Monday, February 4, 2013

Environmental Curiosities: Getting Acquainted With Climate Change in NJ


Climate change is on our minds. Is it on yours?

GSWA has hosted three informational events about the topic of climate change over the past year. And instead of focusing on melting of polar ice caps or the vagaries of flood or drought conditions in other far-flung parts of the world, we have tried to keep our discussions local.

In the spring of 2012 we invited Professor Anthony Brocolli from Rutgers University to talk about climate change and its effects on weather patterns here in New Jersey.  We learned much more about the upward trend in average temperature in our state, as well as which weather events could and could not be reliably linked to this trend.

Later in the fall, we brought Professor Joseph J. Seneca, also from Rutgers, in to discuss the economic impact of climate change and changing weather patterns in our region. For better or worse, this discussion took place just a few short weeks after Superstorm Sandy—a hurricane that delivered devastation to our own back yards and sounded climate change alarm bells all over the world. That talk helped us better understand the economic rationale for addressing global climate change issues, and how New Jersey's own options for climate intervention might evolve.

Last month, a third Rutgers professor, Dr. Ken Miller, stopped by to help us understand how climate change and progressive sea level rise along New Jersey's coast not only exacerbated the effects of Hurricane Sandy, but also threatens future changes to New Jersey's weather experience and the state's natural geography.

We want to keep this discussion moving forward. That is why this month's Environmental Curiosities is about giving you more climate change information to consider. While the articles listed below may not specifically mention conditions in New Jersey, the ideas and situations they relate could easily apply to us.

Read these articles from Science Daily and tell us what you think. 'Like' our Facebook page—facebook.com/GreatSwamp—and leave a comment on our timeline. Or, send an email message to GSWA Communications Director Steve Reynolds at sreynolds@greatswamp.org.

Articles



Did You Know? About Red-tailed Hawks

by Jim Northrop, GSWA Volunteer


It was a black speck in the sky, gradually coming closer, and then I saw that it was a bird gliding gracefully, effortlessly, circling above me. It was a red-tailed hawk, the most common hawk in North America. Years of observation have shown that red-tailed hawks can easily mold themselves to any surrounding, but these birds prefer a habitat that is open. Hawks usually inhabit places like deserts and fields, perhaps to make it easier to find prey. They also like to have high-perching places nearby from which they can watch for prey.

Red-tails are known as very able hunters. They are widely reputed to have visual acuity several times that of a normal human being. In fact, hawks can see a mouse a half mile away. This is due to the many photoreceptors in the bird’s retina, an exceptional number of nerves connecting these receptors to the brain, and a small indented area of the retina which magnifies the central portion of the visual field. Hawks also see in color.

A fledgling hawk is fed by its parents until it leaves the nest for good. It will leave its parents’ nest as early as six weeks old. As the hawk grows older, it begins to act on its ancestral instinct to hunt for itself.

While other birds of prey like falcons use their mouths to kill their prey, red-tailed hawks both catch and kill prey with their claws, or talons. They also use their talons dismember a kill before swallowing it. A hawk’s preferred time for hunting is usually just before night fall, when daylight begins to lessen.

Even though red-tailed hawks are known as being a violent predator, this bird actually has a peaceful side. The hawk’s main mode of transportation is flight. When it flies, the hawk flaps its wings rapidly, and then uses that momentum to glide smoothly and gracefully through the air. Hawks typically move at 20 to 40 miles per hour.

Red-tails also are known for their unusual mating practices. The method this bird uses to reproduce is different from that of most other birds. The male and female will fly together up into the air in a circular motion. Once the two get to a certain height, the male will dive toward the female and then they will rise back to the height again. The two birds will repeat this until finally the male latches onto the female and they begin to free-fall down to earth.

Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and will keep the same mate their entire lives. In one year, a female hawk will lay about five eggs. Both the male and the female will watch the nest and take care of the eggs for about a month, until they hatch. Males and females also create their nests together, and will improve it together during mating season. One wonders if members of the hawk family may be mimicking some members of the human family.

A red-tailed hawk’s diet is very predictable, in that it includes a variety of small animals. However, most hawks are opportunistic feeders and they feed on anything they can catch. Some of these small animals may include snakes, lizards, mice, rabbits, squirrels, and any other type of small game that is found on the ground. More specifically, hawks like to eat smaller birds like doves, and bugs like grasshoppers and crickets.

The red-tailed hawk is protected under the Migratory Treaty Bird Act. This covers their residence in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They do not have low population numbers at this point, but many people believe that without such protection their numbers would be low.

Hawks also provide us with a metaphor for our political life. When talking about politics, some people use the term “war hawk,” or simply “hawk” for short. This refers to someone favoring war in a debate over military action. “War hawks” are the opposite of “war doves.” The terms derive from the fact that hawks are predators which attack and feed on other animals, whereas doves mostly eat seeds and fruit, and are historically a symbol of peace.