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Occasional posts - from the quirky to the momentous - on the life and times of the Methow Conservancy.
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Thursday, March 17, 2016

Corvid Course - Class #6 Clark's Nutcrackers, Memory & Whitebark Pines

Our 2016 "Conservation Course" started January 25th.  Below are short-hand notes taken by Raechel Youngberg and a video by CJ Peterson, both class participants.  See notes and videos from the previous classes here:
first class
second class 
third class
fourth class 
fifth class

Class #6 - Clark's Nutcrackers, Memory and Whitebark Pines with Teresa Lorenz & Eireann Pederson
February 29, 2016 


 Watch and listen to the entire class on this video
 
Clark's nutcracker in Mazama eating suet, by Mary Kiesau
Clark's nutcrackers are named after William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Clark's nutcrackers are social animals that straddle two worlds. In one world they are similar to other corvids in that they eat a diverse variety of foods but in the other world they are specialists who primarily dine on large pine seeds. They are partial migratory birds, meaning that specific groups migrate to different areas but there still may be Clark's nutcrackers in your backyard year around however they are unlikely to be the same Clark's year around. 

They are gray-bodied birds with black and white wings and tails.  The juveniles have a light gray face and a pink mouth. It is impossible to tell male and female apart based on coloration but it may be possible to do so by observing their behavior. Clark's nutcrackers look similar to northern shrikes, and gray jays.

By Michael Sulis, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31796706
Clark's nutcrackers have a large brain for their body size and a large hippocampus, which is one of the main areas of the brain for memory. They have the best spatial memory of any other animal in the world. Clark's store 50-80,000 seeds in caches across a wide area every year. A nutcracker can hold up to 80 whitebark pine seeds at a time in the sublingual pouch inside their mouth, and then carry these seeds for 20 miles before caching them. Clark's can carry up to 20% of their body weight in seeds. During the fall Clark's nutcrackers primarily eat only "stone pine" seeds, preferably whitebark pine, but during the rest of the year they are opportunistic foragers. (Stone Pines are pines that are distinguished by large, dense seeds that lack wings and therefore depend upon birds and squirrels for dispersal across the landscape.  There are five species worldwide.)

Pine trees produce variable seed amounts each year. Some years there is a bumper crop and Clark's nutcrackers will have plenty of seeds to go around but other years seeds are scare and they rely more on other varieties of food. Clark's have been known to eat salamanders, eggs, small birds and frogs. But their primary food besides pine seeds is insects. 
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Whitebark pine in the Okanogan NF
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) was discovered by George Englemann in 1863.  They are the only stone pine (tight closed cone) tree in the Americas. They have large seeds with a high fat content. They rely on animals such as Clark's nutcrackers to distribute them. However Clark's nutcrackers in the Pacific Northwest often prefer to cache seeds in trees rather than in suitable areas for white bark pine to grow, because they need to be able to find them in the winter when snow levels are high.  

Whitebark pine are the 11th longest living tree species on the planet. The oldest whitebark pine was 1,270 years old and nearly a foot in diameter. 

Whitebark pine are high elevation trees (6000-7000ft) and can be identified by their five needles. Whitebark pine's habitat range, not so coincidentally, overlaps with the range of Clark's nutcrackers. 

Whitebark pine cone (Wikimedia)
Whitebark pine take 20-30 years to reach cone bearing age. They then must mature to 60-80 years of age before they produce a large cone crop. It takes two years for a cone to reach maturity, and a whitebark pine will take 3-5 years between cone cycles.   So, it's a slowly regenerating tree.

Whitebark pine are Clark's nutcrackers preferred food. While Clark's nutcrackers are able to adapt to different food sources, whitebark pines are not as adaptable. Whitebark pines are early colonizers after disturbance, and the fire suppression of the west has allowed other trees such as lodgepole pine and other shade tolerant species to easily out-compete them. Whitebark pine also face threats from blister rust (fungal disease that was introduced from Europe), mountain pine beetles, and climate change. 

