Klamath Basin

This weekend I went to the Klamath Basin. It was a birthday celebration that happened to coincide with the Winter Wings Festival. I attended the festival last year but came to the conclusion that I am not really a bird festival kind of person. Now, maybe it was the setting, the timing or the place I'm at in my life. Maybe it is because bird festivals seem so serious and the word festival makes me think of playing, celebrating and festivities. You know, carnivals, face painting and the like. Who knows. Anyway, this year I didn't have the money to take any classes or go on any field trips. My intention was just to bird.

The Klamath Basin is an area of Oregon with an interesting and often tumultuous history. So, I may have gone just to bird but I didn't just pay attention to the birds. I contemplated the people that lived there thousands of years ago, when Petroglyph Point was just an island in Tule Lake. I contemplated the people that came into the Basin and drained the lakes, the farmers that live there and lastly the large numbers of people that come to the basin for Winter Wings every year. Birding festivals are part of ethno-ornithology that I find particularly fascinating. Bird watching in general is a really interesting aspect of people and birds.

My first day in the basin I hung out at the Veteran's Memorial Park. While there I encountered throngs of Northern coots, domestic duck variations, gray-lag geese and a Chinese goose (both are domestic varieties of geese). As usual there were a plethora of gulls and so I was able to practice my gull identification. There were ring-billed gulls, California gulls and two glaucous-winged juveniles (I overheard some birders with scopes say there were adults out in the middle of the lake). Additionally there were several buffleheads, common goldeneyes, common mergansers and lesser scaup. I also saw my first winter flock of bushtits, which was happy and odd as I encountered them commonly in the Willamette Valley and always expect to here. There were the usual suspects too, European starlings, American robins, mountain chickadees and gold-crowned kinglets. There were only four or five other birders at the park that day, I'm sure the cold had driven most everyone inside.

The following morning (February 20, 2011), I headed toward the Tule Lake Auto Tour Route and Visitor Center and the northern/north-eastern area of the Lava Beds National Monument. It was snowing and overcast and I felt a terrible sadness as it seemed likely I would not have ideal birding conditions. At the visitor's center they have a feeding station. At the feeding station I saw house sparrows, European starlings, house finches, gold-crowned sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, California towhee, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco of the Oregon and slate-colored (the slate-colored was a first for me!) varieties, California quail and a nesting great-horned owl! At the reclamation wetlands (a discovery marsh of sorts) there were most of the afore mentioned birds plus bufflehead, northern pintail, western meadowlark, red-breasted sapsuckers, American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, song sparrow, American robin, common goldeneye, coot ring-neck pheasant, greater white-front geese, cacklers and a juvenile bald eagle (three or four years old based on plumage). Along the auto tour route is where the REAL fun began. I saw my first ever rough-legged hawk (and then another six on top of that one)! Additionally, I saw tundra swan, northern shoveler, lesser scaup, ring-neck duck, greater white-fronts, cacklers, red-winged blackbird, common goldeneye, ruddy duck, heard black-billed magpie (delightful) and a canyon wren, saw house finch, brewer's blackbird, northern ravens, white-crowned sparrow, mourning and rock doves, pine siskin, lesser goldfinch, say's phoebe, a flock of at least 30 horned lark, ring-billed gull, Clark's grebe, common merganser, coot, canvasback, northern harrier, western meadowlark, prairie falcon, norther flicker, gadwall, snow geese by the hundreds, blue-winged teal, many bald eagles of varying ages, great-horned owls and a rock wren. Finally, I feel quite certain I saw some band-tailed pigeons. The sighting was brief and they have not been sighted often in the Klamath Basin (1-3 times in the last 25 years). Now, that doesn't mean they couldn't have been band-tails, but it does mean that it is unlikely. I'd like to believe they snuck in there topping off the awesomeness!

