etc., in all the usual places, plus in a few of the off-refuge dives they have been known to frequent.

Ross's and Snow Geese on the refuge were counted earlier in the morning so when we kick up this group (the picture is about 10% of what filled the sky), we just stop to enjoy the sights and sounds.

Hundreds of light geese, one small snapshot of a full sky

Our experts say that the refuge's light goose population is about 75% Ross's. In this photo you can see a few adult dark morph Ross's geese. If you embiggen you can endeavor to work out the proportion of this sample that are Ross's* by following Sibley's helpful guide to white goose identification.

Here's another notable refuge dweller who shares our interest in ducks and geese.

Great Horned Owl in a refuge penthouse.

aka Cat Owl guarding the nesting box**

During our bi-weekly bird counts we check the old barns on the refuge to see who is in residence and in the early spring we watch for owlets. In all likelihood this owl is already paired and since nesting season is January and February, we'll be giving these residents a wider berth for the next few months. Great Horned Owls are said to be ferociously protective of their young so for their safety -- and ours!-- we'll be taking pictures from afar until the owlets fledge. At least we hope there are owlets this year, you never know.

The 'farm' portion of refuge is also home to a small herd of Mule Deer, many of whom were taking advantage of the beautiful day.

"Do I look like a duck?!? Do you hear quacking? Move on..."

"Uh, no ma'am. If you're lookin' for ducks, check the water-y areas."

Oh yeah, the waterfowl count...done. Since we were doing a bi-weekly count anyway, the only really cool addition came from a private field that sits between two of the refuge tracts: ~1000 Wigeon (with a few Northern Pintails; you've seen them before).

It's hard to believe that I've been volunteering at the refuge for six months. You've seen my 'office' and met some of my neighbors and co-workers, you just can't beat this for a work environment. I am so lucky to be part of the BioCrew at this refuge, it's non-stop learning and so much fun! When I finally get the opportunity to go back to a full time desk job it will be quite difficult (but oh so necessary).

When I started this work I had no idea that the refuge system was so dependent on the talents, shared passions and sheer brawn of so many volunteers. Volunteers run visitor centers, remove invasive species, lay waterlines, survey all types of flora and fauna year-round (we have people who have been counting birds on a bi-weekly basis for decades!), raise funds for buildings and projects, provide environmental education and outreach, and otherwise fill the resource gaps between what's available to refuge staff and what they really need to fulfill their missions.

If you have an interest or passion for anything remotely related to nature, there's probably a local wildlife refuge with something for you to do. And they need you, for as little or as much time as you can give. Alone or with your family, working on something with which you are familiar or something you've never contemplated before, it's an investment that will give back ten-fold. Hope to see you at the water cooler...

*In our copious spare time, eh, Intrepid Reader? Until then I'll trust the experts.

**Excellent observation, Intrepid Reader! That is a cat litter box; prime real estate for owls the world over.

Just ducky, 2!

Just in case  you wondered, here's the last step in the duck banding process.

BioB releases Northern Pintail with new jewelry

Just ducky, thank you!

'Tis the season...
We had a good snow a few days ago that put us up to nearly a third of our average yearly precipitation, yay!! However, the relentless cold that accompanied the front has most of the waterways on the refuge frozen, severely reducing our A+ rating among migrating waterfowl. Already our duck count is down, waaaaay down.

M, B-Dawg and I haven't had the time to duck hunt this season so the prospect of no duck gumbo this winter darkened my thoughts as I drove home from the bi-weekly waterfowl count. I was watching the still-icy road rather carefully when something in my peripheral vision caught my attention... that stubble field was not a pristine white landscape, there were odd brown bumps all over it! I slowed down, grabbed the camera and did a u-turn as soon as it was safe, knowing -- Oh Joy!-- what I would find...

wigeon with pintails slumming off-refuge

Although I haven't been hunting yet, I've had more than few ducks in hand over the last few weeks. My local refuge's biologist (BioJefe) participates in the North American Bird Banding project and this time of year it's all about the ducks. You know that highly prized 'jewelry' waterfowlers everywhere add to their lanyards? This is how it gets there...

BioJefe & BioJ  remove duck from trap

talk sweetly to the mallard hen

'with this ring, I thee... tag in the name of science!'

While we have the ducks in hand, a few non-invasive* measurements are taken...

weighing a female bufflehead

measuring a mallard hen's culmen**

We also take wing, tarsus, and head measurements, and determine whether the bird is an adult or juvenile. All data are reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory.


