Why do spiders have eight legs and insects only six?

January 3, 2021

Naturally

The snowplow had gone by twice, but enough snow remained on the road to muffle the sounds of cars.
The season is backward or forward, I'm not sure which. I walked 8 miles looking for birds on a Christmas Bird Count (CBC), always needing to see one more bird for good luck. Trees swayed and things lurked. Crows watched me intently. They believe all living things merit further study. I follow the Dr. Seuss school of doing a CBC. He wrote this in "Oh, The Places You’ll Go!" "You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left." I've done many counts. I know what I’m missing.
Goldfinches had become coldfinches at temperatures well below zero. I didn't see a popinjay. It's an insulting word for a vain or conceited person, one given to pretentious displays. It was also, at one time, the name for a parrot.
I put peanuts in the shell for the jays. I imagine them saying, "Found a peanut, found a peanut, found a peanut just now. Just now I found a peanut, found a peanut just now.” A happy blue jay is a blue jay weighing a peanut just as a bowler does when searching for the perfect heft to a bowling ball filled with strikes.
Q&A
"Why do spiders have eight legs and insects only six?" Because if spiders had only six legs, they'd be insects. There probably isn't any definitive reason spiders have eight legs and insects six. Scorpions, harvestmen, ticks and all arachnids have four pairs of legs.
"I received a Christmas card with an English robin on it. Is it related to our robins?" A European legend says on the night Jesus was born, a robin heard Mary's plea to keep the fire from going out. The robin fanned the embers with its wings until they glowed red and tossed twigs into the fire. The flames singed the robin's white breast, turning it red. European settlers to North America gave the name robin to the red-breasted songbird they saw here — the American robin. Bluebirds were sometimes called robins by the British, towhees were ground robins and Baltimore orioles were golden robins. The two robins aren't closely related. The larger American robin is a member of the Turdidae or thrush family that includes the wood thrush and eastern bluebird, and the European robin (robin redbreast) is a flycatcher-thrush in the Muscicapidae family with nightingales and chats. Robin is an Old French diminutive of Robert.
"How many crane species are there?" There are 15 in the world. The U.S. has the most abundant (sandhill crane) and the most endangered (whooping crane). The International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wis., is the only place on Earth where you can see all 15 of the world’s crane species. Its mission: The International Crane Foundation works worldwide to conserve cranes and the ecosystems, watersheds and flyways on which they depend. The Foundation will open on May 1.
"When do the cranes visit Nebraska's Platte River?" I tell myself the sandhill cranes arrive by Valentine's Day, reach peak numbers on St. Patrick’s Day, and are gone by Tax Day, but this varies from year to year. Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary near Minden and Gibbon (in the Kearney area) offers blinds March 6 — April 11. The Crane Trust near Wood River (closer to Grand Island) has blinds available from March 1 to April 1. These are subject to change. Neither are far from I-80 and both morning and evening blinds are available to see some of the 600,000 cranes. The fall migration doesn't offer huge gatherings of cranes. Rowe's phone number is 308-468-5282and Crane Trust's is 308-382-1820.
Thanks for stopping by
"I part the out thrusting branches and come in beneath the blessed and the blessing trees. Though I am silent there is singing around me. Though I am dark there is vision around me. Though I am heavy there is flight around me." — Wendell Berry
"For a large and growing number of people, birds are the strongest bond with the living world of nature. They charm us with lovely plumage and melodious songs; our quest of them takes us to the fairest places; to find them and uncover some of their well-guarded secrets we exert ourselves greatly and live intensely. In the measure that we appreciate and understand them and are grateful for our coexistence with them, we help bring to fruition the agelong travail that made them and us. This, I am convinced, is the highest significance of our relationship with birds." — Alexander E. Skutch
Do good.

©Al Batt 2020

Contrary to popular belief, the sandhill cranes in Nebraska aren’t all Cornhusker fans. Photo by Al Batt

Some days, they are all snowbirds.

January 2, 2021

A January fog will freeze a hog or a dog, but it will frost a tree.

The Christmas chipmunk

January 1, 2021

After big freshman season, Batt ready to raise her game

She won’t say she was born to be a Minnesota State basketball player, but New Ulm native Joey Batt knew from a pretty young age that the Mavericks would be at or near the top of her list if she decided to play college ball.