There were many more birders out on Sunday, all on the auto tour route and at the visitors center. The interesting thing about birders in situations like this is that they all flock to the areas where birds have been seen, particularly people that keep life lists. I understand life lists and wanting to see what there is to see, but I'd rather do it on my own (and my list is in my head, nothing formal, as the goal for me is just to see birds, any birds, and enjoy them). There is something amazing about watching scads of waterfowl with other people that are just as excited as I am. But...in the long run, I'd rather be there alone watching the birds. Silently paying homage to these feathered extra-ordinary beings. I find myself wondering if the other people birding there think about the folks that came before. If when they are at Captain Jack's Stronghold, looking for prairie falcons, they think about the Modoc and the events that unfolded there. How amazing that band of Modoc were, how well they knew their homeland, how tragic the outcome of that stand-off. When they are looking for nesting owls and golden eagles at Petroglyph Point do they stop to look at the petroglyphs? Do they wonder, like I do, what the symbols mean? Do they marvel at the tenacity of individuals to canoe all the way to the island and stand, in a canoe to carve these symbols into the rock? Can they appreciate the struggles of the salmon and sucker fish, sacred to the First Nations tribes of the area, to survive in an overly irrigated area (meaning in a river that is often too low, slow, polluted or warm)? We come together at these festivals to celebrate the wild awesomeness that birds are. These bits of nature that find us in even the most urban areas. That call to our souls, to our subconscious. That sing songs we recognize in the deep recesses of our brains. But do we think of how we are destroying their world? Do we think, as we celebrate, that this could be the last year we see them? That as we clear, fill, burn and develop we homogenize the beings that we pursue for their heterogeneity? I know I do, constantly. Even when I am shouting with glee about my first ever rough-legged hawk sighting.

Ethno-ornithology Sunday: Urban birds

So, urban birds as a topic can be approached from many angles but as the number of quasi-urban dwelling ravens that I encounter increases I find myself thinking more and more about urban birds and evolution and things of this nature. I mean, if nature typically selects for species that can survive the best in current conditions...what is happening to urban birds? Well, it seems logical that birds that shy from humans or are non-charismatic species that act conspicuously or aggressively will be selected AGAINST. Birds that perform well within cities, in monocultured agriculture fields, in suburbs and in early seral areas will continue to see population inclines while birds that depend on wild/natural/non-human affected areas, don't deal well with the toxins we proliferate and that are within reach of the feral and/or invasive predators that come along with urban expansion (and often follow the gravel roads into non-urban areas) will continue to see population declines.

The U.S. Census Bureau classifies an area as urban if the population density is at least 1,000 people per square mile at the time of census. Thus, there can be a spectrum of areas that are classified as urban. One of my favorite things about Oregon is that some of our urban areas are still incredibly diverse and strive to balance population growth with the natural world around them. All too often though urban areas are a homogenized area void of many things natural, concrete and steel ecosystems as one group from Stanford wrote in 1988. In this short piece they mention some characteristics of city dwelling birds that I hadn't really thought about before. Namely that birds that live in cities have to be adapted to vocalizations that are either at a frequency or decibel that are high enough for potential mates and other members of their flock to hear. Urban areas create problems for migrating birds in a number of ways. For waterfowl cities are often a varitable waste land of concrete, glass and steel. Any water that may be available is often polluted (though mallards, great blue herons and some other wetland/water dwelling birds can be found in urban areas). For passerines cities create a maze of glass, light and noise pollution, toxins and a myriad of other problems that lead to confusion, disorientation and ultimately death. Birds that live in cities have adapted to foraging for the food that we throw out, on the bits of plant matter that make their way through cracks in sidewalks and in urban parks.

The second leading cause of population declines that lead to a species being listed as endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department is urbanization. The primary cause of federal listing as threatened or endangered is interactions with non-native species (Czech, et al. 2000). European starlings, house sparrows and house finches are all non-native/invasive species that often out compete native species and are found in urban areas, thus it can be surmised that there is overlap between urbanization and interaction with non-native species. In addition to non-native birds competing with native birds we also have feral cats, "outside" house cats too, that prey on birds. In fact, according to Czech, et al. of the 18 reasons that species become threatened or endangered at least eight of them are associated with urbanization (and all but two have to do with humans).

An Audubon study found that 45 of the at least 700 species of birds found in North America inhabit urban areas. Of these 44 are species of least concern and one is a species considered threatened or endangered. According to the study 20 of the 45 species have seen declines in numbers, and 23 of the 45 have seen increases in numbers, from 1966 through 2003. Of these species 10 can be also be found in natural aquatic/wetland ecosystems, 14 can be found in multiple natural areas, 15 in woodland areas, five in scrublands and one in grasslands. Homogenization of the natural world is a well documented effect of urbanization. Urban areas are homogeneic ecosystems that support growing numbers of non-native species. Biodiversity of bird species decreases as urban areas increase. In a study of "wooded streets" (streets with trees planted along the sidewalk) in Valencia, Spain Murgui found that these areas were home to only eight species in winter and 11 species in the breeding season, a mere 25% of the number of species found in urban parks (Murgui 2007). Based on the information above it can be surmised that the largest variety of species in urban areas will be found in urban parks. On a side note increasing numbers of urban community gardens helps increase avian biodiversity as does increased wildlife friendly landscaping. Despite these oasis of diversity non-native and human "friendly" species are on the incline while natives and non-aggressive species are being out-competed (populations are on the decline).

