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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

Lewis’s Woodpeckers

We are happy to see these colorful birds back to nest in our dead trees. This is the second year we have observed them nesting here. This particular bird was perched on a snag in front of our house, surveying its surroundings and being harassed by a Tree Swallow. The swallows normally use that perch and they were not happy to have this woodpecker in their space.

All About Birds has this to say about the Lewis’s Woodpecker: The Lewis’s Woodpecker might have woodpecker in its name, but it forages like a flycatcher and flies like a crow. It has a color palette all its own, with a pink belly, gray collar, and dark green back unlike any other member of its family. From bare branches and posts, it grabs insects in midair, flying with slow and deep wingbeats. It calls open pine forests, woodlands, and burned forests home, but it often wanders around nomadically outside of the breeding season in search of nuts. Lewis’s Woodpeckers nest mainly in holes and crevices created by other woodpeckers or created naturally in dead and decaying trees (snags). They nest in cottonwood, ponderosa pine, paper birch, white pine, and other trees that are starting to decay. On occasion they nest in live trees. Lewis’s Woodpeckers are uncommon and their populations declined by 72% between 1970 and 2014, according to Partners in Flight. 

They are beautiful birds, iridescent in the sunshine with colors that seem out of place in a burned forest. Once the woodpecker gave up its perch, the Tree Swallow moved right back.

Bee Swarm

Ken was worried about the possibility of the honeybees swarming and sure enough, on Saturday, the strongest hive split apart. They made a new queen and thousands of bees followed her out of the hive. I noticed excessive activity down there and told Ken about it. He walked over to see what was up and had the chance to watched the swarm take off and land on a nearby bitterbrush. There were so many bees that they weighed the branches down to the ground. Ken suited up and got a spare hive box with a few frames and cut the branches and dropped the girls into the box. They stayed so they must be happy with the new, less crowded box. Now there are six hives.

Red Rocks and Sunshine

After the Nightscaper event in Kanab, we had a couple of days left in Utah. It was too hot for Luna to really enjoy it and our campsite offered no relief in the way of shade or water. The landscapes are amazing with another unbelievable formation around every corner.

One afternoon, to escape the heat, we drove up to Bryce where it was much cooler. However there were so many people, some parking lots were at full capacity. Instead of seeing park rangers, I saw parking managers. Still I did enjoy the scenery.

And I got out one night for milky way photography with a little low level lighting. Ken helped me with the lights. It really doesn’t take very much. I still need so much practice.

Evening Walks

The evening light was beautiful where we camped and the girls and I enjoyed walks after dinner. I admit to being obsessed with the pastel pinks and greens of willow and sage and rabbitbrush and the stark aspens, not yet leafed out. And that geologic feature – the rock fin that came straight up out of the ground with its small arch on top. The female Northern Harrier must have had an unseen prey item and didn’t want to move even though we walked by her coming and going. Those two photos are heavily cropped. We were not overly close to her.

Good Times in Eastern Nevada

On our recent road trip, the girls and I spent a week in eastern Nevada. It was all new to us. I had never really contemplated what the phrase ‘basin and range’ meant. I thought it was mostly flat and desert-like with mountains here and there. That’s not the case at all. It has broad flat valleys that start at 5000′ elevation and are surrounded by high mountains, many going over 10,000′! As we drove through these valleys and over high passes, I was constantly amazed at the rugged snow-capped mountain ranges. Since it was May, the temperatures were cool and sometimes freezing overnight. I imagine it is brutal during the hot summer months. We saw familiar wildflowers but they were all short and seemed to be putting out all their energy before summer arrives. It must be a very short growing season.

Our friends from Montana joined us for a few days. Luna and Sky were surprised that Junie is almost grown up at nine months old. Gus was skeptical. We tried to get a four dog portrait but it never really worked. While Junie looks grown up, she is still a big puppy! Next time! We did a day trip to Great Basin National Park. The road to the high point was not open to cars due to snow so we walked on it instead. I’d like to go back and see the bristlecone pine trees and enjoy the night sky at over 10,000′!

Nevada is full of tiny towns, some on the brink of disappearing into history. Some are having a kind of renaissance, improving on historical features and counting on the great natural beauty to bring a few tourists to their communities. I wanted to say, be careful what you wish for. Don’t become Utah.