February 2012 Newsletter

January TRACKS Meeting : There were 40 people in attendance at the January TRACKS General Meeting held at Darbi’s Restaurant in Pinetop.  There were several new members introduced.  Dewaine Bartimus from the Nature Center spoke and passed out Nature Center information, saying all TRACKS members have free membership for 2012.   Lynn passed around a sign up sheet for volunteers for the National Trails Day Save Our Park event. Following the meeting 13 people went cross country skiing in the Greens Peak area.

Save Our Park:

This year we will again celebrate National Trails Day with a walk/hike.  The date is Saturday, June 2^nd and the place is the Nature Center on Woodland Road.  The major change this year is that the proceeds will be split by the Nature Center and Save Our Park.  Since both entities are 501(c)(3) organizations, the donations will be tax deductible.  A committee has been formed and will meet at Darbi’s at 8 AM Saturdays January 28^th, February 25^th, and March 31^st.  Anyone wishing to become a committee member is welcome to join at any meeting.  The first priority will be securing sponsors.  A sponsorship is $300 and will provide recognition/advertising on all materials including tee shirts.  If you have suggestions, questions or wish to become a sponsor, please contact Lynn Krigbaum at (928) 242-8814 or e-mail lynnkrigbaum@yahoo.com  Please put that June 2^nd date on your calendar and plan to participate with other TRACKS members .

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As so many of our members spend the winter in the desert areas of Phoenix, Tucson and Green Valley, here is another article about desert animals that have relatives adapted to our White Mountains habitat. 

American Kestral Falcon:

Key characteristics: The American Kestrel, also known as the Sparrow hawk, is the smallest falcon in North America, about the size of a robin.  Females are an inch or so longer than the males.  The wing span varies from 20 to 24 inches.  Plumage coloration varies between sexes.  The main color is brown for both sexes.  The male has blue-gray secondary feathers on the wings, while the undersides are white with black barring.  The back and wings of the female is rufous with dark brown barring.  The kestrel has a sharp, hooked beak and powerful talons. Kestrels do not build their own nests.  They use nests built by other species.

Habitat: American Kestrels are wide spread throughout the Western Hemisphere from Alaska to South America.  They require open ground for hunting.  They prefer meadows, grasslands, deserts, agricultural land, airfields, vacant sites, the edge of highways and open pine forests.  They defend a territory of approximately half a square mile.  Kestrels also need perches for hunting, such as telephone wires.

Adaptations to desert living: Kestrels are bold and adaptive.  The flat open desert is ideal for their hunting needs.

Description:  The Kestrel is ideally equipped for hunting with its sharp beak and talons.  The American kestrel is the only North American falcon that can hover, keeping its head motionless while scanning the ground for prey.  A slight head wind is necessary for hovering.  With its incredible eyesight, which can also detect ultraviolet light, it can track rodents which dribble urine as they move about.  Raptor eyes have 8 times the retinal density of humans and they can see forward and sideways.  Hovering requires a lot of energy, so the kestrel prefers to perch and swoop down on the prey.  The prey usually consists of small mammals, lizards or large insects.

Kestrels have a special notch in their beak, called the tomial tooth.  This is common to falcons and allows the falcon to sever the spinal cord of the prey by biting.  Usually falcons kill with the aid of speed, dropping from great heights and striking with their feet.  If the impact doesn’t kill the prey outright it is dispatched with a bite to the spinal cord.  Falcons are completely carnivorous, obtaining all nutrients and water from their prey.  The prey is eaten completely and the indigestible matter is regurgitated in pellet form.

Courtship for the kestrel begins when the male has established a territory.  Three to seven eggs are laid. The survival rate of chicks is about 50%.  The kestrel is not a social bird but pair bonding is strong and usually permanent.  The male helps to rear the offspring and feeds the female while she is nesting.

Man is the biggest threat to kestrels by reducing food sources and nesting grounds, but they also become prey to larger raptors, ravens and domestic cats.

I found this organism really interesting because:  Falconry started as a serious sport in England in 1066.  You could tell an Englishman’s rank by the falcon he wore on his wrist.  The Old World kestrel was carried by priests.

References: Animal Estates 3.0: Cambridge MA, Wikipedia, Audubon.org/bird/boa, Delaware Valley Raptor Center.