Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
This February was cold! Even in Nebraska we had temperatures in the negatives for about two weeks. The cold temps and work kept me from birding as much as I would have liked. Even with the frigid temperatures I did bundle up and venture out, just not as long or as often as I wish I could have. Although I may not have added many new birds to my list for the year, birding was a great excuse to get outside and enjoy the snow, fresh air, and sunshine February had to offer! Here are a few excerpts from my Big Year Nature Journal this month: Monday, February 1, 2021 To start off the month I went to the hike and bike trail behind the Archway again, and it did not disappoint. I got 4 new birds! Northern Shovelers were enjoying the open stream water, most everything else was frozen. I found a flock of Cedar Waxwings first by their high pitched “bzee” then was able to watch them at the top of a tree. A Bald Eagle flew high overhead. A puffed-up Song Sparrow played in the bush by the path just long enough to ID it. There were other common songbirds singing and flitting about. Some days you don’t find many new birds, but it is fun to get to know “the usuals” in a certain area. I frequent a trail behind a local park and have enjoyed hearing and seeing the Belted Kingfishers that hang out around the creek along the path. Saturday, February 6, 2021 It was a cold and breezy day, but I decided to visit the trail from Yanney to 2nd Ave again. The stream was still open, and Geese and Mallards were taking advantage of it. A lone male Green-winged Teal was with a Mallard pair. I hear the resident Belted Kingfisher and was surprised when I heard another one calling. At one point I saw both, one flying after the other in and out of the stream area. A pair? One defending its territory from the other? I was also lucky enough to see a flock of Horned Larks while I was running errands, a nice surprise for the day! And in the nick of time, just before the end of the month, I got my first Sandhill Crane for the year! I’m looking forward to seeing more cranes as they arrive by the masses. The past two Springs Tony and I have gone on crane tours at the Rowe Sanctuary and it is an awe-inspiring sight to see thousands of cranes congregating on the river for the night. Read about our crane viewing tour and see a video of this spectacular spectacle by clicking the button below! Saturday, February 27, 2021 On my walk home from work today I heard the unmistakable call of the Sandhill Crane and high above in the sky saw a large flock that appeared as tiny dots up so high. This is just the start of the hundreds of thousands of cranes that will stopover in the Kearney area during their northern Spring migration. Even if I didn’t rack up many birds, I still had a fun month of birding. I’m looking forward to March and the birds I’ll see! February Birds: (The first number represents the number of species for the year, the number in parenthesis represents the number of species for the month) February 1 – Archway hike & bike trail, Kearney, NE 31. (1) Northern Shoveler 32. (2) Cedar Waxwing 33. (3) Bald Eagle 34. (4) Song Sparrow February 6 – Hike & bike trail from Yanney to 2nd Ave, Kearney, NE 35. (5) Green-winged Teal February 16 – Kearney, NE 36. (6) Horned Lark February 21 – Archway hike & bike trail, Kearney, NE 37. (7) Common Goldeneye February 21 – Kearney, NE 38. (8) Sandhill Crane February 28 - Kearney, NE 39. (9) Pine Sisken Bird Species this Year: 39 Species for February: 9 Days Birded this Year: 19 Days Birded in February: 7 (I’m counting “days birded” as days I saw a new bird or went out specifically for birding, not every day birded resulted in a new species for the year). Read my other Big Year related posts by clicking the button below.
