Birds and the Deep Freeze

This morning we looked out our kitchen window and saw a group of birds huddled together in the bushes, looking very puffy. During last week's deep freeze, I started thinking about our Minnesota wildlife and wondering how critters make it through these times of bitter cold. I did a little research and found some great information through the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center about the adaptability of our feathered friends!

The first fascinating tidbit I learned is that of the roughly 650 species of birds that live in North America, about 75% of them participate in some sort of migratory behavior. Some of these migrate within the continental United States, and some head all the way down to South America. Some species that overwinter in Minnesota have migrated here from parts further north.

For the birds that call our neck of the woods home during the winter, their focus is naturally on finding food and staying warm. How much and what kind of food birds eat during the day determines how well they will be able to maintain a sufficiently warm body temperature during the night. Some birds hide or cache food during times of plenty, which gives them a little break when times are lean, assuming no other critters found it first!

Now about those puffy birds outside my kitchen window. They were apparently fluffing themselves up to create air pockets between their feathers and skin to help retain heat. To see what I mean about the fluffing up, compare the 2 pictures on the right of the robin. They can also shiver (like people do) to help them stay warm, will snuggle up with each other, and some birds also add extra feathers before winter.

The coolest adaptation I've read about is torpor, where the bird goes into a short-term hibernation-like state to conserve energy. Their metabolic rate dramatically drops, resulting in a drop in most of their body functions, including body temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate, and making them appear to be in sort of a trance. I wasn't able to find which species of birds in Minnesota have this adaptation, so if anyone knows, leave it in the comments section!

Photos by Bryce Mullet
Robin unpuffed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mulletar/385080149/
Robin puffed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mulletar/385080149/

Winter Wonderland

Here we are, facing our first real arctic blast of the winter, where temperatures plummet below zero, the inside of your nostrils freezes the second you walk out the door, and you just can't wear enough long underwear. It's just not a real Minnesota winter if we don't have at least one of these cold blasts! So in celebration of one of the many things that makes Minnesota remarkable, here are some great photos of the river gorge in all its winter glory.

The first two, taken from the east end of the Ford bridge looking north up the river, were shot by one of our most dedicated FMR volunteers and Gorge Stewards, Tim Boyle. If you are interested in seeing more of his photos or purchasing some of his photos, visit him at http://dignature.blogspot.com/ or www.ttboyle.com.

And here are a couple more, taken by FMR's own Watershed Program Director Trevor Russell. These were taken from behind the frozen Minnehaha Falls.

(Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

In response to last week's tanker spill, Paul Labovitz, superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, wrote an opinion piece that was published in Sunday's Star Tribune. If there was a bright side to the disaster, it was that it hopefully raised public awareness about the fact that everything that goes down the storm drains empties directly into the river. Paul not only drove this point home, but also emphasized our responsibility to care for this precious resource in our community every day - not just when disaster strikes.

Gasoline in the River

A tanker truck carrying about 8000 gallons of gasoline overturned today on the westbound I-94 ramp off of Hennepin and Lyndale Avenues. The Star Tribune said that "fuel gushed at a rate of more than 100 gallons of gas a minute as it sat on its side". Though emergency crews were able to contain 700-800 gallons of the gasoline at the site, the rest of it quickly made its way to the storm drains, and then to the Mississippi River just north of the 10th Avenue bridge.

According to TwinCities.com, the Minneapolis fire department is reportedly monitoring the air at the river near the the construction of the new 35-W bridge to make sure it is at safe levels, and there are reports of dead fish.

A series of containment booms have been placed in the water to collect the gasoline as it empties into the river and direct it to the banks. Since gasoline floats on top of water, it will most likely be vacuumed off the top. The vacuum trucks can't get right up to the actual sewer outfall because of the construction. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water are also being flushed through the sewers to move the gasoline out. Hopefully their efforts at removing it will be quick and effective and damage to the river's water quality and aquatic life will be kept to a minimum!

Photo: Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune