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The Monument Plant is monumental in size and reproductive ability. This giant that has graced Colorado mountain slopes this summer creates a huge seed bank when it flowers. The thousands of seeds found on the gorgeous seed head represent a mighty effort at survival for the green gentian know as “ big bang” reproduction or “death by exhaustion”. In this podcast I discuss the natural history and interesting facts about the Green Gentian, formally Frasera speciosa, also called the monument plant or elk weed. This giant grows in mountain meadows and can reach 9 feet tall and live as long as 60 years. At the end of its orgiastic season of flowering, the giant plants die immediately and leave thousands of seeds to carry on their genetic legacy should their “babies” be fortunate enough to survive.
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It’s a drab little bird — a brown sparrow, not even five inches long, that you wouldn’t give a second glance if it happened to hop across your path.
The Florida grasshopper sparrow might be the one of the most endangered species in the continental United States. Biologists are working hard to save it — and they think they’re making progress.
But their efforts raise a persistent question: Why go to the trouble? It’s just a sparrow, after all. Sparrows are everywhere. Don’t we have enough of them as it is? And why should we care if a nondescript little bird — one that most of us will never see — slips out of existence? In this entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a & Fauna we invite guest ornithologist to discuss the value of species including our threatened Gunnison's prairie dog.
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Birds can actually have awareness of behaviors of other birds...Jays that cache a seed and realize that another jay may have seen where the seed was hidden have been shown to come back later and re-cache the seed. Listen to learn about how chickadees carefully "weigh" the sunflower seeds at your feeder...and use a cost benefit analysis scheme. There are evolutionary reasons for this. This episode of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna explores the fascinating behaviors of our winter songbirds that visit our feeders.
Photo: Black-capped Chickadee
Photo Credit: Randy Stephens
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Learn to identify the conifers of our watershed as you take a drive with the author, Soleil Gaylord, and her father, Dr. Kent Gaylord, while motoring "up valley" from Placerville to Telluride town all-the-while scanning the landscape. Once in town, jump on Chair 7 and familiarize yourself with the conifers that grace the ski area. Listeners will go away from this descriptive broadcast with a greater understanding of Colorado's iconic conifer species, from the Utah Juniper to the Subalpine Fir.
Photo: Valley Floor Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) with the "telltale" or is it "telltail" drag in the photo is that of a Peromyscus, likely a Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Hopping is their primary mode of locomotion so they generate those nice strings of matching prints with tail drags in between. Photo Credit: S. Gaylord 2021.
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The song of the male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) signals the arrival of spring. His familiar conk-er-eee call sweetens any walk along the river trail. This handsome fellow's common name comes from the red epaulettes that males flash on their shoulder often in tandem with the conk-er-ee clarion call. Red-winged blackbirds have been claimed to be one of the North America's most abundant birds. This species' success because can be attributed to their superb adaptations including a sharp Icterid or black bird style bill. These birds are also aggressive defenders of their territories and will bomb joggers and walkers that may threaten their nests. Listeners can learn more about this common member of the black bird family on this edition of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna.
Photo: Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) Norwood, CO
Photo Credit: Eric Hynes
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Walking along the river trail furry buds on the willows delight us. The fuzzy "catkins" of willow species are affectionately called pussy willows due to the fact that the catkins look like small kittens. Botanically speaking the smaller species of the genus Salix which include aspen, willows and cottonwood are species that display catkins of various sizes and colors. As spring unfolds we see these male part or catkins appear long before the leaves. Catkins are defined as the scaly spike of flowers of one sex only. Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna unfolds the mystery of the catkin and the natural history of willows in this diary entry.
Photo Pussy Willow - Mountain Willow (Salix monticola) along the San Miguel River, San Miguel County. Photo Credit: S. Gaylord 2020.
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If our eyes were as big as an owls, they would be the size of grapefruits! There are 19 species of owls in North America, here in Colorado there 11 species that occur regularly. In Telluride a couple of our regular species are the nocturnal Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) and the diurnal (day time) Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium californicum). Join Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna and learn all about owls with guest biologist, naturalist and Field Guide expert Eric Hynes. In this show Eric will fondly discuss some of his favorite birds and their super cool adaptations.
Photo: Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium californicum) Telluride. Photo Credit: Eric Hynes 2018.
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Spring is underway and mammals are emerging. Juveniles will soon be spotted. Mammals have several unique strategies that ensure that a fertilized egg becomes a fully realized juvenile. Some of the unique reproductive adaptations like delayed implantation or embryonic diapause are fascinating physiological mechanisms that allow some mammals to give birth to healthy young at the right time of year thus aiding survival. In this diary entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna, the physiology and theories around these various types of delayed implantation are brought to light.
Photo: Winter white ermine and most likely a Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata), pictured here in Telluride. The tail length to body ratio is difficult to judge with certainty because of the angle of the photo. The length of the tail is a way to discern Long-tailed Weasels (3 to 6 1/2 inch tails) from Short-tailed Weasels (1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inch tails). This ermine has a black-tipped tail as well. The long-tailed weasel delays implantation for months. This radio show discusses different reasons for this strategies.
Photo Credit: Randy Stephens 2017.
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Cotton "snow" fills the June skies of Telluride. The "June blizzard" signals the beginning of summer for all the residents of the valley. In this diary entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna listeners will learn how the "cotton" shed by female Narrowleaf Cottonwoods (Populus angustifolia) and Plains Cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) is formed. Learn why this cotton and the cottonwood trees are important to the survival of these majestic trees that border riparian areas of the west.
