Archive for June 9, 2008
This Weekend Was For The Birds
by John Weckerle
Or, perhaps more accurately, part of this weekend was about the birds. Saturday morning, my mother-in-law and I attended the first half of Wildlife West Nature Park’s bird of prey handling class. Normally held on a single day, the class was split into two Saturday sessions this year due to scheduling imperatives. This year, the class’s first session was held by master falconer Tom Smylie of The Peregrine Fund. A class of about 22 people learned the basics of raptor identification, their position within their ecosystems, and the reasons for such attributes as wing structure, tail length, and other physical attributes that make birds of prey suited to their environment and their way of life.
We also learned a few interesting tidbits about birds in general, including: »» This Weekend Was For The Birds
Rain, rain…
by John Weckerle
Yesterday, I used the last of my harvested rainwater. Even though I have a 3,600 gallon capacity, the dry winter, followed by a dry spring, left me with far less than half of that to get through the season. With the second-year trees and shrubs associated with our ecological enhancement activities and the new vegetable gardens, plus the fountains/wildlife bubblers, that much only goes so far.
Why so dry? Part of the answer lies in the state of the El Nino – Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that affects weather on a global scale. It involves temperature anomalies in the surface waters of the central tropical Pacific Ocean. El Niño represents a period when surface waters are 0.5o or more warmer than normal, and La Niña represents a time during which temperatures are 0.5o or more cooler than normal. ENSO neutral conditions exist when surface water temperatures are within 0.5o of normal. During the El Niño part of the cycle, our area tends to get more rain, while dryer conditions persist during La Niña. During ENSO neutral conditions, there is an equal chance of having normal, above average, or below average conditions. We are currently experiencing the La Niña effect, which is currently weakening. »» Rain, rain…