jfleck at inkstain

A few thoughts from John Fleck, a writer of journalism and other things, living in New Mexico

First black-chin of the year

I put out the hummingbird feeders Saturday, then felt stupid for putting them out early. In 2009 (the first year I kept track) the first sighting was April 16. In 2010 April 16. In ’11, April 17. For 2012, it’s April 9. Just a quick stop and then disappeared.

Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: the big dry, newspaper edition

From the Sunday paper (sub/ad req.*), my attempt to make sense of the issues I was fumbling around about yesterday: The factors that set up trouble in the Southwest’s forests are complex – a warming climate and forest management practices over the 20th century that allowed a terrifying buildup of fuel. There was simply too [...]

Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: Lessons from a Drought

From the morning paper, a wander in the bosque to look for signs of drought (sub/ad req.): There is a resilience, it turns out, to these desert ecosystems. They’re used to this happening every so often, and they know what to do in response. Some leaf out less, or leaf out later. Some depend on [...]

Juncos: On the Importance of Absence

In my second spring of actually writing down the birds I see, I’ve encountered a hole in my data. Dark-eyed juncos have been a steady and heavy presence all winter, first showing up in mid-October. But I was a slacker last March, so I don’t have data on when they leave. Through the winter, I [...]

Pivoting Into Spring

I noticed the lilacs starting to leaf out in our backyard this afternoon. We moved the weather station last week, so I’m not sure what 65F (18C) means, but that’s what the thermometer says. (Anthony Watts would no doubt disapprove of its current location in the corner by the back wall, but my old cotton [...]

Wednesday Bird Blogging (Bike Blogging?)

I almost crashed the bike this morning, distracted as I zoomed on the bike trail beneath Interstate 25 near the north end of Albuquerque. The bridge abutments are prime swallow turf, and I was looking to see if any have returned from their southern sojourn. I almost took a header into the trailside railing, and [...]

Spring?

Spring? Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. I’ve got work to do this afternoon, but I’m completely distracted by the show outside. It’s been so dry here that I had to turn on some water in the backyard. That’s drawn the birds like nutso – juncos, sparrows and house finches mostly, but I saw a couple lesser [...]

More Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere: Back on the Bird Beat

Birds Flee Changing Habitats (ad/sub req.): Birds and butterflies offer the earliest signs that ecosystems are changing in response to a changing climate, according to Craig Allen, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “They’re mobile,” said Allen, an expert on the effect of climate change on New Mexico’s environment. Climate has always changed, Allen [...]

First Ice Cream Truck of 2009

On my way home from a bike ride just now, I heard the ice cream truck, one of those indicators of our human phenology. Seems awfully early. Global warming? One more sign of our imminent economic collapse?

Water in the Desert: Oak Flat Edition

Oak Flat watering hole Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. Lissa made a great discovery yesterday morning while we were walking in the woods at Oak Flat, in the Manzano Mountains east of town. The big thing in the background of the picture that looks like a UFO is a big cistern, with a flared top to [...]

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