Photo: The author is framed by Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) that line Main St. Telluride Photo Credit: R Gaylord 2019.
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Voles are an important component of the Valley Floor providing a "power bar" protein packet of goodness to many species, they also serve to aerate the soil. Outdoor enthusiasts in Telluride, whether skiers, runners, or hikers often stumble across these small furry packages. In this diary entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna we discuss various survival strategies of these little critters and their importance in our local ecosystems.
Photo: Montane Vole (Microtus montanus), found sitting on the snowy valley floor warmed up and released.
Photo Credit: S. Gaylord 2014
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In this naturalist notebook we discuss survival strategies of reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals from the hibernacula of Common Gartersnakes (Thamnophis cyrtopsi) to the dens of North American Black Bears (Ursus americanus) animals have adapted behaviors and physiological strategies to get them through the chill of winter. Listen to Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna to learn about these fascinating biological observations.
Photo: Common Gartersnakes (Thamnophis cyrtopsi) in a breeding ball. .
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The American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) is the duck of song birds and a regular and year round resident of the San Miguel River and all fast flowing oxygenated western rivers. Their "dipper" descriptor describes 2 or 3 behaviors of the dipper from dipping, diving and walking underwater, to wagging their tail and bobbing up and down in dance-like behavior. The American Dipper has evolved several extraordinary adaptations to enable this species to glean their food from under river stones of fast flowing rivers. Stay tuned to Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna to learn how these birds survive in our rivers all year round.
Photo: American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) in the San Miguel River. Photo Credit: Eric Hynes 2020
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Birds have fascinating evolutionary strategies to survive the winter. Surviving the winter is all about energy. Learn about the adaptations that birds use to keep warm during sub-zero nights and long cold winters from their built in down jackets, to shivering, to oil glands, to warming circulatory pathways called counter-current exchange.
Photo: Black-billed Magpie (Pica pica) in snowstorm keeping warm with the help of excellent winter adaptations. Telluride. Photo Credit: Randy Stephens 2016.
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The North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is a keystone species inhabiting the Valley Floor and the San Miguel River. Four million beavers once lived in this country. These architects of the West are an exceedingly important component in shaping the ecosystem of the entire North America continent. The beaver has fascinating and unusual behaviors including taking down huge trees for forage and caprophagia (eating their feces). Beavers can even help fight climate change. This entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna covers all of these intrigues and more!
Photo: North America Beaver (Castor canadensis) Mountain Village Photo Credit: Eric Hynes
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We had the uncommon treat of watching a North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) frolic in the settling ponds of the Pearl Property rolling and flipping through the mud collecting food items below. The aquatic mammals, once common in Colorado, were extirpated by trappers and reintroduced in the 1980s. In 2013, Boulder confirmed the first sighting of a North American river otter in about 100 years. River otters on the Valley Floor are a sign of a healthy ecosystem. In this diary entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna we will discuss the historic range of the otter, why they went extinct from this region, the reintroduction efforts and successes as well as the natural history of this engaging native species.
Photo: North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis). Photo Soleil Gaylord, Pearl Property settling ponds. April 2015.
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A magnificent inhabitant of our valley floor, the black bear is the most celebrated hibernator of the animal world and can survive 100 days without drinking or eating. Their fascinating metabolism allows them to pile up to 30 pounds a week before they hibernate. In this diary entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna we discuss the natural history of Ursus americanus from their 8 beat per minute heart rate and ability to break down fat, muscles and organ tissue for water and calories in the winter.
Photo: North American Black Bear (Ursus americanus), Norwood, CO. Photo Credit: Randy Stephens
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Explore the natural history of Valley Floor residents the Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata) and Short-tailed Weasels (Mustela erminea), also called stoats or ermine. These beautiful creatures are brown in the summer and stark white in the dead of winter...with a spot of black on the tip of the tail. Listen to Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna to learn more about these ferocious, yet charismatic and bouncy predators that find their home on our valley floor.
Photo: Short-tailed weasel juveniles (Mustela erminea) found at the Lucarelli house. Photo Credit: S. Gaylord
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Birds, bats, bees, monarch butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. Pollinators sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce. Learn other intriguing pollinator facts and the increasing threats they face as their populations collapse. How can you improve life for pollinators in your own garden? Learn all this and more on this edition of Voices of the Valley Floora and Fauna!
Photo: Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleome serrulata) and Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus insularis) R. Gaylord
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Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) are prominent raptor denizens of our Valley Floor. Their iconic Who's Awake? Me too" call can be heard through the evening and into dawn. Indeed, I often hear them calling behind my house on the Judd Webbe hill while reading in bed. But did you know that Great Horned Owls lay their egg in the dead of winter? Learn why this is a successful biological strategy for them and also listen to their calls on this diary entry of Voices of the Valley Floor-a and Fauna.
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) in Telluride. Photo Credit: Eric Hynes
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Packrat middens have provided botanists and archeologists with a treasure trove of fascinating information. Chaco Canyon, New Mexico provides a showcase site where packrat middens allow researchers to peer into the past providing insight and possible theories for the disappearance of the Chaco people. Find out how the pack rat's unusual natural history has helped to unravel these secrets. Also learn which species of rodents live in Colorado and why 2020 was such an abundant year for rodents and how their populations fluctuate wildly.
Photo: Juvenile mouse in middle of the trail Eldora Canyon, CO. Photo Credit: R. Gaylord
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