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With Punxsutawney Phil predicting six more weeks of winter earlier this month, we still have plenty of winter, and ice, ahead of us. With slippery roads and sidewalks, salt can be one of our best friends during winter – but it can also be one of our worst enemies if used improperly. Salt (a compound of sodium and chloride) does a good job of melting snow and ice, but it can be bad for pets, cars, concrete, lawns, gardens, and especially our waterways. Accumulated salt that ends up in waterways can negatively affect the plants and animals (aquatic and land dwelling) that rely on water sources and ultimately affect our drinking water. When salt is applied to roads and sidewalks it will eventually run off into nearby lakes, streams, and ponds and will also end up in ground water and well systems. The runoff can be a result of snow and ice melting, or rainstorms washing the salt away. For humans, that can mean an increase of saline in our drinking water in both city water and well water. Increased saline content in waterways can cause amphibians like frogs, toads, and salamanders to die since they cannot regulate the salt content in their bodies. A frog less here and there may not seem like a big deal, but everything in the ecosystem is connected, so if there are issues even with the “small guys” it can cause big problems. Runoff isn’t the only problem with road salt. Large mammals like deer and moose are attracted to salt on roadways. This causes both a problem for the animals and people driving on the roads, increasing the chance of car collisions. The plants next to roads can also be affected by salt, causing the plants’ leaves, stems, and roots to burn and not grow. As a result, erosion alongside some roadways could become an issue since the plants are no longer there to hold the soil in place. Your car, roadways, and bridges are affected by the corrosive nature of salt. The metal in cars, rebar in roads, and bridge supports can be weakened by salt and corrosion overtime. Not only making some of these things unsafe, but they’re also expensive to fix. Although there can be many downsides to using road salt, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use it. We just need to be conscious of when and how we are using it. At this time there is no good way to remove salt from water, so the next best thing is to reduce our usage. Here are some tips and tricks to using road salt:
Beside reducing salt usage, you can also try a salt alternative. Some cities have gotten creative with their deicing strategies. Cheese brine is a common deicer in Wisconsin. The salty liquid used to make cheese is a byproduct that many dairy farms have to dispose of. So instead of going to waste, it can be used on the roads. Beet molasses is a byproduct of sugar beets being made into sugar that also doubles as a deicer. These alternatives usually work at a lower temperature than road salt making them more efficient in a number of ways. If you don’t have cheese brine or beet molasses readily available for your own driveway and sidewalk, you can try these salt alternatives: Pickle Brine Pickle brine is still salt based but has 4-29% less chloride that will end up in our waterways. Pickle brine prevents ice from sticking to the road making it easier to clean up. Make your own brine by mixing 2 lbs. of salt per 1 gallon of water. Sand, Ash, Coffee Grounds Sand, ash from your fireplace, and used coffee grounds can help melt ice and provide traction. The dark colors absorb heat and melt the snow and ice while the “grit” of each will provide traction. Coffee grounds also have the added melting power of acid which helps it melt faster. Mix 5% salt with 95% sand to reduce your salt usage but still be effective in removing ice. Be careful with sand as it can also be overused and runoff into our waterways causing its own issues. Sweep up any sand after it has done its job melting the snow and ice. Save it and use it again later! Vinegar Need a window deicer for your car? Mix 3 cups of white vinegar with 1 cup lukewarm water in a spray bottle and spray on icy windows. You could also try applying this to other icy spots like stairs. The moral of the story is, in order to keep our natural resources happy and healthy for the future we need to do our part now. Road salt is important for keeping us safe during icy and snowy winter conditions, but we have to be careful with how we use it. There is a time and place (and amount) where road salt usage is appropriate. When salt is needed, we need to reduce our amount usage, and use an alternative whenever possible. The best way to combat ice and snow is the good ole fashioned way – shoveling and removal! Why add something to the environment like salt, beet molasses, or sand when we don’t need to? You’d be amazed at the power of the sun. Even during our frigid cold snap, snow and ice was melting on a -24°F day because the driveway had been recently shoveled. Do your part this winter (and every winter) and help our plants and animals that rely on clean water. And don’t forget, you rely on that clean water, too! If you’re interested in learning more about how road salt affects our waterways, check out the Izaak Walton League of America’s Winter Salt Watch page by clicking the button below. This winter I have been participating in their citizen science program, Winter Salt Watch, to help scientists learn more about road salt and the effect it has on our environment. This sampling season is already underway, but for more information about the program you can visit their website by clicking the link below. It is an easy program to participate in that has a big impact! Learn about the program so you can request your free sampling kit next winter! (Not so) Fun Fact: 1 teaspoon of salt pollutes five gallons of water!
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