A Silver Lining from the Drought:: A New Bird, Maybe
This year's on-coming drought will challenge all of us living in the Ojai area; humans, animals, plants and fish especially. But some good can come out of even a drought.
Where I live with my family in Upper Ojai, usually what we hear when we step outside at this time of year the is the sound of Sisar Creek, on its long journey from the Topa Topas down to the sea.
This year we never did get the ten inches of rain it takes to get the creek flowing through our area.
We miss the water. But in its absence, I have heard a sound I never heard before.
I heard it first a few weeks ago, when after finishing the week's labors I went outside, exhausted, and simply sat in the sun for a time. I heard a little flutey warble in the trees, watery and quick, up and down the scale of a little wind instrument. I looked for the bird, but couldn't find it. This Sunday I happened to hear a bird pecking lightly but persistently at a high branch, and heard the little sound again, and this time found its maker.
Although from my angle I didn't see the pinkish breast described here, its wings were entirely black, which the USGS says distinguishes it from every other woodpecker in the U.S. And I heard it clearly, and you at home can too, thanks to the amazing site maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
I think it's the Lewis's Woodpecker, named after Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis and Clark fame. This bird happens to be on Audubon's endangered Watchlist.
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Comments (2)
Hey Kit - great first post - welcome! Fascinating article on drought that you linked to on your own blog. While we are all far more aware of global warming and its potential global impact (i.e. glaciers, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Katrina, etc.) these days, its informative and a little scary to learn about its local impact in a very definitive way.
Comment #1 Posted by: Tyler | June 13, 2007 10:54 AM
someone please dump the spam!
Comment #2 Posted by: spam alert | April 18, 2008 12:02 PM