Whew! What a busy month. Winding down for the Holidays has been a much needed reprieve, but not before lots of photography, birding, and even a little bit of groundbreaking research for wildlife in Arkansas. For starters, the fall color, now long gone in northern Arkansas, was subpar overall this year. We had a fairly wet summer, but after a dry spell, the most recent rains came too little, too late. However, the photographer in me managed to sniff out several SPECTACULAR pockets of color! Right in my hometown of Fayetteville sits one of the greatest getaways in the northwest, Kessler Mountain. This mountain and its ridge-lines boast old growth post and chinquapin oak forest, interspersed with sugar maples of all sizes. Sugar maples, remnants of the last ice age, are the secret to fall color in the Ozarks and always the stars of the show whenever they're present. The sugar maples of Kessler are prize winners and can be seen all the way across town from the proper vantage point. When coupled with such an incredible canopy of ancient oaks, what's not to like? It's good to be humbled by such giants, seeking to remind us of our place on Earth.
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| Some of those famous sugar maples. |
After the inspiration on Kessler Mountain, I chased the fall color east to the Buffalo River in Newton County. A dreamy sunrise left the clouds in full morning splendor around Cave Mountain, one of my favorite locations along the whole river. Rising up from Boxley Valley, this mountain is lined in scenic bluffs, riddled with caves, and thick with the dramatic history of settlers and Civil War skirmishes. The day was peaceful though, despite an ongoing battle; this one not about precious gunpowder stores, but for a massive hog farm in the Buffalo River Watershed.
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| Cave Mountain, Newton Co., AR |
This unobscured view of Cave Mountain, coupled with a walk through beech trees where Steel Creek enters the Buffalo, are two of many reason why the watershed should continue getting the protection it deserves, but that's an argument for another post.
As fall color has dropped off, so has the temperature, meaning winter is almost upon us! For birders, that means a new suite of birds...not to mention now is the time for vagrancy, when rare birds pop up in odd places. As I write, four Townsend's Solitaires have come to spend time on Mt. Magazine in central Arkansas. Through the years many western species have thought this place to be Arkansas' lone Rocky Mountain. Being the highest spot in the state it is hardly comparable to the Rockies, at just 2700'; the birds must see something I don't. While the solitaires are enjoying their elevation, north in Ozark, MO a Calliope Hummingbird graces a birder's home with its presence. Only because I'm so close, and want to see this great life bird, do I take a trip across the state line to see it. Late in the game, I'm the 100th+ person to see the bird that brought visitors all the way from central Texas. The Calliope, a first-year male, should be in Mexico or Central America, nowhere near the chill of southern Missouri. Selfishly, I'm glad it's not. This miracle of a bird, somehow surviving the cold and wind, frequented the feeder often while I was there and allowed close viewing and photos. A stunner to say the least.
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| Calliope Hummingbird. North America's smallest. |
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| Sitting for photos after release. What's not to love? |
This season, I've been busy preparing for and putting into action my honors thesis. My project, which will encompass two field seasons of research, is basically proving that Northern Saw-whet Owls migrate through and/or winter in northern Arkansas. This northern owl is a bit of a mystery since it's so secretive, but with ranges into the Appalachians, Rockies, and winter movements along the east coast, it has long been thought that the species could be found in between as well. In fact, every southern state that has tried for the birds has gotten them! (This includes Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri) Other states have been slow to catch on, Arkansas included, but not anymore! Season one has involved traveling around northwest Arkansas and setting up mist nets at night. A speaker is then set up with the NSOW call on loop, the nets checked every 45 minutes or so, and the waiting begins. Amazingly, our second night out, we had one bird responding (which is rare in winter) and another that flushed from a cedar. Ecstatic, we waited the next 45...lo-and-behold, we had captured our first saw-whet! Just one, but a step in the right direction, supported by 12 previous records. This individual, the first ever netted and banded in Arkansas, was a top-of-the-chart female. Weather conditions haven't been great since the first capture, coupled with a low movement of saw-whets south this year, but things are looking up weather-wise and I am hopeful for the coming weeks.
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| Though she may be as big as they come, saw-whet owls are still tiny. |
Amidst all the research and school work, I haven't been out much just for sheer enjoyment lately, but I was able to make a trip down to central Arkansas for the Arkansas Audubon Society's annual fall meeting. The meeting is always a great way to be in good company with the birders and the birds. Not to mention we were staying at a hotspot for one of my favorite birds, the Brown-headed Nuthatch. This tiny pine-lover climbs up and down trees all day searching for food, while squeaking like a dog toy. These nuthatches are only found in southern pine forests of North America, and in Arkansas, just in the central and southern regions. Having lived in two northern corners all my life, I don't get to see them very often. Brown-headed Nuthatches were much more widespread at one time, but pine is highly desired, so after enough years of logging their numbers dropped along with Red-cockaded Woodpeckers and Bachman's Sparrows, both of which are species of concern in Arkansas and share similar habitat as the nuthatch. They seemed to be doing pretty good on the meeting weekend, though!
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| Brown-headed Nuthatch Hanging in There |
It has been a great fall and soon to be an even better winter. Way back in 1863, Henry David Thoreau wrote: "I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright." I have found this to be true many times in my adventures. Get out occasionally and enjoy nature!
Enjoy,
Mitchell