So, what can we do? We can develop landscape practices and plans that encourage native species at businesses, homes and public spaces. We can encourage community gardens and the development of green space. Finally, we can work at creating wildlife corridors, particularly through developing and managing natural areas such as city parks, so that non-edge dwelling species (species that will not happily inhabit areas at the edge of their habitat) can move from habitat patch to habitat patch. Additionally, we can spay and neuter cats and keep them indoors so that the feral cat populations won't decimate bird populations. Dimming city lights can help reduce confusion during migration, taking public transportation can reduce air and noise pollution, eat local, reduce, reuse, recycle, leave no trace when recreating outdoors, plant fruiting trees away from roadsides and be conscious of the things we do. Birds are amazingly diverse and many/most of us appreciate them for their diversity (life lists wouldn't be very interesting if there were only 45 ish species to watch). Urban sprawl may not be something we can completely halt but we can work at reducing the impact of urbanization on global avian populations.

Success!

I gave my presentation on "Feral Horses in the Arid West" tonight. It is amazing that even though I avoided emotional, political, etc arguements that the presentation + questions + debate took up 30 minutes of class, 15 minutes over our "alloted" time. I'd say that makes it at least somewhat successful. In true "Bird" style I was extraordinarily nervous and a bit scattered, at least at the beginning. Apparently I made at least a little sense because everyone commended me on my presentation. Funny that in my own wandering and sometimes rambling way...I seem to make sense. Anyway, I am relieved to have this overwith as there are many other pressing bird issues, ethno-ornithological topics of interest and what-not that I would like to focus on. Though I am certain I could have a series of blogs just about "free-roaming" horses and likely never tire of the topic. I like horses. I like birds. I like desert ecosystems. Birds and desert plants are natives. Horses are not. There has to be a happy way to preserve desert ecosystems and allow SMALL bands of horses to remain in already distrubed habitats.

Feral Horses in the Arid West

So, this has started out as an ethno-ornithology paper. Ultimately it is just about horses and how they affect the arid lands of the western United States. The paper only needed to be two pages and so I had to leave some stuff out, sadly. Maybe I'll add on to this post in the future.


Feral Horses in the Arid West

Modern horses appeared in the America’s in the late 16th century when the Spanish Conquistadors arrived. The progenitor of these horses originated in Europe, from species that are now extinct. The last time that the ecosystems of the Americas had included equids was about 10,000 years earlier. In the 10,000 years since the American species of horses went extinct, the “Western United States has become more arid and many of the horses natural predators, like the American lion and saber-toothed cat have disappeared” (Leopold 2010). Thus, the ecosystem modern horses were introduced to was far different from the one they came from, and from the one their distant relatives had left. In the approximately 400 years since horses began forming feral herds the rangelands of the west have been transformed. These new conditions were so ideal for modern equids that by the late 19th century there were 2-7 million horses roaming on arid lands (Beever 2003). The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 facilitated the removal, domestication and extermination of feral horses, dramatically reducing their numbers (Beever 2003). Finally, legislation was drafted to protect feral horses and burros, via the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971, sparking a population boom from 17,300 head in 1971 to 57,200 head in 1978. Today there are an estimated 38,815 head on 17.5 million ha of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and 1600 head on 1.1 million ha of land managed by the United States Forest Service (USFS).

Horses differ from the native grazing mammals in a number of ways. First, horses are cecal digesters, rather than ruminants. Second, horses have upper front incisors and a flexible upper lip, allowing them to graze plants lower than other grazing mammals. Horses use their ecosystems heterogeneously compared to other large grazing mammals. Additionally horses have single hard hooves, rather than the split hooves of native ungulates.