Whitebark pine was proposed to be listed under the Environmental Species Act (ESA) multiple times. However due to the decrease in the mountain pine beetle population, the whitebark pine was removed from the proposed listing on 12-24-15. Whitebark pine is currently listed as endangered in Canada.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Corvid Course - Class #5 The Study of Crows

Our 2016 "Conservation Course" started January 25th.  Below are short-hand notes taken by Raechel Youngberg and a video by CJ Peterson, both class participants.  See notes and videos from the previous classes here:
first class
second class 
third class
fourth class

Class #5 - The Study of Crows with Kaeli Swift & Loma Pendergraft
February 22, 2016 



 Watch and listen to the entire class on this video

Crows, as we have discussed in previous classes, are socially monogamous but can have multiple sexual partners. Crows form a tight pair bond that generally lasts for life. The average crow lifespan in the wild is 15-17 years but captive crows have been documented to live up to 30 years of age.

Crows take part in a unique rearing style called cooperative breeding. A mated pair may be assisted in raising a chick by a previous son/daughter or sometimes an unrelated crow. This breeding style has not been proven to assist the mated pair that much but studies have shown that it is beneficial during low resource years.

Crows are social animals and commonly roost together. This practice is called communal roosting. Seattle area crows have been documented to roost together at UW-Bothell campus. Scientists have some theories as to why this practice may occur. One theory is that roosting together protects individuals from predation by cats, red-tailed hawks and coopers hawks. Scientists also believe that crows may exchange information with each other at these roost sites.
As discussed in prior classes crows are highly intelligent animals and have a well-documented use of tools. The New Caledonia Crow has been documented to make two types of tools. Crows display the following attributes of intelligence: causal reasoning, flexibility, imagination and prosecution.

While crows excel at intelligence tests that demonstrate cause and effect knowledge, one study showed that crows struggle with counter-intuitive tests that require inference.

Crows are one of twenty-five species to have been documented demonstrating play behavior. Scientists once thought that animals played to prepare themselves for survival in the wild. However a recent study took one group of animals that did not play during development and measured their fitness against a group of animals that did play during development. There were no significant changes between the two groups. Play during development is now thought to help animals cope with stress better throughout their life. 


The Avian Conservation Lab run by John Marzluff at University of
John Marzluff with a crow
Washington has been trapping and banding crows since 1997.  In one study, researchers wear a caveman mask and hat while trapping the crows. The researchers then test the bird’s reaction to the caveman mask, a "neutral" Dick Cheney mask, the hat without the caveman mask, and an unmasked participant. When crows that have been trapped are exposed to the caveman mask they participate in scolding and mobbing behaviors towards the researcher. Mobbing is when groups of crows attack or harass a potential predator. Scolding behavior refers to a specific call the crows make when they feel threatened.

Additional studies by the Marzluff Lab have demonstrated that crows can recognize faces that have fed them or that have hurt them in the past. Crows do not seem to forget this knowledge and they pass this information onto other crows, including their young. The Marzluff Lab researchers have been mobbed and scolded by more crows than their study has caught. A sign that captured crows are teaching other crows that the caveman mask and hat combination signifies a potential threat.  


Crows mobbing a red-tailed hawk
Mobbing is costly and can be dangerous for the crow. Crows only use this tactic when they deem the predator worth the risk. One study sought to learn more about this behavior. An osprey is as big as a hawk but it eats fish so it poses little to no risk to crows. Crows rarely mob osprey - however in areas where encounters between osprey and crows are uncommon (crows don't know what osprey are) the rate that crows mob osprey is higher. In areas where osprey and crow encounter are common mobbing rates are lower. When crows do mob osprey it is generally the younger naive crows that do so. The older experienced crows recognize that an osprey poses no threat and will not participate in mobbing events against osprey. This is yet another example of crows using mobbing events to teach potential threats to younger or naive crows.

One study sought to find out if crows felt threatened by a researchers gaze (eye contact) or their expression. Studies were conducted to see how close a researcher could get while either staring at the crow or making an expression. Then an observer would note how close the researcher got before the crow reacted (flew off, looked at the person etc). The study found that crows flew away more often when a researcher was walking towards the animal while staring at it. Eye contact is considered a threat because it is a sign of potential predation whereas facial expressions can be faked and are not reliable.