“I always thought it would be cool to play here,” Batt said at Bresnan Arena this week. “My family came to watch a lot of games here as I was growing up. I was familiar with the campus and arena and all that stuff.”

After a standout career at New Ulm, the 5-foot-5 point guard played well enough to make the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s All-Freshman team. She averaged 9.4 points, 1.7 steals and 20.1 minutes per game.

Both Batt and MSU head coach Emilee Thiesse admit it was a good start to a career, but neither is satisfied.

“At the end of last year I asked her, OK, you’ve had a good season, but are you ready to take the next step?” Thiesse said. “Are you going to be content or do you want to elevate your game and the team to the next level?”

Judging by what she’s seen in practice, the answer is yes to both questions. Batt is the quintessential gym rat who is a tireless worker in practice.

She is expected to be an integral part of a team that went 18-11 a year ago and has been picked to finish first in the Southern Division of the Northern Sun by league coaches.

The Mavericks did not have a star player last season but instead relied on their balance and depth to be successful. Thiesse expects more of the same in 2021.

“We’re an up-tempo team so we expect all 12 players to contribute,” the coach said. “We want to rotate as many fresh players into the game as we can.”

Leading scorer Kristin Fett (10.3 points), a 6-5 junior center, is back. She is the only player returning who averaged double figures in scoring a year ago.

Among the other top returning players are 5-10 senior forward Tayla Stuttley (8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 66 assists), 6-0 senior forward Rachel Schumski (7.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 13 blocks), 5-4 junior guard Maddy Olson (6.6 points, 59 assist) and 5-7 senior forward Brooke Tonsfeldt (4.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 44 steals).

Junior forward Jinda Guidinger is a transfer from Western Illinois.

The incoming freshmen are guard Taylor Theusch, guard/forward Grace Mueller, guard/forward Ali Hunstad and 5-11 forward Emily Russo.

“We like our freshman class,” Thiesse said. “They’re going to have to work for playing time because we have so much depth and experience coming back, but that’s the way it should be.”

By Jim Rueda. The Free Press

Here’s something you don’t see every day — a squirrel sitting in the snow while eating an avocado.

December 31, 2020

This House Sparrow is unlikely to stay awake long enough to see the ball drop at midnight.

A starling looks as if tiny birds with wet paint on their feet had walked on its feathers.

A colorful American Goldfinch hangs on until 2020 has left.

The memory of an Indigo Bunting shines on a cold day. Such warm thoughts are appreciated

December 30, 2020

The sight of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak is always warming. I hope it’s wintering well in the tropics. It’d be nice if it sent me a postcard.

We are available as cardboard cutout fans at sporting events.

December 29, 2020

I spent one afternoon leaning out my window and talking trash with a trash panda (raccoon).

2021 will have a May and its May will have a female Indigo Bunting. It’s wonderful how that works.

Winter is crushing it with its artistry but it struggles with cursive.

December 28, 2020

I’m pleased this isn’t my living room chair.

The old fisherman watches a successful student.

The gull was not gullible enough to get any closer.

I need to get in my steps even when it’s dark in Haines, Alaska.

The centerline of the main drag in Hartland melts away every June.

December 27, 2020

Naturally

I heard a bird singing merrily on high. It was a crow.

It was 30 years ago. I still played basketball. After a hard-fought battle on the hardwood, I stopped at a supermarket to make my shopping list happy. There was a stack of heated dog dishes by the door. They were not big sellers as they'd been reduced to $2. I bought one as any big spender would have. I should have bought the entire stack, as I used it as a bird waterer until it became dog-tired. It worked well and didn't spin the electric meter. A birdbath with a built-in heater draws birds to a backyard. Birdbaths can sit on the ground as my dog dish did or be mounted on a pole or deck railing. There are heaters that can be added to a birdbath to keep the water open all winter. I have a new dog dish. It cost way more than $2. It's popular because the birds think it's a bird dish.

I saw a red fox on the road. A red fox has a white-tipped tail and is seen in forests and fields, often in the open. Gray foxes have black-tipped tails and are found in forests and forest edges, not likely seen in open areas. Gray foxes can climb trees. Because they prey upon small mammals, a healthy population of foxes tends to lower the incidence of Lyme disease.

