Survivor: Christmas Bird Count 2008

Sun dog created by ice particles in the atmosphere

The annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count was held in Medora on 12/21 and out of the North Unit on 12/22. Nine volunteers scoured 288 square miles on the two days the best they could. It was tough because temperatures were below 0 until the last couple hours on the second day, with lows approaching -15 degrees F. The extreme cold wasn't just challenging for the surveyors, it kept bird activity to a minimum. Our count numbers were low; the most chickadees in a single sighting was nine at my bird feeder, we had no waxwings of any kind, and our record high of over 1,250 robins last year fell to less than 10 this year. We did manage to find one bald eagle among the swarms of horned larks and abundant grouse and pheasants. But, for the most part, birds were laying low.

Amber and I scored 3 Townsend's solitaires on the (closed) scenic loop drive in the South Unit. Really we saw 4 but the fourth was flying away and I couldn't confirm it. We also found a golden eagle, Northern shrike, and black-billed magpies on the loop.

Elk on the Ridgeline Trail. I was jogging up the trail because I knew I didn't have much time before my extremities started to get frostbite, and I noticed the elk tracks. At the top of the hill, there they were. They disappeared rather quickly.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Elk Management Environmental Impact Statement Out for Comment

The Theodore Roosevelt National Park Elk Management Environmental Impact Statement is being released for public review and comment today. There will be a 90-day comment period.

There are several options for reducing and managing the population of the park's elk herd. The outcome of this management decision could have an impact that reaches far beyond Theodore Roosevelt National Park alone.

I have not reviewed the document yet, and although I have an idea how I will feel about each of the options upon reading the document, I will wait until I have the scientific data to support what I already believe on principle. I hope you will, if you feel inclined, review and comment on it yourself. The document and all associated materials and contact avenues are on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website.

Beardcicles

We got 3-4" of snow last night, but at least the wind wasn't as bad as was predicted. The temperature hit zero around 6:30 PM and got all the way down to -16 degrees F by this morning. I was out shoveling the powder in front of the VC and had icicles forming in my beard. The beardcicles were more uncomfortable than the cold. Wind chill today is expected to be -45 and the low temp tonight is expected to be -24.

Medora's Cowboy Christmas

Cowboy Christmas was this weekend, and it's the last hurrah for the town until, oh, Memorial Day. There was a whole schedule of events posted including music, food, and a dash of religion (it took research to figure out that the musical guest was a teenage gospel singer I was going to need to avoid).

The kickoff event was "Oyster stew" at the Cowboy Cafe. Since I live closer to the Cowboy Cafe than anyone else in Medora, I figured I had better show up. When Amber and I got there, the place was packed with white-haired ladies and old guys with walkers and cowboy hats. Of course. And, of course, they all stared at me. I'm sure it's because they were trying to figure out who I was, something relatively harmless. But then again, what business is it of theirs? Anyway, I was the most local in the room unless the owners were actually living upstairs. Maybe it's a Milwaukee thing, or a northern European thing, but it seems like looking too hard at people you don't know is VERY THREATENING. The soup at the Cowboy Cafe was very good, the sandwich awful (maybe it's a Wisconsin thing, too, but can I get some real cheese on this thing?), and the pickled okra untouched.

Saturday was more exciting as "Eats on the Streets" went on around lunchtime. Most of the local businesses were open and had treats out: BBQ beef sandwiches at the Harold Schafer Center, bison chili at the otherwise private Wooly Boys Saloon, cookies, cider, etc. We had a cheese and cracker table (where's the wine?) that I thought was pretty tasty. We had about 6 pounds of cheese log still left when it was over, and I worked on that for a while today. It snowed in the evening, but it didn't stop the fireworks show! They launched the fireworks from the base of the hill right by the apartment, so we had a front row seat. I felt bad for the people in the house on the corner right next to the launch area as the low-arcing misfires rained down on their house. Seemed like a fire code issue to me, but at least it was snowing and wet at the time. It was a better fireworks show in December than I've seen from the very basic 4th of July shows in St. Mary the last 5 summers.