 

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Corvid Course - Class #4 Corvid Mythology, Legends & Lore

Our 2016 "Conservation Course" started January 25th.  Below are notes and a video for the fourth class in the 6-class series.  See notes and videos from the previous classes here: 
first class
second class 
third class


Class #4 - Corvid Mythology, Legends & Lore with Mary Kiesau
February 16, 2016


Watch and listen to the second half of the class on this video (we had a problem recording the first part of the lecture; this video starts late.)

Corvids are popular figures in mythical stories throughout the world. The most popular corvids in mythology are ravens and crows but magpies and jays are also featured (Mary said she couldn’t find any nutcracker stories).  Mary covered stories from Native American or other First People cultures; tales from the Far East; and legends and myths of Western Europe from both the old Norse/Viking era as well as from the more recent “Christian” era of say the last several  hundred years.

Magpies
Magpies are a very common symbol throughout many Asian countries. They are seen very positively - generally representing happiness, good luck, and good news.  A famous love story about Niu Lang and Zhi Nv is called the “Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.”  After marrying and having 2 children, they were separated by a great river and can meet each other only once a year by crossing a “magpie bridge.”  The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are represented in the night sky by the stars Altair (in the Eagle, Aquila) and Vega (in the Harp, Lyra), respectively, and the Milky Way is the river.  The Qixi Festival is the annual Chinese festival that celebrates the once-a-year meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl. It is sometimes called the Chinese Valentine's Day or the Magpie Festival.  The tale of The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd has been celebrated in the Qixi Festival since the Han Dynasty.  This story is also told and celebrated in Korea and Japan. 

In China magpies are also associated with children and marriage.  The magpie is regarded as the bird of joy, and the Chinese call it “The Happy Magpie.”  It is a symbol for marital bliss, sexual happiness, nesting, and long lasting fortune.  In Korean art, magpies are frequently painted along with tigers.  Magpies are said to deliver good news and the tiger represents good luck.
The good nature of Asian depictions of magpies is contrasted by Western cultures negative depiction of the birds.  In European cultures magpies are often seen as bad omens. The following saying shows that seeing one magpie is an ill omen but it is not nearly as bad as seeing a flock of magpies.

“One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a story never to be told.”

If you see just one magpie there are certain measures you can take to avoid imminent tragedy.  First- salute the bird and say, “Good morning, Mr. Magpie. I hope your wife and family are well!”  If that doesn’t work caw like a magpie while flapping your arms. This way there will actually be two magpies which is a good omen!

There is one English fairy tale that actually acknowledges their intelligence. It’s called The Magpie’s Nest –read it here. 

Skadi, the Norse goddess of winter is often associated with magpies.  The Danish word for magpie is skade.  In Greece, the magpie was sacred to Bacchus, the God of wine. So the magpie is sometimes associated with intoxication.

Western Indigenous cultures, like the Asian cultures, see the magpie as a friend and helper, though they also often see him as a trickster, like they do with the corvids in general. Many Native American tribes have stories involving magpie, and wearing a magpie feather is a sign of fearlessness in some tribes as the magpie is bold and has little fear.  Here’s a Cheyenne story about Magpie and why he is a friend to humans. 

Jays
There is not a lot of folklore or mythology about jays across the world. The ones Mary found were from Native American tribes, about both gray jays and various “blue” jays.

Stellar's Jay by Fred Croydon
Bluejay appears to be most affiliated with Chinook, Chehalis, and other Northwest Coast tribes.   The Cowichan of the Coast Salish have a story of a blue jay (does not specify Steller’s jay) bringing a young women he loved back to life.  Read that story here.

Wesakechak (wee-sah-keh-chahk) is the benevolent culture hero of the Cree tribe. There are hundreds of stories about him, but no one really knows what he looks like because Wisakecahk
has many powers, such as the ability to change shape and be anything he wants, and to speak the languages of the animals and plants.  Stories about Wisakecahk usually begin with him walking and feeling hungry. He is too lazy to get food for himself, so he will try to trick other animals into giving him their food, or into becoming his food.  Wisakecahk became anglicized as “whiskey jack,” which became an alternate name for the gray jay.

