I went out to my study site last weekend with an undergraduate Research Assistant, James Skaggs, to check bobcat traps and just be back in the field for awhile. One of my main joys in life is to start the day before dawn, dressed in my field gear and snake boots and head out of town with the sun just starting to color the sky and the radio turned up! While driving north along US-87 I couldn't help but gawk at the beauty of the day. I had the high misty moon on my left and a beautiful pink and gold sunrise sweeping across the sky on my right. We complain about not having trees on the High Plains and sure it can get annoying, but that just gives you more of a view of what we do have! - lots and lots of sky! While out making our rounds with the traps we saw plenty of Northern Harriers. These raptors are easily identified by the large white band across their rumps as well as their distinctive flight pattern. They tend to dip and swerve a great deal as well as skim close to the ground, hoping to flush out prey. I saw one chasing a rabbit through a field so we stopped to watch. The harrier was incredibly agile and changed directions faster than I could blink. Despite this, it was having a hard time catching the elusive rabbit. I happened to look behind me and saw another harrier coming in from the south! It had seen the chase and was hoping to steal the prize. Both harriers began chasing the rabbit through the tall grass and diving in and out. Needless to say, both James and I were squawking and crowing with excitement! We had to move the truck to get closer because the chase had taken them too far east and in those few minutes one of them caught the rabbit. We saw the loser on the ground, presumably resting but could not see the winner or his catch. It was a thrilling chase and we couldn't stop talking about it and of course describing everything we'd seen to each other although the other had been less than a foot away the entire time.
We also saw several Red-tailed Hawks out that day, one of which was sitting in a field. When we stopped to watch it took off, the beautiful red tail fanned out and the lower half of a rabbit clutched in its talons! The big excitement that Saturday was the elusive adult Bald Eagle we have seen several times but have been unable to photograph. This is the first wild adult I have seen and they are very wary so it is often difficult to get close enough before they take flight. I'll get you yet Mr. Eagle....
Our only catch was a rather active striped skunk. Many times I have been able to approach a cage trap, prop open the door and slip away without even waking the skunk but that was not the case this time! Skunks are seriously misunderstood and so, thinking to educate my followers, I decided to film it and explain what is really going on with that waddling, stripey critter you may have encountered. As everyone knows, skunks can spray an extremely foul-smelling liquid on predators and things they consider to be threats. What people do not realize is that this is the skunks last resort and it does not want to waste this resource if it does not have to. It takes time to refill its anal sacs with this liquid and if the skunks wastes its main defense on empty threats it is essentially defenseless until it can build up enough liquid again. That would be a problem! A cornered skunk will try a host of threat displays first to try to drive away its assailant. These include stamping its feet, mock charges, head stands and turning to expose its anus and flashing the tail to warn of an impending spray. Therefore, you can count on me, dear followers, to get you this information so you can see for yourself! I belly crawled up to the cage and while James lifted the door and held it, I filmed the skunk in all of his stompy, flashy glory. The skunk was released without incident and everyone went on to have an odor-free and productive day!
So the next time you encounter one of these guys, don't panic. Remember that the skunk does not want to spray you any more than you want to be sprayed and back off so that he can waddle away in peace. I've also found that sweet talking goes a long way too! Thanks for the tip on that Ray!
