Some lessons from nature

Al Batt, Nature's World

Published Saturday, July 25, 2009

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

“How are you doing?” I ask.

“Everything is nearly copacetic. I understand some things. I know that everybody lies, but it doesn’t matter because nobody listens. I know that when I put up a martin house, I don’t get purple martins — I get mosquitoes. I understand that most people around here do not use turn signals. If someone is using a turn signal, either he or she is a visitor to the area or the signal was already on when the car was purchased. What I don’t understand is the post office. I brought a package to the post office to be mailed. It had some stamps on it, but the postmaster weighed it and said, ‘It’s too heavy. You have to put more stamps on it.’”

“So?” I say.

“So if I put more stamps on it, would that make the package lighter?”

“Oh. Say, I saw you standing in that field of beans. Have you taken my advice and started walking?” I ask.

“I walk. It’s the only way I can get to the garage.”

“So why were you standing in that field?” I wonder aloud.

“I’m trying to win a Nobel Prize. I heard they give the award to people who are out standing in their field.”

Nature lessons

According to Bruce Watson’s book, “Weather Almanac,” the warmest day on average in Minnesota is July 26.

A raindrop that falls in Itasca State Park and enters the Mississippi River takes 90 days to reach the Gulf of Mexico.

I heard people in Montana calling ring-necked pheasants “ditch parrots.”

The Micmac Indians believed that thunder was the sound of seven rattlesnakes whipping their tales as they flew across the sky. There are 17 species of snakes in Minnesota. Garter snakes are ovoviviparous. They give birth to fully formed young. The favorite prey of garter snakes are slugs, earthworms, and amphibians.

Woodpeckers have zygodactyls feet — two toes in front of the foot and two toes in back. This arrangement helps the bird to grip trees.

The typical avian sex roles are reversed in phalaropes. Females are larger and more brightly colored than males. The females pursue males, compete for nesting territory, and aggressively defend their nests. Once the females lay their eggs, they begin their southward migration, leaving the males to incubate the eggs and care for the young.

According to a study done at a winter roost in California, starlings will disperse up to 50 miles each day to feed.

A male grackle has the color of a motor oil spill in a puddle of water.

Monarch butterflies fly 10-14 mph for 6 to 8 hours a day during migration. The speed is dependent upon weather conditions, especially the wind. The butterflies that migrate south live 6 to 8 months, the others live about a month.

Grandma told me Fels Naptha Soap could be used for the treatment of a poison ivy rash.

Ogden Nash wrote, “God in his wisdom made the fly and then forgot to tell us why.”

Bananas are the world’s largest fruit crop and the fourth-largest crop grown after wheat, rice, and corn.

Coyotes and cats

A scientific study, “Observations of Coyote-Cat Interactions” by Shannon Grubbs of the University of Arizona and Paul Krausman of the University of Montana published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, tracked coyotes in Tucson, Arizona and observed 36 coyote-cat interactions of which 19 resulted in coyotes killing cats. Other research has found that approximately 13 percent of a coyote’s diet consists of cats.

During this particular study, in the 45 instances when coyotes were observed feeding, 42 percent of the meals were cats. The researchers concluded that any cat outside is vulnerable to coyote attack and recommended that cats be kept indoors.

Reporting in

A U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service report shows that one of every five Americans watches birds and those birdwatchers contributed $36 billion to the U. S. economy in 2006. The report, “Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis,” shows that total participation in birding is 48 million. Participation rates vary, but are generally greater in the northern half of the country. The five states with the greatest involvement include Montana (40 percent), Maine (39 percent), Vermont (38 percent), Minnesota (33 percent), and Iowa (33 percent).

Good work

Pheasants Forever announced the completion of seven projects, all additions to existing wildlife areas that are open to the public for hunting, fishing, trapping, and birding. The Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, PF Chapters, and others provided funds for these projects. Trust Fund dollars come from the Minnesota State Lottery. Projects completed under the 2007 Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund grant to Pheasants Forever include: Spring Creek WMA 201 acre addition (Becker County); Bench WMA 120 acre addition (Swift County); Henjum Lake WPA 35 acre addition (Kandiyohi County); Copeland WMA 32 acre addition (Otter Tail County); Alvstad WMA 10 acre addition (Grant County); Sangl WMA 80 acre addition (Jackson County); White Bear WMA 50 acre addition (Pope County).

DUCK!

Minnesota’s breeding duck population has dropped to an estimated 507,000 birds according to the DNR’s May aerial waterfowl survey. This number is 31 percent lower than last year and 19 percent below the long-term average of 626,000. The mallard breeding population was estimated at 236,000. This is 6 percent above the long-term average of 224,000 breeding mallards, but 21 percent below last year and 19 percent below the long-term average. Blue-winged teal numbers declined 11 percent from last year to 135,000 and remained 39 percent below the long-term average. The combined populations of other ducks (wood ducks, ring-necked ducks, gadwalls, canvasbacks, and redheads) decreased to 170,000, which is 5 percent below the long-term average. The estimated number of wetlands was 318,000, down 2 percent from last year but above the long-term average of 248,000. Additional wetlands and grasslands are vital to increasing breeding duck numbers. This year’s estimate of 285,000 Canada geese remains similar to last year’s estimate of 289,000.

Pelican Breeze

Please join me as I host a tour on the Pelican Breeze as it cruises beautiful Albert Lea Lake on Aug. 16 at 4 p.m. Please call (507) 383-2630 to make a reservation. I’d appreciate your company.

Thanks for stopping by

“Remember, happiness doesn’t depend on who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.” — Dale Carnegie

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”— Mark Twain

DO GOOD.

  Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. E-mail him at SnoEowl@aol.com.

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