A bird feeder and a state park sticker are splendid gifts. They keep on giving. The blue jays in the yard appreciated the gift of peanuts in the shell. It was fun making them happy. The Christmas chipmunk made its appearance. Chipmunks aren't true hibernators. Instead, they enter a torpid state, in which their body temperature and heartbeat decrease, but they wake every few days to feed on stockpiled food and to defecate. A chipmunk's burrow system has an entrance hole about 2 inches in diameter and goes down around 2 feet before paralleling the surface for up to 10 feet. Chambers for sleeping, storing food, defecating and giving birth are excavated to the side of the tunnel. Chipmunks love tomato juice — when tomatoes ripen, chipmunks eat holes in the bottoms to get the juice. Despite the propensity to attack my tomatoes, I gave the Christmas chipmunk some peanuts. It made the chipmunk happy. And me, too. Merry Christmas.

Q&A

"How long do bald eagles feed their young?" Eaglets are nestlings for 10 to 12 weeks and are fully grown at 9 weeks. They are fed raw meat directly one to eight times a day, receiving no regurgitated food as some other birds do. The male provides most of the food for the first two weeks. After 3 or 4 weeks the female provides as much food as the male and by the late nesting period, the female is providing most of the food. The parents will continue to provide food for some time after fledging as the newly flighted birds hone their hunting and flying skills. It takes 4-12 weeks on average for young eagles to hunt successfully. Fully refined, specialized hunting skills probably take years to develop.

"Are flying eagles courting when they interlock talons?" They could be, but talon-grappling and tumbling have been observed behaviors in all combinations of eagles. Four possible reasons for such actions are pair-bonding, aggression, learning and play.

"What are two porcupines called?" A prickly pair.

Marian Bahl of Faribault wrote, "Where are the finches? Nothing is eating at my thistle seed feeder!" I’ll send some goldfinches your way. It might take a couple of days, what with it being near Christmas and all. The pine siskins blew through some yards. Their winter movements are erratic and depend partly on the state of cone crops in northern North America. The weather has been kind to finches and they are finding plenty of natural foods to eat. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, they’ll be back.

"I raise chickens. I watched roosters preening before a fight. What's going on there?" Displacement behavior occurs when an animal performs an act that's irrelevant to the behavioral context. It includes self-grooming, touching or scratching displayed when an animal has a conflict between two motivations, such as the desire to fight another while being afraid of that opponent.

"Do robins reuse nests?" Not typically. Old nests crumble during winter, parasite eggs or larvae may overwinter in a nest and attack nestlings, and female robins have a powerful impulse to build a new nest each year.

Thanks for stopping by

"Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white.'" — Bing Crosby

"A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together." — Garrison Keillor

Do good.

©Al Batt 2020

What do you call a goldfinch on a boomerang that won’t come back? A goldfinch on a stick. Photo by Al Batt

There is nothing like a little suet on a snowy day.

A House Sparrow dressed for winter.

December 27, 2020

A Pine Siskin knows a storm can ruffle a few feathers.

A starling warms its feet on cold medal.

Purl the cat had wanted an ex-box for Christmas.

December 25, 2020

I see this here and there, and especially way over there. So many reasons have been given for hanging shoes, it keeps us wondering.

At well below zero temps, a goldfinch becomes a coldfinch.

I had an expert decorate the Christmas trees.

Winter traditions whether we want them or not.

December 24, 2020

What does a good Minnesota man do in this predicament? He wishes he were somewhere else.

The utility wires have been frosted, greasing the skids for Santa’s arrival.

The snow had disguised bushes as large cauliflower heads.

This Ring-necked Pheasant hen hadn’t been dreaming of a white Christmas.

December 24, 2020

I’ve heard that a healthy pheasant could go three days without food.

This Ring-necked Pheasant rooster isn’t finding much to crow about.

Jupiter and saturn are the best conjunction since “And.”

December 22, 2020

It’s amazing how these two tiny lights of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction amaze me.

I miss seeing the nearly bald Blue Jays of August, soon to be a major motion picture.

Three memory trees planted in honor of my late Audubon amigos and birding buddies.

December 21, 2020

It’s good that some grass has the ability to dodge the lawnmower.

Woodpecker College offers Pole Climbing 101 for Downy Woodpeckers.

This is evidence that a Ring-necked Pheasant had a close-call.

