Break

Humans are an inquisitive species and we can discover amazing things by asking what if, and having a little free time and resources. Sometimes, this ability to seek answers can lead to trouble, especially when it comes to exploring remote areas of nature. There are too many off-road vehicles chasing an ever smaller area of wilderness, mostly because we can now discover new places faster than ever before thanks to vehicles.

 

Every rural place has a beauty to it, but New Mexico is pretty awesome for wide vistas, both on the mesa or in the bosque. Seeing the sunrise over the Sandia mountains is quite a spectacle, especially with Canada geese honking from a cold, steaming river before the noise of the human commute begins to shake them out into the grazing fields nearby

Avian influenza has been spreading down the continental US from the North-east this year. New Mexico has found only 1 case in a cinnamon teal duck in Bosque Del Apache, so far. However, it is more likely this animal died as a result of trichomoniasis, avian pox, or salmonella. Bird feeders are common sources of bacterial infections in doves. Even if a dove survives to adulthood, there is a 60% mortality rate.

 

Coots, or "water chickens" are usually feeding on plants during the winter. This one is feeding voraciously on duckweed, which is a very cold tolerant, and is not algae, but rather one of the smallest species of flowering plants in the world. This frenzied feeding suggests this bird is a recent migrant to Corrales but their migration patterns are poorly understood.

 

 I think this is a hairy woodpecker. These genus of birds tend to stay in an area year round and their numbers are supported by the blocks of of suet that are put out on winter bird feeders.

The flicker is another type of woodpecker that has adapted to feeding on burrowing insects found on the ground, such as termites or beetles. New Mexico also has sapsuckers, which are another type of woodpecker that can sometimes drink tree sap, but they tend to be found at higher elevations. As always, the number of sites dedicated to treating woodpeckers as pests far outnumber those that talk about their benefits. However, in this case, the "treatment" for nuisance woodpeckers appears to be put up suet blocks in the winter, and build nest boxes as an alternative to drilling holes in houses and trees. Humm, pays to have federal protection.

 

There are not many insects around right now, however the afternoon brings out small flying insects and there are still many hunting spider species prowling during the day like this grass spider.

Coyotes are very misunderstood, and some people know this. However, the details are still interesting. The coyotes of Corrales appear to prefer grapes and apples when they are available, according to their abundant scat that they leave along prominent trails. They also hunt for mice in the pre-dawn hours and after ditch mowing by the MRGCD along the ditches. Research conducted by Santa Ana Pueblo shows they are a common prey item by mountain lions, so they are always nervous when alone, just like people. While they are not wolves by any means, they do not turn down an opportunity to snack, such as a sick bird.

 

 Birds flock together in the evening to roost for protection from all predators. Most water fowl like ducks, geese and cranes spend the night on sand bars in the open river where it is impossible for a predator to either sneak up, or rush them, before being seen. As the sun rises, the birds become increasingly anxious to unexpected sounds until they alight into the air as a group and head out to an open space with either a lot of open space, or fences, to feed. You'll notice the birds are all looking in different directions to assess for danger. If they are all looking in the same direction, then you should be, too.

    The MRGCD is responsible for maintaining the integrity of flood defenses and supply of irrigation water to farming communities in Corrales, but it is everyone's responsibility to look after the preserve. While the Bosque is a fascinating place, it is best explored by foot, bike, or horseback. An open gate like the one shown here is not an invitation to bring a vehicle onto the preserve and is only used to perform ditch maintenance activities. 

    Most people know they should not drive in the bosque, but there is still a strong desire in most of us to want to explore new places. If we have a comfy chair inside a steel box with heating and cup holders, all the better.

Thanks

 Thanksgiving is for a lot more than just stuffing our faces, although that seems to be the clear and stated goal of most gatherings. The same is true in the natural world as well.

Cranes gather in the fields around Corrales to indulge in free corn hand-outs and fallen apples, However, if you look closer you can see the interactions of displaying and group behaviors as these big birds begin to court and pair off. Officially, cranes breed in early spring when they migrate north, but cranes are one of the few birds that actually mate for life, and pair bonding is an important part of their normal behaviors.

The male wood duck's behaviors are very odd, and seem to be mostly about drawing attention away from the drab female and toward itself. The crazy red eyes are very prominent and the male is protective and overbearing towards the quieter female. Still, these birds are quite shy. They flee and hide under low hanging branches in the water readily when approached, all while whistling shrilly.

