D. August Baertlein - Writer & Ruminator
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The Chipmunks are back!

2/20/2020

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     Actually, they've been popping their heads up off and on all the winter. Since they don't enter a deep hibernation, they rely on stores of hidden seeds and nuts to get through the cold season. But now they appear to be seriously back for spring. 

     Rumor has it the chipmunks we have around here are Cliff Chipmunks. It's more than a rumor, really; it's the September page of the Community Nature Center of Prescott  naming this local variety.

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   Without the Community Nature Center of Prescott link, I couldn't begin to guess which of the many chipmunk types mine belongs to. This Animalia link  describes my Cliff Chipmunk to a hair, but then it lists eight other related species with photos that look very similar! Based on the often location-related names, I bet the best clue is where you spot them.


     They are tidy little herbivores, feeding on juniper berries, acorns, and pinon seeds. (Are these photos an invasion of privacy?)


     The two in the above video seem to be playing some sort of leap-frog game. At least that's what my grandmother used to call it. This was actually taken last year on May 31. Animalia lists mating season as occurring in March. So, maybe this really is "not what it looks like, dear." 

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     I can't see a chipmunk without thinking of the chipmunk stories my husband used to tell on long drives during family vacations. From the back seat, Isaac would plead for the next installment in the Chipmunk Chronicles. What devious tricks would the scheming little devils come up with next to steal all our camping snacks and scamper off with them?

     Anybody have any chipmunk tales? I'd love to hear them.
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Which Hawk Is It? Cooper's? Red-Tail?

2/13/2020

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     When training to be a docent in California, I was told that if you see a soaring hawk and you claim it's a Red-Tailed, you have an 80% chance of being right. Audubon says Red-Tailed Hawks are the most widespread and familiar hawk in America.

     Still, I'm going with Cooper's Hawk for this guy or gal (above and below), who chased a scrub jay into our oak bushes a couple of weeks ago. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum's page on hawks and eagles supports this, saying that Red-Tailed Hawks soar, while the longer tailed, shorter winged Cooper's hawk tends to hunt in dense cover, relying on speed and surprise.
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     The yellow-barred chest, seen clearly in the top photo, really matches the Cooper's Hawk pictures on the All About Birds website.

     In case you're on the edge of your seat regarding the poor scrub jay—A few minutes later he zipped away, the hawk fast on his heels. (Do birds have heels?) ​ I can't say that he escaped unharmed, nor can I say that the hawk managed to eat and live another day. And I'm not sure which to hope for. I guess it's best to leave it up to Mother Nature.
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     This guy (photos above and below) landed a our boulder momentarily in July of 2018. I'm going with Cooper's Hawk again, based on the long tail and the fact that he was hanging around our scrubby oak chaparral. 

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     Oooops. He caught me staring!
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     The lovely fellow in the awful picture above was a LOOOONG way away, perched high on an antenna at Sunset Point rest area on the way to Phoenix in late January of this year. While I can't see the color of his tail, I'm going with Red-Tailed on this one for two reasons: 1) That tail looks shorter to me, more like that of the broad-winged, shorter tailed soaring hawk, and 2) He's sitting high up and scanning a more open hunting ground.

     But hawk identification is not my strong suit. So, PLEASE, help me out if you know better! There's always Red-Shouldered, Sharp-Shinned, Swainson's, Harris's, and Harrier.
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Acorn Woodpecker and Red-Naped Sapsucker

2/5/2020

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     Don't ya' love that beautiful face?

   My favorite woodpecker memory is from when I volunteered in animal rehab at CALM (California Living Museum) in Bakersfield. There was a little fellow there who had become too acclimated to people and couldn't be released back into the wild. Whenever anyone walked by he'd beg for food, and if you stuck a finger near enough he'd wrap his long cord-like tongue around it. It was the strangest feeling to have that strong prehensile tongue probing your knuckles for insects. I miss that little guy.


     In spite of it being 25˚ F this morning, the birds seem to be returning, maybe longing for spring as much as I do. This handsome Acorn Woodpecker was looking for water at my birdbath. I'm afraid all he found was a skating rink, until I poured a bit of hot water over the ice.

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     This Acorn Woodpecker visited us in Lake Hughes, California back in April of 2016.  He was probably instrumental in hoarding great gobs of acorns in one of our telephone poles. 
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     Apparently, Acorn Woodpeckers are notorious for diligent acorn stashing. Audubon.org says such graineries can be used for generations and have 50,000 holes! Honestly, I didn't count, but they were all up and down the this ~30' pole.
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     This Red-Napped Sapsucker is another Lake Hughes bird, photographed in October of 2015 climbing the cottonwood tree outside our window. I haven't noticed this species here in Prescott, but my Merlin Bird app says I should keep looking!

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    Author

    I made a career of writing software by day while scribbling stories by night, a combo made even odder by the fact that I started my adult life as a marine biologist/geneticist. 

    I got my Ph.D. ever so long ago, but I still love science, especially the biological variety. Now I write SciFi and Fantasy that's full of it.  Science, I mean.


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Photos used under Creative Commons from dedhed1950, ScottM70, peru, lili eta marije, erin_everlasting, timparkinson, allspice1