It was mid-day at 8,500 feet amid the Ponderosa and Oak scrub of Top of the Pines Preserve outside Ridgway. The grasses, dried and aromatic, reminded me of chaparral. Luckily, I had been sitting contently in the shade for a good length of time. I couldn’t tell you how long. At the beginning of my weekend my watch was packed away; along with all my other electronics.
My goal was to sit, listen, look and feel what was going on in my surroundings. Take deep breaths and identify faint smells, listen to the varied sounds of the wind and slight noises from traveling insects. As I sat, I made detailed observations of small areas of the forest floor, and then recalled them from memory. Needles, moss, ants, spent pollen cones and decaying cone scales made a mosaic at my feet.
My trance was broken by the fascinating swoosh of a bird's wing cutting through the air. I was close enough to hear the ripple of each flight feather on its outstretched wing. The flash of white and gray hinted of a Clarks Nutcracker, Nucifraga columbiana. This is a unique, but popular bird. Its alias, Camp Robber, is used by many. Discovered by William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, it earned a place on the list of “new” North American species in the early 1800s.
Of course, the birds have been roaming the west for millenia. Known by Native Americans for centuries. The bird is a master of memory and dexterity. It feeds on seeds of various pine species and rather than gorge itself, creates a cache of up to 10,000 seeds throughout the landscape. When winter comes they return to each cache and feed on the nuts and seeds, so long as the resident chipmunks and ground squirrels have not yet made off with their larder. The caches that are not found sometimes propagate into new trees, so the bird has a mutualistic relationship with the tree species it depends on. The trees provide food, and the bird promotes seed dispersal for the tree.
This is but one of many intriguing relationships we observe while at Top of the Pines near Ridgway, and it is just the beginning of our familiarization with this new landscape. SJMA has formed a partnership with the group managing TOP and has plans to develop a number of unique and engaging programs at the site.
Currently we are practicing the Naturalist Awareness program. Soon though, small groups of school-age youths will be invited to participate in lessons focused on Backcountry skills, Land Stewardship, and Natural History. What makes this opportunity unique are two things. First, the Board of TOP and a generous donor, have agreed to pay for our K-12 students to attend these programs. Second, the programs are specifically focused on students' immersion into the landscape, where they are encouraged to explore and inquire, and are given the knowledge to do so confidently and responsibly.
If you are interested in being involved with SJMA at Top of the Pines, or any of our other programs please contact info@sjma.org. Or call 385-1210
John Malloy is SJMA’s North Region Program Coordinator