 

 Ducks, and especially mallards are famous for forced copulation and hybridization with at least 40 other duck species. This is as a result of the weird sexual selection pressures that encourages bizarre and colorful courtships and structures in most birds. Mallards are very adaptable to human presence. Indeed, they are the ancestors of the larger and more plain colored domestic duck.

The American widgeon is a smaller duck often found with a flock of mallards. These birds prefer more secluded and wooded lakes and beaver ponds of the far north.

 

 The great blue heron is not often seen fishing as they seem to prefer the quiet period between dusk until dawn. Dog walkers who are out in the evening can often be startled by the loud "gronk" sounds of a disturbed bird, interrupting the calm hooting of the horned owls in the trees.

 

 The belted kingfisher is a very noisy and twitchy bird that also hunts the ditches in very distinct territorial areas. These are not easy birds to catch on camera while holding still. This is my excuse of the blurry picture, anyway.

 

As the water begins to freeze in the mornings, the fishing birds will need to move to areas of more open water, and deeper water. Shallow water freezes solid, but because ice floats, most water deeper than a few inches stays at a constant temperature of 4 degrees Celsius until warmed by the afternoon sun. The rich black mud below often hides many types of hibernating creatures. From tadpoles to crayfish, insects, and turtles.

Clay is used for a lot more than just pretty pots. Clay particles travel long distances suspended in water and settle out in predictable locations where water is not flowing. In prehistory times humans used  a wrapping of clay to cook food in fires, like foil. Puddled clay was used long before adobe brick to build solid houses. Clay is water impermeable even when not fired, but also holds water in electrostatic bonding when it is found in sandy soils. If the water and air are removed by repeated pounding of trail traffic, the resulting compact mass is air and water tight and cannot support any plant growth. Moisture from rain, and the resulting freeze and thaw cycles, craze the surface into roughly hexagonal cracks. Conversely, drying out clay mud also forms hexagonal cracks as the calcium salts within the alkaline mud crystallizes and contracts. This dry mass often forms a fine powder during the summer on the trails.

 

 The surface of the levee roads are composed of clay mixed with enough sand to prevent these cracks. The herons rest here to digest fish caught. The open spots between stand of cattails are often liberally splattered with the white, guanine rich deposits of digested fish which are a mixture of feces and concentrated uric acid. Apparently, someone once wrote a 100 page book on the excretory habits of the great blue heron, but I was unable to preview a copy.

 

"The Defecation Behavior of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets in the South Carolina Piedmont, and Greenhead Shiner Responses to Great Blue Heron Feces". By Lawrence M. Slavitter.

 

 Sounds like riveting reading, and might actually cover many interesting topics about predator defense, tree nesting, parasites, weight of water, and other topics. The internet, however mostly focuses on articles related to its effect of car paint. The world we live in.

There are over 12,000 species of grasses currently known, so it is no surprise that this plant family has a lot of variety. The most noticeable, from this picture, is that some grasses grow throughout the winter, and others die back after seeding. The implications of the difference in behavior between annual and perennial is very profound and is one of the major divisions used by gardeners to choose plants for a garden.

 

 In this field are the invasive plumes of the Ravenna grass, that is just beginning to make itself felt in Corrales after moving up the Rio Grande Valley since becoming established in the 1970's at the Biopark. Pampas grass is a pretty ornamental grass from Brazil that dies back because it cannot survive the cold winters. Ravenna grass is a related plant, but on steroids in that it is absolutely cold hardy. This makes it attractive for gardeners and has allowed thick stands of feral stands to become established along the river banks. As of right now, the chances of eradication are non-existent. The consequences of this plant thriving are uncertain, but likely bad without co-originated action.

Beavers are well known as watershed engineers. If left alone, these mammals help manage and control water flows and the associated ecosystems. Beavers control cattails by raising the water level. The dam structures also host musk rats that eat cattails directly. It is a pity the dredging operations keep moving these busy guys away, but they always seem to come back, and appear to be thriving.