Crows
Crows are one of the most popular corvids featured in mythology.  Crows and ravens (and most likely rooks, jackdaws, hooded crows and carrion crows) are often, though not always, interchangeable in folklore and mythology. They are often portrayed with dichotomous roles and meanings (good and evil, bird of darkness and death or creator of the world and light, etc.) 

Mural from the Han Dynasty period found in Henan province
The three-legged crow is a creature found in various mythologies and arts of East Asia. It originated in China during the Neolithic Era - items with depictions have been excavated from the lower Yangtze River delta area and dated back to around 5000 BC. The three-legged crow, called the sanzuwu, is believed by East Asian cultures to inhabit and represent the sun, and is often called the bird-sun or the sun crow. Three was the number they associated with light and goodness, which the sun embodied.

The crow also appears in Japanese mythology and to some extant modern culture. In Japanese mythology, a jungle crow called Yatagarasu is evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs.  Yatagarasu the Crow-God is symbolic specifically of guidance. This great crow was sent from heaven as a guide for Emperor Jimmu (was the first Emperor of Japan, according to legend) on his initial journey from the region.

The crow is considered by orthodox religious Hindus to be a messenger from the world of the ancestors and is ceremonially offered cooked rice in the annual event Shraddha.  Crow calls are viewed as an omen of unexpected guests. 

In many cultures crows (or ravens) started out white and there are many stories about why they turned black.  Here are several of those stories.

Corvids, like any animal, can be Albino or leucistic
In Greek mythology, there is a tale of Apollo who fell in love with Coronis.  Apollo asked his divine messenger, the white crow (some stories say it’s a raven), to guard Coronis while he was away.  Coronis was pregnant with Apollo’s child, but gave in to the advances of a mere mortal, Prince Ischys.  When the crow brought news to Apollo of Coronis’ infidelity, Apollo became enraged that his faithful messenger had not pecked out the eyes of the prince.  Apollo flung a curse so furious the crow’s pure white feathers were scorched black.  Coronis was killed and later set among the stars as Corvus, the crow (korônê in Greek).

There’s a story about Muhammad, the founder of Islam and the last profit sent to earth by God sometime around 570. A popular legend depicts a time Muhammed was hiding from his enemies in a cave. A crow, then white, spotted him and cried “Ghar, Ghar!” (cave, cave!) to his seekers. They did not comprehend the crow’s cries, however, and Muhammad escaped, but he turned the crow black for the betrayal and cursed him to only utter one phrase for the rest of time; “Ghar, Ghar!”

Crows or ravens frequently appear in “Great Flood” stories. Some legends depict the bird as a Noah-like creator, saving all the other animals.  However, one biblical “Noah” story says that after it had stopped raining, Noah sent a white raven to explore the sea and look for a dry piece of land. Instead of coming back the bird just flew around. So Noah sent a white dove which came back with an olive branch signifying land. The raven was summoned to come and was blackened by Noah and condemned to feed on carrion as a punishment.

In a North American tribal legend, the raven and the peacock were close friends. One day, the two birds decided to amuse themselves by painting each other's feathers.  The raven set willingly to work and so surpassed itself that the peacock became, as it is today, one of the most beautiful birds on earth. Unwillingly to share its glory even with its friend, the mean-spirited peacock painted the raven plain black.  Other variations of this story suggest the raven exhausted all the color on the peacock, leaving only black for itself.

The Sioux tell the story of how a white raven used to warn buffalo of approaching hunting parties. The buffalo would then stampede, and the hunters would be left hungry. Eventually, an angry shaman threw the bird into the fire which turned it black.  Mary’s last crow story came from Lenni Lenape Tribe in Delaware.  It’s called “Rainbow Crow.”

Ravens
Ravens are perhaps the most common bird symbol in the mythologies, legends and folklore of ancient (and modern) cultures. They assume a variety of roles, ranging from messengers of deities and sages to tricksters and bringers of death. They play a central part in many aboriginal creation myths and, like crows and other corvids, are typically associated with the supernatural realms lying beyond the ordinary experience.