Occasionally we trap a duck that has been banded before -- a most spectacular drake Mallard banded at the same refuge in 2007 is the oldest one I've seen thus far -- and sometimes we get other waterfowl that are not subject to banding.

not a duck (BioB holds a pied-billed grebe)

What an education this has been, and continues to be! Some have asked, but I have no problem participating in this conservation and species management program and then eating a wonderful bowl of duck gumbo made with birds we harvested ourselves. Hunters and anglers support conservation in myriad ways: through the sale of licenses, tags, stamps, and equipment; donations; political action; countless hours in in the field, stream and ocean; and through groups like Duck Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the Coastal Conservation Association, just to name a few. Volunteering to help collect the scientific data that forms the basis for waterfowl management is just another way to help ensure their future. My reasons for hunting? Well, that's another post... although I'm pretty sure it's a form of AOH.

If you're lucky enough to bag a tagged duck or goose, or come across any bird with a band, don't forget to report it to www.reportband.gov. You'll get an email or letter telling you what's known about your bird (here are some stories you might be able to top) and the data you submit makes you part of the citizen scientists that make this program a success. If you want to see the stats for banding efforts and recovery by species -- along with some fun trivia -- start here.

*That's right, Intrepid Reader, no ducks are harmed in the collection of this scientific data... although the drake Mallards might disagree based on the criteria for determining whether they are adults or juveniles. Sigh... you can't just take their word for it. 

** that's the top of her bill

Dog Blog

As I was chopping okra and peeling tomatoes for a summer gumbo last evening, the dog's chicken with green beans* was gently simmering on a back burner and I got to thinkin'...

Random Thoughts about Sleeping with Man's Best Friend and Other Practices
Don't you hate it when people kiss their dogs on the mouth or accept their doggy 'kisses' on the lips while saying stuff like, "Good doggie, mama wuvs you"? I'm sorry, I know people relate to their animals in myriad different ways, but really?! Not to be all Lucy about it, but I know what my dog eats and how he cleans himself. As a kid we heard (although not from my folks), "a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's."  Again, really ?! So I looked it up. Among others, Life's Little Mysteries (who passes no judgement on the pet kissing practice) tackled the canine oral cleanliness myth and found, "In short, a dog’s mouth is besieged by its own legions of germs, roughly as huge in population as those living in the human mouth and causing a similar array of dental illnesses."

pucker up? "no thanks, human,
I don't know where that mouth has been."

Before I could say, "See?!?!," I ran across an article from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about diseases that can pass from pets to humans through kissing, being licked by, and sharing a bed with them. Here's the introduction to Zoonosis in the Bedroom (Chomel and Sun; 2011), "In most industrialized countries, pets are becoming an integral part of households, sharing human lifestyles, bedrooms, and beds. The estimated percentage of pet owners who allow dogs and cats on their beds is 14%–62%. However, public health risks, including increased emergence of zoonoses, may be associated with such practices." 

While I don't play kissy-face with our animals (for the record, three cats and a dog), the cats do sleep with us. gulp. And I get the occasional the-cat-will-clean-that-spot-for-you licks, I get drooled on pretty regularly and my pants get mistaken for a tissue...what kind of risk are we talking about?

"Zoonotic infections acquired by sleeping with a pet are uncommon. However, severe cases of C. canimorsus infection or plague in humans have been documented. More zoonotic agents that are transmitted by kissing a pet or being licked by a pet have been identified, especially zoonotic pathogens that are commensal in the oral cavity of carnivores, such as Pasteurella spp. and C. canimorsus."  Oh look! The article has a list of diseases you can catch from your dog, cat, rabbit, and other kissable, cuddly critters...can you say, Pasteurellosis?** Cryptosporidiosis? Plague! (Here in the Southwest we know about that one.)

They conclude, "Although uncommon with healthy pets, the risk for transmission of zoonotic agents by close contact between pets and their owners through bed sharing, kissing or licking is real ... Carriage of ectoparasites or internal parasites is certainly of major concern when it comes to this type of behavior. To reduce such risks, pet owners should seek regular veterinary care for their pets."

I'm not an alarmist germaphobe who hates animals and I appreciate the full range of benefits that come with having pets in one's life, I'm just informing myself (and you, Intrepid Reader) about the consequences of some of our behaviors that might, on the surface, seem trivial. Just as I won't be kicking the cats off the bed I don't imagine people who feed treats to their animals mouth-to-mouth or get lick-y kisses all over their face are going to discontinue those practices either. As the authors point out, the slight risks can be mitigated by making sure that your animals are healthy. So do that.

And for my part, the next time I see that kind of wuvy-dovy kissing going on between pets and their owners I'll park the snark and inquire about the health of pet, "What a gorgeous dog! Who's your vet?"

This Stochastic public service announcement is brought to you by:

*No, we're not those kinds of people. This is a pragmatic choice: when chicken is $.87/lb and the green beans are free, this is a cheap way to supplement the dog's regular kibble, especially during hunting season when he's working his tail off. 

**Me neither... not the point.