Water Year 2009 Begins

Water Year 2009, as recognized by climatologists and hydrologists, began on October 1st. The fact that it corresponds with the Federal fiscal year is merely a coincidence. The following description of the Water Year by climatologist Nolan Doesken is from the October 1, 2008, edition of The Catch (the bi-weekly newsletter of CoCoRaHS—the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network):

The water year is the best approximation of the consecutive 12 months that span the "water storage/water usage" hydrological cycle. The water year cycle is particularly obvious in the Rocky Mountains and western U.S. where snow begins to accumulate at high elevations in October and doesn’t melt until the next spring and summer.

Another way to think of the “Water Year” is the resting/replenishing season followed by the growing, harvesting and water-consuming season. As October begins, the summer growing season comes to an end. With the coming of colder weather, evapotranspiration shuts down. In the mountains and the northern states, snows begin to fall. For much of the country and especially the northern states, the months of October through March are months where precipitation from the sky exceeds evaporation from the ground. This means that soil moisture and ground water can recharge. Runoff that reaches the rivers and streams may increase (except in cold areas where the water remains frozen). Then, when next spring comes the temperatures rise again, plants come back to life, snow melts, rivers surge. Then evapotranspiration increases as plants begin to grow. By the summer months, evapotranspiration will once again exceed precipitation for most of the country. This means that soils dry out, river flow may decrease, and little or no water recharges aquifers. Drought becomes especially problematic when precipitation falls short of expectations during the spring and summer months. By next September, crops will be harvested, temperatures will again cool, and yet another water year will come to an end.

The Water Year calendar (October 1-September 30) does not exactly correspond to phenological events in the Midwest, but it’s close enough. As we enter the month of October here in southwestern Michigan, for example, most of the native flowering plants have gone to seed; apples and grapes are being picked; soybeans are being harvested, soon to be followed by corn; tree leaves are turning color and beginning to fall; and the migratory birds are gathering for their southward journeys.

Diagramming Sarah: A Bird Analogy

In an article that examines Sarah Palin’s convoluted speech patterns, grammarian Kitty Burns Florey provides this delightful bird analogy:

The sentences she uttered in interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and Katie Couric seem to twitter all over the place like Mourning Doves frightened at the feeder. Which left me wondering: What can we learn from diagramming them?

If, like me, the very thought of diagramming sentences brings back the most absolutely horrific memories of high school English and you have therefore forgotten everything you ever knew about the topic, a Google search for sentence diagramming will yield many helpful guides, if you have the courage to go there.

Kirtland’s Warbler Population Surges

The 1,791 singing males observed during this year’s census is the highest recorded since monitoring began in 1951, eclipsing the 1,697 singing males recorded in 2007. The lowest number of singing males ever observed was 167, a tally recorded in both 1974 and 1987 (graph).


The 09/28/08 press release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources follows:

Department of Natural Resources officials today released annual survey information indicating the state's population of the endangered Kirtland's Warbler is the highest number of birds recorded since monitoring began in 1951, with 1,791 singing males observed during this year's census.

The 2008 population exceeds the goal for de-listing that was set in the Kirtland's Warbler Recovery Plan. The number of singing males biologists, researchers and volunteers in Michigan observed 1,791 singing males during the official 2008 survey period, up from 1,697 males observed in 2007. The lowest numbers were recorded in 1974 and 1987, when only 167 singing males were found.

The Kirtland's Warbler survey is conducted each year over a 10-day period during the first two weeks of June, when the birds are establishing their nesting territories. Male warblers are detected by listening for their songs. The songs can be heard at distances up to one-quarter mile, providing an excellent way to detect the birds with minimum disturbance.

