John Carter

Last Friday Laura and I were able to get away for the evening to see the new movie John Carter. Unless you are a fan of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian Tales you probably have no idea what this movie is about (something the marketing for this movie did little to help). In short the movie is based on the first installment in a series of books written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of another series of books about an orphaned boy raised by apes in the wilds of Africa that you probably have heard of. That boy is named Tarzan. The John Carter story was first published as "Under the Moon of Mars"; a six part serial in the All Story Magazine in 1912 under the pseudonym Norman Bean. It was later published as a book titled "A Princess of Mars" which was rather inexplicably re-titled "John Carter" for the movie. Doesn't "A Princess of Mars" sound more interesting and adventurous?
This series revolves around a Civil War veteran - John Carter - who stumbles on a pathway between Mars and Earth and is unexpectedly transported to Mars (a Mars as the author imagined based on the knowledge of his time). He encounters a variety of strange creatures and not so different human inhabitants and the stories in the series describe the adventures he encounters with the creatures he finds on this new planet. They are good fun (or at least that is how I remember them - it has been a few years).
I first encountered the writings of Edgar Rice Burroughs during a rather rain soaked vacation to Minnesota in the late 1970's. It started with the first Tarzan book, and after I had devoured that series, purchased 2 or 3 at a time to read during the downpours, I raced through the Martian tales. Below is the cover art from the Del Rey series I read published in 1979 (I still have every book in this series and the Tarzan series from that summer - thanks Mom). I don't think that I have read them since, but you can see what might have drawn the interest of a fourteen year old boy.





When I heard that a movie was being made of these books I was excited. I have thought for quite a few years that if they could make Star Wars they certainly could make a decent movie with this story. I had hoped that this effort would not fail my expectations and for the most part I have to say it was all that I had hoped it would be. It was great fun. In particular, the characters were much as I had imagined them, probably greatly influenced by the cover art of Michael Whelan. I highly suspect the designers of this movie were greatly influenced by his interpretation of the characters as well. In particular, the four-armed green men (Tharks) in the illustration above look just like those in the movie.
The movie is exactly what it should have been - an imaginary adventure to strange places with a basic plot of doing what is right. With lots of great action scenes and believable aliens all rolled into the mix.
I hope that there will be sequels to this first go-around but I am afraid that the poor marketing (which appeared to assume that everyone knew the premise of the story, not just middle-aged men) and the large price tag of production of this movie no matter how well it does will doom more John Carter adventures on the big screen. That will be a shame. These are good stories that I feel I can share with my boys at the movies. At least I still have the books though and perhaps that will be enough. They too can enjoy the written words and make their own mental movie like I did so many years ago. The movie has certainly gotten me interested in going back to Mars with John Carter again.

Teaming with Widlife Award

About a week ago Senator Jon Tester of Montana received an award from the Teaming With Wildlife Coalition and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies for "his consistent support of State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Programs and fish and wildlife conservation funding as a member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Committee." More information about this award can be found here.
The reason I am mentioning it here is because the award was a photo I took of a Greater Sage-Grouse. The photo above is of Senator Tester and Whit Fosburgh from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership with the award.
Thanks to Shawn Cleveland for sending them my way.

New Greater Sage-Grouse Research

Today the Interntional Journal of Conservation - Oryx published a paper I am a co-author on. The paper is titled "Greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus migration links the USA and Canada: a biological basis for international prairie conservation." and the abstract reads -

Migratory pathways in North American prairies are critical for sustaining endemic biodiversity. Fragmentation and loss of habitat by an encroaching human footprint has extirpated and severely truncated formerly large movements by prairie wildlife populations. Greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus, a Near Threatened landscape species requiring vast tracts of intact sagebrush Artemisia spp., exhibit varied migratory strategies across their range in response to the spatial composition of available habitats. We unexpectedly documented the longest migratory event ever observed in sage-grouse (> 120 km one way) in 2007–2009 while studying demography of a population at the north-east edge of their range. Movements that encompassed 6,687 km² included individuals using distinct spring and summer ranges and then freely intermixing on the winter range in what is probably an obligate, annual event. The fate of greater sage-grouse in Canada is in part dependent on habitat conservation in the USA because this population spans an international border. Expanding agricultural tillage and development of oil and gas fields threaten to sever connectivity for this imperilled population. Science can help delineate high priority conservation areas but the fate of landscapes ultimately depends on international partnerships implementing conservation at scales relevant to prairie wildlife.

The paper is based on the work that Jason Tack did for his master's thesis that I wrote about previously here.and here. As the abstract states, the migration was something we hadn't really expected. We just wanted to find out what habitats the birds were using during the breeding and brood rearing in this rather unique (for sage-grouse) silver sagebrush habitat. When Jason first went looking for his radio marked birds early the first winter, the couldn't find any of them in Canada or the northern part of the county and it was only because he had the receiver on as he transited back to the airport that we first found out where these birds were spending the winter. Jason did a great job with this research and I am happy to have worked on this with all the co-authors.

Snowy Owl Yoga

Last Friday, one of the Snowy Owls we watched spent quite a bit of time cleaning it's feathers.



