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Show SPECIES OF THE MONTH It stores thousands of pine nuts The Amazing Clark’s Nutcracker Stays For Winter limber, bristlecone, Jeffrey, and various pinyon pines. Pine nuts have a high energy value. One ounce of pine nuts provides They had struggled four hours to reach the expanse of mountain meadow. As the small family rested upon a log of the mostly open flat, the man wiped his brow and realized the advantage of having two teenage 150 calo- ries; an ounce of insects has only 120 calories. Pine nuts provide less protein than insects, but more carbohydrates, which the nutcracker needs ina cold winter. children who enjoyed backpacking. nutcracker flies off to a caching site in an area of open ground within its own territory - up to 13 miles distant. There it digs a series of holes with its bill and buries two to four pine nuts to a depth of about one inch. . A single nutcracker caches over 30,000 pine nuts per season. For years it was believed that nutcrackers wandered erratically through the winter. It wasn't until the mid-20th century when scientists closely observed the birds and realized they were opening food caches. It is not known how the nutcracker remembers where it has cached it pine nuts. It was once thought that the bird ustd smell to rediscover the sites, but that would be impossible when caches are covyered with three feet of snow. Current research has shown that nutcrackers rely on their memory alone to find one pine nut, nutcracker planted pines are likely to grow in clumps of two to four trees, sometimes fusing together as they grow, forming a large! multi-stemmed .. ‘tree. Nutcracker planting is. quite successful, evidenced by frequent small clumps of pine saplings in burns and other open areas far from a seed source. An identical ecological relationship exists across Eurasia between another species of nutcrackers and large nutted Eurasian pines: Swiss stone pine, Siberian stone pine, and Japanese stone pine. Without nutcrackers we wouldn't haye pesto! @ their seed caches. This is an amazing find- Good Sound is fhe Absence of Bad Sound” ing, because a single bird makes several thousand caches, recovers them six months-or-more later, and frequently Ns ef } 3%; by That insistent tapping had grown louder as they had reached the meadow. © It would stop briefly, then continue - at a steady rhythm. Is the wind knocking branches together on one of the tight groups of limber pine scattered across otherwise treeless field? Raising nis binoculars, he slowly scans the view, focusing on a particular group of limber pine. There, perched on a dead branch high in the tree, is the flashing gray, black and white ofa Clark’s nutcracker - the source of all the noise. In an attempt to crack it Pine cone scales are thick, woody and cones are often pressed tighly shut. Clark's nutcracker has evolved a long, pointed bill and strong neck muscles to extract nuts from pine-cones, pecking and prying seeds from between the cone scales. Or it holds the cone tightly and hammers it against a branch, log or rock to crack it open. The nutcracker uses such force in hammering that the tapping sound can be heard over 150 feet away. Seeming to swallow, the bird tilts its head back and drops a seed into an expand- open for the goodies inside, the nutcracker able pouch lying below its tongue. beat pouch swells the bird’s throat until a full load of up to 70 seeds fills it. Then the wood. a pine cone against the hard, dead When it succeeded, it paused to eat This has to dig through deep snow to find them. Yet, one group of birds was shown to rediscover 86 percent of their caches - never rechecking an empty cache. An unwitting conservationist, Clark's nutcracker plays a significant role in maintaining the pine forests on the mountains in the West. Nutcrackers cache far more pine nuts than they can consume, and the unretrieved ‘caches remain in the soil, where they are perfectly planted for germination. In this mutually beneficial relationship, the pine tree gets its seeds dispersed and planted and the nutcracker gets a highly nutritious meal. eats some the nutcracker of the pine nuts immediately it harvests, it caches most of them as winter food supply. Unlike most birds that fly south to survive the winter, Clark's nutcracker remains in the sub-alpine zone year-round, feeding through winter on the pine nuts it has hidden there in summer and fall. With his stockpile of food, the nutcracker is able to survive through the winter and into the middle of spring, when fresh food becomes available again. The nutcracker's sub-alpine zone habitat is located just below timberline and is characterized by forests dominated by spruces and firs. These forests also contain the pines that provide the nutcracker with its staple food:- the nutritious pine nuts. Nutcrackers eral soil, at up to.14,000 seeds per acre. eat the pine nuts of whitebark, ponderosa, In coniferous trees. Incubation about 18 days by both sexes (because they don't know where one another's caches — Percent months when £ they In these areas, pine nuts are more easily retrievable because of more rapid snowmelt; coincidentally, open sunny areas are ideal for the germination of pine nuts. Because caches usually contain more than CLARK’S NUTCRACKER, Relatives: Member of the crow Graily Related to ravens and jays Description: Crow sized, about 12 - 13” long. Light gray with dack eye and long, sharply pointed bill, Broad black wing with large white wing patch at trailing edge. Black tail with white outer tail feathers. Face and belly white. Range and Distribution: Wherever pine-covered mountains are found; from the Great Basin, including southern British Columbia and Alberta, throughout the western North America to California and northern Baja. Habitat: Pine forests of the subalpine zone. Some ce is done above timberline, but no nesting. Behavior: Live in pairs or small family groups. Active by day. Nesting: Breed for life. Cached food supply allows nesting to take place very early, Two. to six green, spotted eggs in a deep bowl nest of sticks, stems and mud lined with grass and moss. 1.800.FOR.KLAY LAKE CITY, UTAH 84121 7054 SOUTH 2300 EAST » SALT Nickelodeon A PRIVATE CLUB FOR MEMBERS The Clark's-nutcracker: plants pine nuts in open areas on southern exposures, in clear cuts or burned-over areas, often in bare min- the tastey morsel. Although Klay Anderson Audi 0 Inc. PRO“AUDIO SALES AND SERVICES ‘Feed nestlings pine nuts for up to three teage. ‘Where to see one: Watch for them in open ceo forests near timberline, especial-’ ly with limber, 6 oe Pontes ay a whitebark pines. Lia Oreyetm cee ale Nickelodeon for zB celta LenS reat e ANCE SE Noe] warm atmosphere and quiet surroundings, Monday — Friday Hors d’euvres [UNIVERSITY| | HOTEL & SUITES LL 3DVd ¢ SAWIL NIVINNOW By Pam Poulson Manager of Community Education Red Butte Garden and Arboretum |