~~~
Valley of Ghosts
(from an article written in February 2007)
(from an article written in February 2007)
At the Davis
home, we love the sight and sound of birds, Each day begins by filling
the bird feeders to encourage visitors. The early morning trip outside
features crisp air and soft peeping sounds of birds awakening.
Available food, an open field, and large trees work like magnets to
attract feathered musicians to sing the songs of spring. Hundreds of
birds visit our to feeders daily.
With the picture of abundant bird life in mind, we decided
to cross the southwest corner of Utah from Navajo Drive in Bloomington
to Old Highway 91. The drive took us along a dry, dusty road, through
bottoms of washes and into a recently burned area covered with charred,
ghost-like skeletal remains of a once thriving desert terrain. Most
trees were consumed by the fire and reduced to piles of charcoal. Dark
circles of ash on the ground looked like frosting on a gray birthday
cake. Grays, browns, and shades of black covered a once vibrant desert
landscape stretching for thousands of acres. Once we saw a chipmunk,
but most of the drive was a lifeless setting of ghosts and memories of
the once abundant bird life.
Twice we came upon patches of green that were missed by the fire, and only then did we see birds. Three woodpeckers and then a flock of pinyon jays. This corner of Utah was once home to thousands of wintering birds. When an area is burned this badly, where do displaced birds go to survive? Many will perish. Hopefully, reseeding and revegetation will start the growth cycle again and the ghostly memories of the absence of life will be replaced in the future with real flocks of birds. The trip was a sad one when we saw the devastation, but it was a good one when we remembered the flocks of larks, sparrows, flycatchers, woodpeckers and jays that once made this their home.
Remember, for more information about birds, call the Red Cliffs Audubon at 435 673-0996. Computer-genereated graphic by Carol Davis.
With the picture of abundant bird life in mind, we decided
to cross the southwest corner of Utah from Navajo Drive in Bloomington
to Old Highway 91. The drive took us along a dry, dusty road, through
bottoms of washes and into a recently burned area covered with charred,
ghost-like skeletal remains of a once thriving desert terrain. Most
trees were consumed by the fire and reduced to piles of charcoal. Dark
circles of ash on the ground looked like frosting on a gray birthday
cake. Grays, browns, and shades of black covered a once vibrant desert
landscape stretching for thousands of acres. Once we saw a chipmunk,
but most of the drive was a lifeless setting of ghosts and memories of
the once abundant bird life.Twice we came upon patches of green that were missed by the fire, and only then did we see birds. Three woodpeckers and then a flock of pinyon jays. This corner of Utah was once home to thousands of wintering birds. When an area is burned this badly, where do displaced birds go to survive? Many will perish. Hopefully, reseeding and revegetation will start the growth cycle again and the ghostly memories of the absence of life will be replaced in the future with real flocks of birds. The trip was a sad one when we saw the devastation, but it was a good one when we remembered the flocks of larks, sparrows, flycatchers, woodpeckers and jays that once made this their home.
Remember, for more information about birds, call the Red Cliffs Audubon at 435 673-0996. Computer-genereated graphic by Carol Davis.