Adaptable Birds

I have been on the road a lot lately trying to get ready for Cisco's and the summer (if there is such a thing anymore).  As I drive between Woodruff and Sage Creek Junction this time of year I always look for redtail hawk nests.  There are not many trees along the way but there must be plenty of food in the fields because there are at least four nesting sites along the way.  One nest that I have watched for years and always fledged birds finally succumbed to the elements last winter and fell to the ground.  Apparently the birds liked the area because the nested on the top of some grass bales nearby.  I appreciate the rancher who has consideration for the hawks and left the bales for them.  It is a far cry from my younger days when "chicken hawks" were shot on site.

I was talking to Loretta from Bridgerland yesterday about her birds and wildlife that she constantly feeds and she said two moose were still hanging around.  She made an interesting observation.  Apparently the magpies fly in and alight on the moose's back where they pull up old, winter hair to line their nests which they are working on now.  Sounds like we all have work to so, regardless of the weather.

Wildlife, lake levels and snow

I am beginning to sound like a broken record.  The weather is still terrible and the lake keeps coming up.  It is interesting for me, as a biologist, to see the lake begin to invade  the littoral zone which is choked with trees willows, upland plants and fragmities.  I know that nutrients and plant matter that have been unavailable to aquatic species for years is finally becoming part of the lake.  It will provide hiding areas for small fish, attachment points for invertebrates and as I saw today, food for moose.  Most of it will drown and turn into detritus and drift around the shorelines.  The black muck is not bad, it is just nature's way of making compost.

I keep looking at the mountains wondering when the snow will melt.  After talking to a couple of hydrologists, the physical dynamics were finally made simple enough for me to understand.  A snow pack will not melt until all of it is 0 degrees centigrade and then it all goes at once with no turning back.  A lot of factors effect this process.  Dust or debris on the snow will absorb radiation.  Wind will accelerate the process.  A warm rainstorm with high humidity will also have a significant impact.  Snow does melt a little at the bottom because the earth is warmer but the amount is negligible.  When the snow column begins to collapse, hydrologists measure the amount of water that the soil will absorb and the rest is runoff.  Our melting window is getting narrower.  I suspect lots of people think the flooding is over because the snow is gone around the lake.  We could be so lucky.  That is what makes it so interesting.  No one can predict it.

Bear Lake Rising

Does anyone know where this boat ramp and marina is? It took me a minute when I first looked at the picture. Check out the cool lenticular clouds too. It is the marina and ramp on the south side of Gus Rich Point (Spinnaker). It hasn't looked like that since 1999 but it will this year. At a meeting this week, PacifiCorp predicted that Bear Lake would raise seven feet by July. That would put it at 5918 or close to normal. Goodbye beaches between Garden City and Laketown except Rendezvous Beach. Lake shore cabins will once again be by the lake. Nothing ever stays the same at Bear Lake.

April Snow

Now I have been a big proponent for lots of snow and runoff to bring Bear Lake back to normal water levels. After so many years of drought it was great so see above average snowfalls during the winter. There is over 1000 cfs coming through the Rainbow canal right now. Now, I have to admit, I am sick of it. I haven't seen the ground around my place since November. That was OK because there is a ton of dog bones and other debris under the snow, but we received another foot last night and more for the weekend. I have been dealing with flooding in Garden City for a week with more promised for the future. I broke a cable on my snow blower yesterday blowing out the travel trailer which I foolishly though we might use. All of the little birds are colored up for nesting but they face starvation now. I don't see deer anymore. I have lived at Bear Lake since 1974 and I can not recall seeing this much snow in April. I really don't know why I am whining. There is nothing I can do about it so I am happy that my family is healthy and I haven't sheared Maggie's winter coat yet.

Two warm days at Bear Lake

The high snow is settling but the low elevation stuff has started to melt. The irrigation canal that circles around Garden City is full of snow and ice. When the snow melt hits it, the water has no place to go. The result is overtopping the canal bank and heading down to the fields and houses below. What amazes me is how much the wetlands that have yet to be developed around the lake act as big sponges to tame the runoff. The whole situation is frustrating because in many cases you can't do anything about it. Mother Earth does what she wants. This is just the beginning since there is billions of gallons of water in the hills. Everyone thinks it is someone else's problem. No, you need to take care of your property and blame someone else later.