Cecal digestion occurs in a section of the digestive system that lies behind the stomach, called a cecum. Here, much like in the rumen, good bacteria aids in breaking down plant matter and freeing nutrients for further absorption by the intestines. Because cecal digestion happens at the end of the digestive tract horses don’t digest their food as thoroughly as ruminants. Thus, horse feces will have a greater amount of undigested seeds and poorly digested plant matter than ruminant feces. Ostermann-Kelm, et al found that horse feces increased native plant diversity along horse trails in their study quadrants (Ostermann-Kelm, et al 2009). The increased moisture, organic matter and nutrients, along with a high level of undigested seeds creates a ideal medium for growing plants. In areas where invasive grasses, such as cheat grass, proliferate it is likely that plant diversity will decrease as invasive seeds are dispersed through feral horse feces.

Arid ecosystems evolved with bison, deer and similar grazing mammals. The grasses in these systems are therefore physiologically designed to withstand heavy grazing pressure with periods of rest when the large herds of bison move on. Additionally, feral horses will graze native grasses so low that the recovery of the grass is delayed. This can directly cause die-off or indirectly cause erosion of the soils around the plant when it rains resulting in death of the plant.

Trampling, cause by horses’ single solid hooves and heterogeneous use of the landscape, creates a number of changes in arid ecosystems. Trampling directly causes erosion through hoof chiseling of soils or chipping of rocks. Indirectly, horses cause erosion by compacting soils and removing vegetative cover. Horse-grazed areas show a variability of soil strengths, with the highest strength concentrated in areas where horse trails, and thus trampling, occur. This results in a decrease in water infilitration and soil pore volume, inhibits or restricts plant root growth, decreases vegetation cover and increases soil temperature and soil erosion (Ostermann-Kelm, et al 2009; Beever 2003). In arid ecosystems nutrients tend to be concentrated in the surface of the soil. Therefore, eroding only the first few millimeters of soil can seriously alter the availability of nutrients in desert soils. A decrease in vegetative cover directly correlates to a decline in the predation on, and diversity and abundance of, birds, lizards and small mammals.

According to Beever and Herrick feral horse populations may increase by greater than 20% each year (Beever and Herrick 2005). Increasing herd size requires increased management action by both the BLM and USFS. In order to manage horses in balance with other public rangeland resources and uses more horses need to be removed from federal land. The increase in numbers of horses in captivity requires additional public expense. In 1996, 7369 feral horses were rounded-up by the BLM and put up for adoption. All but about 8% of those horses were adopted. With the decline in the economy adoption rates have plummeted. In 2009 only 53.6% of the 5961 horses up for adoption found homes. The cost of holding the excess feral horses, either in short-term holding pens or in long-term holding pastures is $36.9 million of the $63.9 million budget (BLM 2011). As rangelands are degraded and federal budgets decline there is a push to find a solution to the feral horse population problem.

There are a variety of organizations that advocate for the horses to be left alone and for minimal management. The arguments made by these organizations and individuals are generally emotion-based rather than fact-based. It is true that feral horses are magnificent to behold. It is also true that horses played an important part in the history of the United States, in expansion and in the realization of manifest destiny. Horses became an important part of many First Nations tribes, both historically and spiritually.

Native species of desert dwelling plants and animals live in careful balance with the land around them. Horses are not a natural part of North American desert environments and should not be treated as such. Increasing the number of horse “preserves” will only expand the area of land impacted by feral horses. Euthanasia, while a legal option, is highly unpopular and should therefore only be used with sick or injured horses. The best option seems to be to sterilization. Creating non-reproductively viable herds will allow this piece of U.S. history to remain and over time will decrease their destructive capacity.

Literature Referenced

Beever, E.A. 2003. Management implications of the ecology of free-roaming horses in semi-arid ecosystems of the western United States. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 31(3):887-895. Available at: http://fresc.usgs.gov/products/papers/1224_Beever.pdf. Accessed February 2, 2011.

Beever, E.A. and Herrick, J.E. 2006. Effects of feral horses in Great Basin landscapes on
soils and ants: Direct and indirect mechanisms. Journal of Arid Environments. 66, 96-112. Available at: http://ddr.nal.usda.gov/bitstream/10113/16128/1/IND43801323.pdf. Accessed February 4, 2011.

BLM National Wild Horse and Burro Program page. http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro.html. Updated Febrary 2, 2011. Accessed February 7, 2011.

Leopold, B. Letter to the Wild Horse and Burro Program. Available at: http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/policy/horse_comments_082010.pdf. Updated August 2010. Accessed February 2, 2011.

Ostermann-Kelm,S., et al. 2009. Impacts of Feral Horses on a Desert Environment. BMC Ecology. Available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1472-6785-9-22.pdf. Updated November 10, 2009. Accessed February 4, 2011.