Whats missing?

What the ...
A bad omen has appeared at the Nursery. Last year, a pair of Swainson's Hawks were nesting in a big, old Black Locust tree, across a busy street in someone's yard, in a subdivision. It is the site of an old farm house.The house had been recently renovated, but it looked like these hawks had nested in this tree since the days when there was open farmland all around. Now they are urban hawks, hunting in the tree farm and fields about a mile away. They showed up on their spring migration from Argentina or somewhere, just about the same day I returned to work.I heard the light-phase pair, way up high before I could see them, on a bright spring day with a strong south wind.

I did not notice it right away. Something was amiss as I watched the hawks flying around the nursery and neighborhood in a confused manner. Then I saw it, or rather didn't see it. The nest tree was gone. There was a big gaping hole in the tree line across the street. Sometime this winter, the owners had that tree removed.The male sat in one of his hunting trees, staring at the emptiness all day yesterday. I felt sorry for him and his mate. "What the hell are we going to do now?"I could imagine him saying to himself. Nesting sites for hawks are getting squeezed out of the environment around here at an alarming rate.Will they try to re-build in one of the younger trees on the same lot? Or will they vacate this very marginal territory and try to find a new place where there is not already an established pair of Swainsons or red-tails. That would be tough.If they leave, I will be sad for their absence in my daily work place.

They were very entertaining to watch, especially when they were hunting fledgling birds in the nursery and when their young were making their first clumsy flights. Should I go over and ask the people why they took the tree away? Did they dislike the hawks?An old Black Locust can be a miserable tree to have in a manicured yard, so I guess I can see why they might have wanted it gone. At least it was removed when the hawks were gone for the winter. Just imagine how terrible it would be to return home from a long trip to find your house gone. It bothers me anyway.
Expect updates on these birds. I am curious to see just what they do. I am also watching a pair of red-tails whose old nest blew down in a wind recently. They seem to be re-building.
Tags: wild hawks
Current Location: Cloverdale Nursery
Current Mood: distressed
Current Music: Their conversations in the sky

Coopers Falcon ?

Finally back to work at Cloverdale Nursery for spring 2010. I was getting re-acquainted with the trees, healed in the back area, when I noticed a large(female) Coopers Hawk rising into the sky in a soar. Once she reached a few hundred feet, she was right above me, as I moved through a section of crab apple trees. A "herd" of Robins, on their way north, chattered nervously at the end of the row. The 2" to 3" caliper trees were still full of old, dried- out fruit, left from last season. Snowdrift and Indian Magic crabs for the most part, for those who might be interested in good wildlife varieties.

Suddenly, the hawk folded into a tear drop shape and stooped like a falcon into the bird laden trees in front of me. Dozens of red-breasted thrushes busted out of their lunch room and headed for the adjacent neighborhood,
with the hawk right behind them. She appeared to be an adult, flashing some blue as she scooted over a cedar fence. "Blue Darter" indeed !

Could not tell if she scored. I don't suppose she will have a hard time finding food around the nursery, on her way to the mountains. Last fall, I found a pile of Robin feathers on top of a big root ball, which had the mark of the accipiter all over it.

Tumbleweed Road

I found this rather impressive sight along a road south of Kuna. A couple of miles of tumbleweeds piling up against a fence, at least twenty feet deep. A month ago they actually covered the road like a crunchy, brown snowdrift. More wind and some traffic has revealed the road more evenly since then.

Thousands of acres of old farmland and burned off sagebrush has created an invasive plant species nightmare out there on the edge of the Birds of Prey area. Efforts to protect and restore what natives are still hanging on ,are greeted with this bullet-holed statement from some of the locals.

Zone what ?

Photos show burned stand of "Hardy Bamboo",

Weeping giant Sequoia
and Photina fraseri hedge.

So the debate goes on about what USDA cold hardiness zone Boise is really in. Anyone who has been here since the seventies knows what winter can bring to the area. Zone 5 regions can experience periods of close to twenty below zero degrees F. It has actually been, since 1991, I think it was, when we had any serious arctic cold to contend with. That makes eighteen or so years of zone 7 temperatures, never dropping below zero degrees F in Boise proper.

Well this winter, we had a week in December (2009), where the night-time low hit 5-10 below each night. I suspected that we would see some damage to the numerous plant varieties that have been planted here over the last two decades, as if we had suddenly joined Seattle as a coastal community.

Deodar Cedars, Bamboos, Photinias, Sequoias and other evergreen trees and shrubs have been planted with great gusto around Meridian, Eagle and south Boise and for the most part have thrived for a good long while.

I have been seeing some cold burn showing up around town lately and went out to take a few pictures of examples. Being a nursery saleman, I just know I will be talking to lots of people about their exotic landscape plants that are suddenly all rusty brown. "Is it dead?"many will ask. "Will you replace it if it does not recover ? We bought it from you ten years ago."? Yeah, right. Well those along Eagle road, on the island, are so beautiful. we just had to have some like those.

Most of what I am seeing will recover with time and spring growth. I think there is more damage that has yet to show itself on things like roses and grapes. It was just a little reminder that we are still in Idaho and hardiness zones don't change themselves over such short periods of time.

Flying Gyrfalcons

Felt like showing these flight shots of the Peregrine Fund's Gyrfalcons, performing for the public in October of 2008. Dave Wells, Archives of Falconry curator took these shots and more. I was there, waiting to fly my Prairie Falcon when these were taken.

People Scaring Birds

Bald Eagle Day at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival in late January has become somewhat of a Boise community event. It is put on by the Idaho Bird Observatory, a research group connected with BSU . The Idaho Falconers Association has been invited to participate for several years and we have a varied presence, at times having enough people and raptors to put on a formal presentation. This year, one of our long-time members who usually does the talking (thank you Jesse, you do great, but there are others among us who could this too)

Anyway, Jesse was recovering from foot surgery and couldn't come and therefore, no one in the club knew what to do. So, a few of us who kind of enjoy this sort of thing every now and then, showed up to loiter around the grounds and talk to people. We were invited to do this after all.

I don't know what got into me, but I got the idea to get dressed up in a Shakespeare period costume and play the role of a nobleman with his gyrfalcon. The Costume Shop in Garden City was quite an adventure the previous morning. I finally settled on what I learned was more renaissance

than Elizabethan. Close enough for this short time frame. The hat was big enough for my swelling head and I got a lot of comments about my official Shakespearean converse sneakers. ( costume boots were too much $$$$.)

Long story short, it was a good way to spend six hours on a otherwise unexciting winter Saturday (I am not a skier) and the attendance seemed pretty good, with a lot of smart, inquisitive kids. There was not much happening in Barber Pool, wild bird wise, only two eagles flew by. Maybe I scared them off with my get up. For the most part, I think people enjoyed seeing it and of course, a white gyrfalcon is always popular. At least no one burst into laughter at the sight of me (except my son when I left the house dressed up). Who knows, I may have started something. Or, more likely Jesse will send out a club e-mail asking me not to come back as King Eric of drama and attention grabbing.