I was amazed how far down it's back it could reach. It almost looks like it's head is detached.





As it was preening the feathers on it's back it must have spotted something off in the distance that caught it's attention. The owl held this position for about 20 seconds before continuing to preen.







Then the feet needed attention.





Then the tail.







Finally done.

Snow Day Friday

No this isn't a post about the weather. That title would be "No Snow Winter" this year. This is a post about birds and more specifically 38 birds of a particular species. And to be more precise this post is about this particular Friday, a day that I had hoped to make happen since late December.
This day had it's genesis in December when I began to see reports of large numbers of Snowy Owls from across the country and continued after a post Christmas road trip turned up seven owls in an area near Fort Peck where I really didn't expect to see that many. What really cemented the idea though were continued reports from my friends in Glasgow that went something like "we saw eight along the highway the other day" or "I saw three last night just north of the house."
My ideas was to spend a day looking to find as many Snowy Owls as I could and when the boys had Thursday and Friday off of school and I had no "need to get done" projects or "need to attend" meetings on my work calendar, the time was right to head north.
I enlisted my Dad to join me in my quest and Thursday night we planned our route. We would head north from Fort Peck to Glasgow and continue north until we could see Canada and then head west along the border, then turn south and wind up in the little town of Hinsdale on Highway 2. We would then head east on Highway 2 back to Glasgow and return to Fort Peck via the backroads to find some owls had been hanging out there all winter. In addition to the reports from my friends, fellow Montana blogger Mona at Montanagirl has been posting a number of great photos of a number of Snowy Owls from the area around Hinsdale so we figured this route would allow us to find those birds as well.


Charles Carlson photo

The day turned out to exceed our expectations. I had originally thought that if I found 20 owls I would be happy. We hit that number before we were halfway through our route. At one point we had observed 16 owls in about 18 miles.



Most of the owls were perched on poles or signposts.


Charles Carlson photo

But some were in trees.




Charles Carlson photo

This one landed in a field after he flushed from a fencepost on the side of the road. I am sure that if there were many sitting on the ground along our route we missed a lot of birds given how well the blend in with their surroundings when they are not exposed on a perch.



I got his photo just as he was landing.



And this one as he was flying across the field.




Charles Carlson photo


Charles Carlson photo

Most of our east to west portion of the route was barren of owls and I am sure, given the knowledge of where we found the birds, that we could have probably found at least 20 more owls that day had we chosen a different route to maximize the habitat that we found the birds in. We also found an assortment of typical winter birds for the area including Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs, Golden Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks, and a Prairie Falcon.


Charles Carlson photo

On Saturday, the boys and I headed across Fort Peck dam after a walk along the Missouri River. We were looking for another owl reported on Friday perched on the lightposts that line the top of the dam (what would have been our 39th owl on Friday). We found him right where he had been reported the day before and I pulled off the side of the road to show the boys and get a photo or two.
Apparently I hadn't pulled off the road quite far enough and just about that time a Montana Highway Patrol officer went past, then flipped his lights on and turned around and pulled onto the shoulder of the road in front of me and nearly right under the owl. As he got out of the car I expected the owl to bolt, but here merely looked down at the officer as he got out of the car and walked back to the van. He asked if I was taking photos and I pointed over his shoulder to the owl now looking right at him. He turned and looked and was a bit surprised to see the owl looking back at him. He mentioned to me that he had observed a number of them this winter and wondered why that was so I was able to explain to him about the lemming population and the increase in owl productivity. He explained to me that he would like me to pull further off the road next time and got back into his car and headed down the road.



This is the owl looking down at the officer. The owl stayed there the whole time and the patrolman walked back and forth to his patrol car with my license and registration and he was still sitting there when I decided to leave a short while later (after pulling further off the road). I suspect that this particular owl had had a few cars stop to look at him this winter.
Friday turned out to be the best day I had spent in quite a while. I got to spend a nice day birding with my Dad, something I don't get to do often enough these days and Mom made pasties for dinner that night. And I got to see 38 different Snowy Owls in one day. Can't beat that.

Birding Montana opportunities

Lazuli Bunting

This summer I will be involved with a couple of birding adventures in Montana so if you are interested in seeing some great birds and incredible landscapes, check these out -

In late May I will join David Sibley at the Pine Butte Swamp Guest Ranch for their Birding the Mountains and Prairies With David Sibley Workshop. I will do the introductory few days of the workshop and then David and I and Keith Hansen will co-lead the rest of the week. David will then co-lead a second workshop with Keith Hansen. Here is a link for David's posting on the workshop (he does a great job of describing the pace and expected birds) and a link to Keith Hanson's website.


