Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface.It is vital for all known forms of life.
On Earth, 96.5% of the planet's crust water is found in seas and oceans, 1.7% in groundwater, 1.7% in glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, a small fraction in other large water bodies, and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of ice and liquid water suspended in air), and precipitation.
Only 2.5% of this water is freshwater, and 98.8% of that water is in ice (excepting ice in clouds) and groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies and manufactured products
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Fred Koch had a long history of heart problems. His son David described in 2010 how he received word that his father had died: “Father was on a hunting trip bird-shooting in Utah. He was in a blind with a gun loader next to him. He was having heart palpitations and wasn’t shooting that well. Finally a lone bird came over. He took the shot and hit it square. The duck falls from the air. He turns to the loader and says, ‘Boy, that was a magnificent shot,’ and then keels over dead.”
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Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly 30 miles (48 km) south of the city of Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen, the northeast section at Malheur Lake and the northwest section at Harney Lake.
The refuge was created in 1908 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt to protect habitat for diverse waterfowl and migratory birds, and grew to encompass 187,757 acres (760 km2; 293 sq mi) of public lands. A popular site for birding, fishing, hunting and hiking, the refuge gained widespread attention in early 2016 after its headquarters complex was occupied by armed anti-government members of rump militias.
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The sedges were full of birds, the waters were full of birds: avocets, stilts, willets, killdeers, coots, phalaropes, rails, tule wrens, yellow-headed black birds, black terns, Forster’s terns, Caspian terns, pintail, mallard, cinnamon teal, canvasback, redhead and ruddy ducks. Canada geese, night herons, great blue herons, Farallon cormorants, great white pelicans, great glossy ibises, California gulls, eared grebes, Western grebes—clouds of them, acres of them, square miles—one hundred and forty-three square miles of them!
~ Dallas Lore Sharp - 1914 - Lake Malheur Bird Reservation
Malheur is a unique wetland oasis
surrounded by Great Basin desert.
Distinctive mammalian habitats
include large fresh water marshes
containing extensive stands of
emergent aquatic vegetation, riparian
areas bordering streams and canals;
irrigated meadows; semi-arid
grassland desert areas dominated
by sagebrush and greasewood; and
basaltic rimrocks.
The following birds have been seen five times or less on
the Refuge and are considered accidental:
Snowy OwlPacific LoonRed-necked GrebeTri-colored HeronMute SwanEmperor GooseGreen-winged Teal (European)American Black DuckOldsquawRed-breasted MerganserWhite-tailed KiteBroad-winged HawkBlack RailCommon MoorhenUpland SandpiperRed KnotRed PhalaropeLong-tailed JaegerGlaucous-winged GullSabine’s GullWhite-winged DoveSnowy OwlNorthern Pygmy-OwlBarred OwlBlack SwiftWhite-throated SwiftBroad-tailed HummingbirdRed-headed WoodpeckerWhite-headed WoodpeckerEastern Wood-PeeweeEastern PhoebeTropical KingbirdScissor-tailed FlycatcherHutton’sVireoGray JayWestern Scrub-JayPinyon JayPurple MartinPhainopeplaGolden-winged WarblerHermit WarblerBlack-throated WarblerBlackburnian WarblerYellow-throated WarblerPalm WarblerPrairie WarblerProthonotary WarblerWorm-eating WarblerKentucky WarblerHooded WarblerCanada WarblerSummer TanagerScarlet TantagerIndigo BuntingPainted BuntingDickcisselLark BuntingLapland LongspurCommon GrackleStreak-backed OrioleBaltimore Oriole
Accidentals
The following birds have been seen five times or less on
the Refuge and are considered accidental:
Snowy Owl
©Rick Vetter
Pacific Loon
Red-necked Grebe
Tri-colored Heron
Mute Swan
Emperor Goose
Green-winged Teal (European)
American Black Duck
Oldsquaw
Red-breasted Merganser
White-tailed Kite
Broad-winged Hawk
Black Rail
Common Moorhen
Upland Sandpiper
Red Knot
Red Phalarope
Long-tailed Jaeger
Glaucous-winged Gull
Sabine’s Gull
White-winged Dove
Snowy Owl
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Barred Owl
Black Swift
White-throated Swift
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker
White-headed Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Peewee
Eastern Phoebe
Tropical Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Hutton’s Vireo
Gray Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Pinyon Jay
Purple Martin
Phainopepla
Golden-winged Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Black-throated Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Palm Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Canada Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tantager
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Dickcissel
Lark Bunting
Lapland Longspur
Common Grackle
Streak-backed Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
One of the largest inland marshes in the United States, Malheur and Mud Lakes vary dramatically in size (from 500 to 110,000 acres), but generally fluctuate about 2 feet during the calendar year and on average cover 40,000 acres. Malheur Lake receives water from the Blitzen and Silvies rivers, fills from the center, then flows east and finally to the west, where it connects with Mud Lake. Water supply is predominantly influenced by snowpack on Steens Mountain to the south and intermittently by the Blue Mountains to the north.
The western section of Malheur Lake, including Mud Lake, is a series of natural ponds separated by a network of low dune islands and peninsulas. The center section, the deepest area of the lake, is predominantly open water with some hardstem bulrush stands near the mouth of tributaries. The eastern section tends to be more alkaline and lacks tall emergent vegetation.
Common emergent species in Malheur and Mud Lakes include hardstem bulrush, cattail, burreed, Baltic rush, and various sedges. The lakes contain extensive areas of open, aquatic bed habitat supporting submergent plants such as sago pondweed, water milfoil, horned pondweed, coontail, small and leafy pondweed, white water buttercup, bladderwort, and widgeon grass.
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