The value of the interior drain is argued about by different groups. This picture shows a drain section just south of the Elementary school. With the overburden of soil removed, the poplar seeds were able to contact wet ground and have grown into three year old cottonwood trees. This area, right in the median of 2 busy dirt roads, is one of the few places in the bosque that cottonwoods are thriving in their ideal growing conditions. Even though we know where and how to grow cottonwoods, competing interests mean that with our children's lifetimes, cottonwoods will likely be replaced by species such as Siberian elms, Ravenna grass, and box elder.

 

 When Corrales has the choice to grow, development looks very different than what people would expect of a village with a nature preserve, historical society, and thriving arts and culture. This brand new fire hydrant by the school does help expensive houses reduce the costs of insurance and undoubtedly helps the fire department do the job it is here to do. Sadly, however, right next to this new hydrant are the remains of the Elementary school constructed wetlands treatment system that was abandoned once the new associated sewage system was installed. Plans by the interior drain committee would extend these pipes along the interior drain, destroying this wetland ecosystem balance of plants, insects, and animals.

 

This is the turkestan cockroach. This is rapidly becoming the most common roach in the Southwest. It is rare in Corrales because of the colder winter temperatures and increased animal predation. It is fast replacing the oriental cockroach as it breeds faster and does not interact with humans and their poisons as much. The problem is, along with drain flies and the inland mosquito, they survive better and breed inside underground pipes and are likely to become far more common as wells and septic systems are replaced with water treatment plants and fire hydrants.

Ants are very common in Corrales through out the year. Most rural ants stay away from human houses because they have no need to be inside. Their diets change depending on resources and most ants cache seeds in the spring and summer, and often scavenger dying insects in the fall. This one has found a small honey snack. The ants in the city survive by aggressively seeking out human food and defending it from other ants through sheer weight of numbers. With the combined weight of ants on the planet equal to 20% of total human biomass, it is clear they cannot simply be eradicated.

Many insects rely on humans. This grasshopper is resting on stucco on an east facing wall. This means it will warm quickest, all insects are at a disadvantage in the cold, but are still surprisingly active by the warm afternoon.

Flies lose much of their zip in cold weather and it is actually rare to see them outside in the morning. This common house fly can actually be picked up until the air temperature reaches at least 40 degrees.

 

Hunting spiders can tolerate colder temperatures and probably rely on this to extend their hunting season. This type of ground spider runs down its prey, making it perfectly adapted to catching cold stunned insects in the mornings.

The grey buckeye butterfly is one of the last butterflies to disappear as the days get colder. They can sequester plant poisons and have warning coloration in those wing spots.

The bosque is an ever changing place that is artificially managed and yet more under the control of nature's cycles than most parts of the state of New Mexico. While the problems and threats faced by nature are numerous, I am still thankful to be able to live in such a vibrant and thriving location of breathtaking natural beauty. That is something we could all take a moment to feel more thankful for.

Chain

 When you study the world around us, it seems obvious that our nature determines our behavior. As humans, we like to think we behave rationally, even though we know others do not. This folly is not a problem if it is never challenged. However, diversity has a way of forcing humans to face the contradictions in our thinking.

"History shows again and again
How nature points out the folly of men"

"Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult

 Coyotes are a prey species, not an apex predator. They compete for resources with wolves when these species co-existed, often ending up as dinner items. They are much more general in their diets because they can specialize in scavenging, not pack hunting.

 

 Coyotes specialize in being stealthy and opportunistic, they don't hunt so much as wait for good things to happen. This one was near a well known den near to a field of Canada geese and Sandhill cranes. It was waiting for a feeding bird to show signs of avian influenza. While we walked past it watched us, but was never going to come close.

 

 Those birds eat young grass shoots, which are abundant right now along with dandelion leaves and London rocket. Many young plants cannot grow if the air temperature is above 70 degrees or the soil temperature is below 50 degrees. Right now,it is perfect growing conditions for the lawns and the weeds that coexist with them.

 

 Lush lawns attract many animals besides geese and cranes. Rabbits come out to feed just before dawn. However, many lawns in Corrales are located right beside a road, and vehicles kills huge numbers of animals each year. A coyote would never be able to surprise and catch a rabbit normally, but scavenging roadkill in the early morning when there is a low likelihood of being hit by another car is an acceptable risk for an inexperienced coyote.