McCown's Longspur

What can I say. I led this workshop a few years ago and really enjoyed the staff, the people that joined me at the workshop, and the place. I feel very privileged to be asked to do this again, but even better, I get to work with David and Keith this time around. Oh and the birds - Pine Butte is wonderful location to base a birding workshop from. There is relatively easy access to a wide variety of habitats within a short drive of the ranch and on the ranch property as well. Hopefully we can even find Northern Hawk-Owls like they did in 2010 as well as Long-billed Curlews, McCown's Longspurs, and Lazuli Buntings. Did I mention that I am really excited about this workshop? I am assuming that most people reading this will be familiar with David Sibley (Sibley Field Guide to the Birds of North America and more), but Keith Hansen is also a great bird artist and has been a favorite of mine for many years. Keith has a great talent for imagining unique perspectives for his subject and then rendering them in a accurate and artistic way. My favorite is an illustration of a Prairie Falcon flying over a Greater Sage-grouse lek as see from above and to the right of the falcon. Two great bird artists and me.
For a complete itinerary, description, and price check out the workshop link above.

Another opportunity to experience Montana birding with an organized group, this time traveling around a good chunk of the eastern part of the state, is a tour run by Peg Abbot with Naturalist Journeys.


Black-tailed Prairie Dog

I will be helping Peg out for a few days as she tours around some of the places I know best - the prairies of Eastern Montana. The details can be found here. This promises to be a great tour full of wonderful prairie wildlife including the possibility of observing McCown's Longspurs, Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Sprague's Pipits, Baird's Sparrows, and Long-billed Curlews - all while standing in one spot! Not just one individual either!


Baird's Sparrow

There is also a good chance that while we are standing there a Ferruginous Hawk or Swainson's Hawk might fly over or the Marbled Godwit will come holler at us. Lots of other great prairie wildlife will be found on this trip I am sure.


American Bison

Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide

Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide. Steve N.G. Howell.

Cloth 2012 $45.00 ISBN: 9780691142111 520 pp. 975 photos and figures. 66 maps.

Perhaps the best way to begin this book review is to repeat a quote that Howell included in the front pages - "The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." from Isak Dinesen because this book certainly made me feel the need for a salt water cure for my longing to be at sea, observing these birds again, this time with this book in hand.

Howell packs so much information into this book. It begins with the Preface, a concise overview of our knowledge of seabirds in general and continues in the "How to Use This Book" section where Howell explains the general outline of this work, including how the book will treat the confusion of common names this group of birds has accumulated as a result of their rather dynamic taxonomic status, names often at odds with current AOU standards. However, I think that H0well presents "a realistic course" through this confusion with the taxonomy and common names he uses. My favorite is the use of Steller's Albatross for the species currently known as the Short-tailed Albatross; a name that epitomizes Howell's belief in using names that "evoke a sense of ocean exploration and discovery". Even the Acknowledgements contain an impressive list of who's who in seabird knowledge from throughout the world.

Early on Howell recommends that the reader takes time to read the Introduction, but this plea is in the "How To Use This Book" section, which like the Introduction, is an often overlooked part of any book so I am going to repeat the recommendation here - READ THE INTRODUCTION. Howell's Introduction is a excellent primer on tubenose birds, oceanography, taxonomy, field identification, bird topography, molt and conservation. All of this is discussed in the context of the seabirds he focuses on in this book, but so much of the information can be applied to birds and birding done away from the ocean that this is well worth the price of the book by itself, even if you never see a tubenose in you life.

However, this book isn't even close to being done with the good stuff at the end of the Introduction. Howell follows with seventy species accounts of the species of petrels, albatrosses, and storm-petrels found within 200 nautical miles of the North American shoreline from Alaska to Panama, including the Caribbean. This is nearly half of the currently recognized tubenose species in the world. Each species account is thorough and includes a species overview of identification summary, taxonomy, names, and status and distribution sections, followed by a field identification section that includes portions on similar species, habitat and behavior, and a description of the bird in flight and on water along with molt information. Following the text is a series of photos depicting the species and often similar species as well. Also included is a distribution map. Often the species accounts also open with an evocative photo depicting the species at a distance. The species accounts are full of identification tips gained from what I can only imagine are countless hours at sea observing these birds. Tips such as noting the relative heavy body and narrow wings of the Hawaiian Petrel for navigating the windy North Pacific versus the lighter body and broader wings of the similar Galapagos Petrel which inhabits less windy tropical regions. Howell has also included a couple of my favorite tidbits of seabird history including the inland record of the Manx Shearwater in Montana and the fact that Steller's Albatross used to breed in the Caribbean.

This book is large and heavy, which somewhat limits it's usefulness in the field, but I am willing to overlook this given the density of information contained within. My only other wish for this book was something that I probably wouldn't have noticed if Howell hadn't pointed it out for me. In the Townsend's Shearwater account Howell has inserted a plate of this shearwater and three similar species painted by one of my favorite field guide artists, Ian Lewington. When I saw this plate I wished that there would have been more of them in this book, just to illustrate what the idealized versions of the different species might look like to compare with the excellent selection of photos. But the book is already big enough and I am not sure what Howell would be able to give up to include more information and keep the book size somewhat manageable.

Howell has done a tremendous job throughout this book in evoking a sense of ocean exploration and discovery through seabirds and I think that he succeeds admirably in his goal of synthesizing the present knowledge of tubenose identification. He has also succeeded in fueling my desire to experience the magic of pelagic birding again, to be back on the ocean and wonder about the lives of these iconic and mostly little know wanderers of the open ocean.