An owl picked him

December 20, 2020

Naturally
I walked Kaplan’s Woods in Owatonna and saw beguiling birds. One was a barred owl. Barred owls eat small animals, including squirrels, chipmunks, mice, voles, rabbits, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and crayfish. They hunt by sitting and waiting on an elevated perch while scanning for prey. Sometimes they temporarily store prey in a nest, in the crook of a branch or at the top of a snag to eat later. A barred owl has one ear higher than the other. Hearing from two different angles helps it pinpoint the location of prey.
I walked among the evergreens. White pine (W-H-I-T-E) has five needles per bundle, while Norway (red) pine has two needles (Nor-way).
I've not seen a snowy owl this fall. It's a prime spark bird. A spark bird is the bird that sparks a person's interest in birding. It opens eyes to the incredible beauty and mystery of birds. The snowy owls visiting here have proven to be more nocturnal and healthier than originally thought. While in Minnesota, they feed on voles, rabbits and waterfowl.
I didn't see Thomas Jefferson — I saw swans
Each winter, I stop in Monticello, Minnesota, where for 35 winters, trumpeter swans have been fed along the bank of the Mississippi River. Swan Park offered an artificial corn-feeding program started by Sheila Lawrence in the 1980s and continued by her husband Jim after her death in 2011. This program has ended. Jim Lawrence, the City of Monticello, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department, the Minnesota DNR and the Trumpeter Swan Society hope to preserve the long-term health of the migratory birds by encouraging the swans to remain wild and to forage naturally for food. There are 30,000 swans in Minnesota.
An owl picked him
Thanks to the International Owl Center in Houston, I heard David Johnson, director of the Global Owl Project, speak. He became enchanted with owls when he was 11 years old after an eastern screech owl landed on David's canvas pup tent and called for 20 minutes. David took it as a special message. "I didn't pick owls. They picked me," he said. David is studying the myth and culture of owls around the world. He found that the role of grandmothers is important in the transmission of culture as those women have the time and experience.
Q&A
"When is the best time to see eagles at Hawk Ridge?" Eagles: Bald: Sept. - Oct.; Golden: late Oct. - Nov. Rough-legged Hawks: mid-Oct. - early Nov. Red-tailed Hawks: early Oct. - early Nov. Broad-winged Hawks: Sep. 10 - Sep. 25. Sharp-shinned Hawks: mid-Sep. - early Oct. The average number of raptors counted each year at Hawk Ridge is 76,000. The numbers from the past fall: Broad-winged hawk 32,920, sharp-shinned hawk 13,595, bald eagle 5,300, red-tailed hawk 4,720, rough-legged hawk 1,948 and golden eagle 208.
"What bird call do you receive the most questions about?" I get the most about two birds. One is from people who miss hearing the songs of meadowlarks. The other wonders what is producing the song of the black-capped chickadee, a simple two-note whistled fee-bee.
"What is the best thing to feed birds?" You can't go wrong with black oil sunflower seeds.
"What ate most of a mouse caught in a trap?" Mice could cannibalize another. It could have been a rat. I can hear you shudder at that possibility. A shrew, a venomous mammal, is a likely predator. Shrews have long pointed noses, dense velvety fur, black beady eyes and lack visible ears. They have an incredibly fast metabolic rate that requires them to feed voraciously, night and day. They eat earthworms, small mammals (mice and voles), centipedes, snails, slugs, beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, crickets and plant matter.
"Do goldfinches migrate?" Northern populations of American goldfinches are short-distance migrants that winter in the southern United States and northern Mexico; southern populations are year-round residents. Females winter farther south than males and young males farther north than adults. Irregular in migration, more remain here in winters with good food supplies. Banding shows wintering site fidelity is low. Some goldfinches are present year-round in Minnesota and are likely permanent residents. The goldfinches we see in the winter tend to be young birds, those hatched just months earlier, and are nomadic. The goldfinches we have at our feeders now could be locals or from Canada.
Thanks for stopping by
"I heard a bird sing In the dark of December A magical thing And sweet to remember. ‘We are nearer to Spring Than we were in September.’ I heard a bird sing In the dark of December." — Oliver Herford
"You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment." — Annie Dillard
We fish ewe a mare egrets moose, we fish ewe a mare egrets moose, we fish ewe a mare egrets moose, and a hippo gnu deer!
Do good.

©Al Batt 2020