The 2008 survey was a joint effort by the DNR, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Michigan Department of Military Affairs and citizen volunteers. This year, singing males (numbers in parentheses) were found in 12 northern Lower Peninsula counties: Alcona (207), Clare (141), Crawford (288), Grand Traverse (2), Iosco (192), Kalkaska (10), Montmorency (11), Ogemaw (627), Oscoda (209), Otsego (40), Presque Isle (5), and Roscommon (25). Surveyors identified 34 singing males in five Upper Peninsula counties: Chippewa (12), Delta (10), Luce (1), Marquette (6), and Schoolcraft (5). In the U.P., additional effort is made to locate females and several were observed with the males, indicating nesting activity.

For a second consecutive year, singing and mated males were observed outside Michigan. Nine birds were heard in Wisconsin and one male with a female was found in Ontario. Both of these reports are of particular importance as they represent documented breeding of Kirtland’s Warblers outside the known breeding population stronghold.

Although Kirtland's Warblers have begun to expand into new areas, the core of the population remains dependent on northern Michigan's jack pine barrens ecosystem for nesting habitat. The warblers nest on the ground and typically select nesting sites in stands of jack pine between four and 20 years old. Historically, these stands of young jack pine were created by natural wildfires that frequently swept through northern Michigan. Modern fire suppression programs altered this natural process, reducing Kirtland's Warbler habitat. The result was that the population of Kirtland's Warblers declined to the point that they were listed as endangered.

To mimic the effects of wildfire and ensure the future of this species, the DNR and its partners at the state and federal level manage the forests through a combination of clearcutting, burning, seeding and replanting to promote warbler habitat. Approximately 3,000 acres of jack pine trees are planted or seeded annually on state and federal lands, primarily for the purpose of providing habitat for Kirtland's Warblers.

"New habitats are continually developed to replace those that become too old for Kirtland's Warbler nesting," said acting DNR Endangered Species Coordinator Sherry MacKinnon. "Through continuing management, we expect there to be sufficient habitat to support the warbler population through the foreseeable future."

Elaine Carlson, DNR wildlife biologist, emphasized how the habitat management program has produced benefits that extend well beyond the recovery of a single species.

"In addition to generating habitat for the Kirtland's Warbler, the jack pine management program provides valuable forest products as well as habitat for a variety of plants, songbirds, game animals and other wildlife," Carlson said.

For more information on the Kirtland's Warbler, contact the DNR Wildlife Division, Natural Heritage Program, Box 30180, Lansing, MI 48909, or visit the DNR Web site. Contacts: Sherry MacKinnon 517-373-1263 or Mary Dettloff 517-353-3014.

Strange New World—The Ocean

Joel Achenbach writes about the grand opening of the Smithsonian Institution’s Ocean Hall. An excerpt:

The ocean’s deepest point is about seven miles down. The hall’s project manager, Elizabeth Musteen, says only ten human beings have ever been deeper than 3 1/2 miles below the surface—which means that the ocean trenches have been explored by fewer people than have explored the moon.

Will Young shirtless beach photos

William (Robert) Young is a UK singer who rose to fame after winning the inaugural UK Pop Idol contest in 2002.

Here are 22 photos of a shirtless and very hot (plus talented) Will Young at the beach, in the shower and posing for various periodicals.









































Catch this Will Young story at Hot male celebs HERE

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Sean Faris actor and model photos

Sean Faris is an actor who starred in Pearl Harbor along with Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. He has also starred in 'Life As We Know It' and Reunion. His other projects include Forever Strong, Never Back Down, and Brooklyn to Manhattan. He stripped for the UK's womens magazine Cosmopolitan so if you've seen anymore of those pics let us know we wouldn't want to miss anymore of this hot dude!



Looks like he's a tiger in the sack as well!















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Emu on Pennsylvania Turnpike

Yes, that’s right. You read correctly. In one of the more bizarre bird stories I've run across this year, an Emu—origin unknown, but certainly escaped from somewhere—made it’s way onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike near New Stanton, where it held up traffic for two hours. Unfortunately, the Emu expired following a lengthy chase and capture. Watch the news clip here.