 Coyotes poop on trails to signpost their activities to each other as they travel long distances. This makes it very easy for humans to study what they eat. Until recently, the coyotes were feasting on orchard windfall apples almost exclusively, (they have quite a sweet tooth). This animal has been eating Russian olive fruits, something with small seeds like mulberries, and some sort of thin liquid soaking into the sand (it ate the sand as well)

This particular coyote was also carrying bobcat scat, which it dropped. Cats have scat that looks very different because it is exclusively meat because they are hypercarnivores. the hair are all twisted by the gut and give it a "rope" or "sausage string" appearance, plus there is a twist of hair at each end. The black appearance is from blood in the meal. Coyotes also eat poop from horses, dogs, as well as from the occasional human runner who gets caught away from the commode. Humans poop in the bosque far more than it is reported, and it all is removed by coyotes within a day or so, thankfully.

 Human activities affect many wild animals, but not always in a bad way. Crows feed in open farm fields especially after they have been mowed or plowed. The birds pick up cold stunned insects, or destroyed mouse nests, and they prefer to be in large groups because they are more vulnerable while on the ground. They tend to feed on landfills and roadkill in the summer, but congregate in the bosque during the fall, forming huge flocks as they try to keep warm.

 

This rather random stand of cattails was mechanically removed and the resident ducks and heron quickly moved into the disturbed site to scavenge roots and look for exposed prey animals

 

 While great blue herons do eat fish, they have better success catching small hibernating bullfrogs that are slower. This is probably a female due to its slightly smaller size, but otherwise the genders are identical.

  

 This individual is displaying the breeding plumage of a mature bird. This one is preening using special powder feathers to begin organizing itself into a presentable display for the season.

The large drainage ditches in Corrales usually have some water in them year-round, but the smaller irrigation channels are usually dry most of the year. Being open, it means they need a lot of general maintenance, but it is relatively easy to do.

Many plants have adapted to human activity by growing faster when pruned. Here, the older elm and cottonwood trees were cut. This allowed the younger, more vigorous elms to re sprout in the newly opened canopy. The elms crowd out the slower growing cottonwood saplings that will have more trouble getting established again.

Not all plants grow in soil. Mistletoe appears as the trees shed their leaves and other sources of green is leached out of the landscape. These plants constantly shed leaves during the year and help redistribute essential nutrients back to the soil during the winter when the trees have locked up those valuable sugars.

The majestic canopy of cottonwoods is a blaze of golden color in the fall. The leaves detach over a wide range of time allowing the trees to cope better with unpredictable weather patterns.

Leaves on the ground do far more than just turn into mulch. Many insects rely on their shelter to survive. Here is a large wheel-bug found in a leaf pile that had gathered around a parked vehicle.

The afternoons in Corrales are still quite warm in the sun. The thin atmosphere allows the sun to warm the air relatively quickly. There are many butterflies and dragonflies that can still be seen near water sources where the daily temperatures fluctuate less. This checkered butterfly is probably collecting salts from the bank where the river water has evaporated.

Cellar spiders often move indoors during winter, following the small flies they prey on. The flies are able to stay more active in the artificially warm temperatures of people's houses. These spiders have a bite that has no noticeable effect on humans even though they hunt and kill other venomous spiders.

Soil temperature is affected by many things, but mostly the air above it and the air within it. This light spray of snow on vegetation stayed colder because of the insulating air beneath it that kept it away from the heat stored within the compacted soil. This layer of vegetation slows down snow-melt, allowing the soil to absorb the snow's moisture more slowly. Bare soil drys out very fast in the southwest.

Beavers are quite common along this section of the Rio Grande. This olive tree shows the classic shape of beaver chewing that cut it down to reach the smaller twigs in the canopy. This wood also shows rot about to set into the heartwood from damage that was done and that it was trying to heal from during the summer.

Here is a classic problem known though out New Mexico. Parallel parking is not a skill mostly rural states have much experience with. One third of the US states do not even require it in driving tests. In this case a driver elected to park "serial", like in a grocery parking lot. This caused a problem for the equestrians who came through the crossing next to the gate. While the horses were able to pass, the verbal interaction between the actors was loud and unpleasant. Diverse elements compressed into small spaces lead to new opportunities, or lead to explosions. While cars and horses will act according to their nature, it is how humans control these resources that will define whether the cars are seen as food producers for crows and coyotes, or the horses....