Tag Archives: nature

A Glimpse of a Bobcat and the Sound of a Raven

Wildlife & Plants, , , ,

I recently saw in a social media post by a friend that Spring is in the air. I responded that it doesn’t feel that way up here in the North Woods! We are still getting a few snow squalls daily and the cold and wind make it seem like the middle of winter to me.

None the less, I decided to take a few short walks on the country road where we live today because the sun was shining at least. Although it was crisp, I was rewarded twice today with unique wildlife sightings.

On my first walk, I happened to see a Bobcat cross the road in front of me about 25 yards and move into a shrubby field toward the south. I picked up my pace a bit and was able to catch a clear view of the cat and his “bobbed” tail before he/she vanished into the brush. Although we regularly hear and see all sorts of critters in the fields and woods around our home, the sighting of a Bobcat here was a first for me. Interestingly just a few years ago but well into warmer Spring weather I was walking in pretty much the same location when a black bear stepped out of the woods and crossed the road heading north. I not only didn’t speed up my walking pace at that time but came to a dead stop!

The Bobcat is a North American cat with two recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to central Mexico, including most of the contiguous United States. The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas, as well as semi-desert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments. It remains in some of its original range, but populations are vulnerable to local extinction by coyotes and domestic animals. (We have loads of coyotes around here.) With a gray to brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the bobcat resembles the other species of the midsized genus Lynx. It is smaller on average than the Canada lynx, with which it shares parts of its range, but is about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby (or “bobbed”) tail, from which it derives its name.

Though the bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it hunts insects, chickens, geese and other birds, small rodents, and deer. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most cats, the bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although with some overlap in home ranges. It uses several methods to mark its territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine or feces. The bobcat breeds from winter into spring and has a gestation period of about two months.

As I was finishing another short walk and about the enter our front door, I heard the low gurgling call of a Common Raven. Although the Raven isn’t all that uncommon in our area, we don’t see or hear them nearly as much as we see and hear crows.

The Common Raven, also known as the Northern Raven, is a large all-black passerine bird. Found across the Northern Hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. There are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages 25 inches in length and 2 1/2 pounds) in mass. Common ravens can live up to 21 years in the wild, a lifespan surpassed among passerines by only a few species. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory.

So, windy and cold or not…I enjoyed the brief encounter with a couple of unique north woods species.

Birding – A Life-long Hobby That Can Be Handed Down

Parks & Sanctuaries, Wildlife & Plants, , , ,

We are regularly being told that our way of life destroys nature. Over the years society, in general, is becoming less and less connected with nature and natural resources. I think this is a dangerous trend for our future. What we don’t understand, appreciate, or value we will not take care of.

I also think that most people are resistant to this type of information, and often say: “Nothing in nature depends on me!” I believe it is very important for this type of thinking be turned around, because we, the people depend on everything in nature for our very existence.

One way to regain a connection with nature is through the hobby of birdwatching or what most people simply call “birding” these days. I found the video below both interesting and entertaining. It presents a story of how a young boy became a birder and later helped famous birdwatcher and artist Roger Tory Peterson sight what Peterson called the “Bird of the century” and then went on to pursue birding as a life-long hobby which he passed on to his own family. Are you doing the same?

https://vimeo.com/110006283

 

Doñana National Park Spain

Parks & Sanctuaries, ,

Several years ago, I was invited to attend a meeting of the United States Golf Association, Turfgrass and Environmental Research Committee that was to be held in Southern Spain. I was a member of that committee for over 20 years and I worked with and met some great people during that time. One person who was on the committee, that has since passed away, was Jimmy Patino, who was the owner of Valderrama Golf Club in Spain. In fact, Jimmy funded all the Committee expenses to hold the meeting, which he hosted at Valderrama.

My entire family joined me on this trip, which we turned into a fantastic family vacation, by extending our stay in Spain and later traveled to England for an additional week. Jimmy had previously asked if there was anything special that I wanted to do after the committee meeting concluded, and I said that we really didn’t know much about that region of Southern Spain and just wanted to explore the country-side and experience the culture and the nature of the area. Leave it to Jimmy to arrange a field trip of a lifetime and arrange a 2-day adventure to Doñana National Park!

Along with a few other people who attended the committee meeting, some Valderrama members and the naturalist of Valderrama Golf Club, we traveled by minivan to the National Park. Jimmy had significant influence in Spain. So much so, that they actually closed the park so that we had a private tour of the area!

Doñana National Park is a natural reserve in Andalusia, southern Spain, in the provinces of Huelva and Seville. It covers over 209 square miles, of which 52 square miles are a protected area. The park is an area of marshes, shallow streams, and sand dunes in Las Marismas, the delta where the Guadalquivir River flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It was established as a nature reserve in 1969 when the World Wildlife Fund joined with the Spanish government and purchased a section of marshes to protect it. The eco-system had been under constant threat by the draining of the marshes, the use of river water to boost agricultural production by irrigating land along the coast, water pollution by upriver mining, and the expansion of tourist facilities. It is named after Doña Ana de Silva y Mendoza, wife of the seventh Duke of Medina-Sidonia. Doñana National Park is a United Nations World Heritage Site.

If you ever get the chance to visit Doñana National Park, or if you are looking for a unique natural area to visit, I highly recommend this region and park of Southern Spain.