In many western traditions ravens represent darkness, destructiveness, uncleanliness and evil. They are sometimes associated with deities of impurity and death.  Their black color is certainly a part of these beliefs, but it’s also because the eat carrion, and were seen among the dead, on battlefields and elsewhere, often with wolves, which symbolically is one of man's oldest enemy.

But before ravens began to be vilified throughout Europe (and then wherever Europeans went), they had a long history of myth and legend with numerous ancient cultures, particularly in the Norse and Celtic regions.  The ravens of European mythology are invariably messengers, or an alternate shape for various deities and spirits (vs. in the indigenous cultures of North America, ravens are often the deities themselves).  The most widely known heroes of European folklore that are associated with ravens are Bran, Morrigan, King Arthur and Odin.  Mary discussed each of these.

In old Welsh and Celtic mythology, the Welsh giant Bran (aka Bran the Blessed) was the King and
protector of all of Britain, and he kept ravens.  When Bran was mortally wounded while warring against the Irish, he commanded his followers to behead him and bury his head in what is now Tower Hill in London to protect Britain from invasion. A popular superstition arose declaring that if the ravens ever fled the Tower of London, the monarchy would fall. As long as they nested there, Britain would never be successfully invaded. Bran's Ravens have been there for over 900 years and are kept there to this day, as protection against invasion.  During World War II, Tower Hill was bombed, and the ravens were lost. Winston Churchill, knowing full well the ancient legends, ordered the immediate replacement of ravens, and they were brought to Tower Hill from the Bran’s land of the Welsh hills and Scottish Highlands.  The name "Brân" in Welsh means crow or raven.

Among the Irish Celts, ravens are associated with the “Triple Goddess,” Morrigan, who would take shape as a raven (or crow) and fly over battlefields choosing the slain and protecting warriors, such as the famous warrior Cuchulian. She was sometimes called the Battle Crow. Morrigan was also prone to prophecies and predicting the outcome of battles.

In “The Dream of Rhonabwy” (written in the 14th century but set many centuries earlier during the time of King Arthur), the knight Owain who has an army of ravens is playing King Arthur in a game of cheese in Cornwall. King Arthur’s people begin to harass Owain ravens and Owain asks the King to leave his ravens alone. King Arthur ignores Owain who then sets his ravens on Arthur’s mean. The ravens kill many people and then turn the great King Arthur into a raven. Well into modern times, many people still believed that King Arthur was alive in the form of a raven, and in Cornwall especially, people will not kill a raven.

"Odin, der Göttervater" by Wilhelm Wägner, 1882
One of the most interesting human/raven relationship was with Odin, the great Norse god of the Vikings. Narratives regarding Odin are primarily from 13th century texts recorded in Iceland. He is sometimes called the God of Ravens.  Odin is depicted as one-eyed and long-bearded, frequently wielding a spear, and wearing a cloak and a broad hat. He is often accompanied by his animal companions—two wolves, Geri and Freki, are on either side of his feet and two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, are on opposite shoulders.  Huginn translates to “Thought,” and Muninn to “Memory.” Each daybreak Odin sent them from him to fly throughout the world, delivering messages and gathering news and information to bring back to him. They were to observe what was happening, question people and even talk to the dead.  They would come back to whisper to Odin what they had seen and learned. Since they embodied Odin’s mind and thoughts, they symbolized his ability to see into the future, and likely helped create the concept that ravens are prophetic.

“Raven and The First Men,” by Bill Reid
In indigenous cultures of North America ravens often have roles of transformation and/or are seen as creators of the world.  Details of the creation tale differ, but essentially “Raven”— sometimes a creature with human body and raven’s beak—is believed to have made the world. There are numerous legends from tribes across North American about how Raven “Gave Light to the World.” They vary slightly but mostly follow the same story provided here by a Haida elder in this video.   

Creation myths continue with various stories about how Raven created the earth and/or how he created the First People. Here’s another video story from Haida Gwaii called “Raven & the First People.”

In other stories, perhaps when Raven is still young, he is the trickster, like Coyote, sometimes devious and sometimes benevolent.  Mary closed the program with one of these “trickster” tales from a Northwest coastal tradition called, “Raven and the Man that Sits on the Tides.”