I always thought beer cans were single use containers. Silly me.
1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 1600, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This male Greater Sage Grouse was displaying on a lek in Wayne County, Utah five years ago today (3/29/2015).
Readers know I have a soft spot for Sage Grouse but they’re under threat and their numbers have declined dramatically. Fences, particularly barbed wire fences in the American West, have contributed significantly to their decline. When these large, heavy-bodied birds gather on their leks in the pre-dawn darkness they often don’t see the fence wires in time so they inadvertantly fly into them. When these 3-6 lb. birds hit a fence at up to 50 mph the results are reliably catastrophic.
In recent years in an effort to prevent such collisions from happening Sage Grouse advocates have been flagging the fences with plastic markers that are much easier for grouse to see in low light. This is a flagged fence in Wayne County within a few hundred yards of a Sage Grouse lek. There are five strands of barbed wire on this fence. Notice how much easier it is to see the two strands that have been flagged.
But these specially designed plastic markers are a relatively new innovation. Before they were available very few fences were flagged and Sage Grouse paid a heavy price.
Carel Brest van Kempen is a Facebook friend of mine. Even though he lives here in Salt Lake County we’ve never met but I have great respect for him on multiple levels. He’s a world renowned wildlife artist and the most broadly knowledgeable person I know when it comes to the natural history of local, regional and world-wide birds and wildlife. Recently when I published my blog post about the dangers of barbed wire fences to pronghorn we had an online conversation about the similar dangers of fences to Sage Grouse.
He told me the basics of a fascinating story that I find truly inspiring.
Copyright Carel Brest van Kempen. Image used by permission.
Back in the early 2000’s Carel and his friend Steve Chindgren tagged many miles of Wyoming barbed wire fence with, of all things, empty beer cans They punched a hole adjacent to the opening of each can and ran a short length of baling wire through the hole and out the opening and then used the wire to attach the can to the fence wire. The cans were donated by the Eden Saloon in tiny Farson, Wyoming (pop. 313). They tagged this particular fence in the spring of 2005.
Carel told me “We walked those fences the following year and didn’t see a single dead grouse where we would have seen dozens in previous years. The newfangled plastic tags seem to work just as well and are easier to attach and most probably last longer.”
Copyright Carel Brest van Kempen. Image used by permission.
This is an injured male Sage Grouse that had almost certainly struck the fence we see in the background (only a single strand of barbed wire can be seen). Notice the blood streaming down the side of his neck.
When I heard that beer can story from Carel I asked him if I could share it on my blog and he generously agreed. Steve Chindgren tagged Wyoming fences for many years, eventually moving on to the new fangled plastic flags. The entire project was really Steve’s.
These days especially birds need advocates. Carel Brest van Kempen and Steve Chindgren fill that need admirably.
But one of these days I need to ask Carel and Steve if one of their incentives for tagging the fences was emptying the beer cans in the first place…
Ron
Notes:
Both Carel and Steve are giants in their respective fields. In my opinion and in the opinion of many others Carel’s wildlife paintings are unsurpassed in their beauty, accuracy and attention to detail and his artistic skills have been widely recognized for decades. Steve is an internationally known falconer, bird trainer and educator. It’s been said that Steve “may, in very fact, know more about the natural history of Sage Grouse (and how to hawk them) by having personally found and witnessed more grouse rise than any man living.”
- Carel Brest van Kempen
- Steve Chindgren (I recommend watching the video. I’ve seen Steve’s bird show several times and it was always excellent).
Now, if they’d just make the wire with the tags instead of the barbs…
Sounds like a potential patent…
There has to be something humane (i.e., NOT electric!!!) that can deter both wildlife and domestic animals from coming near the fence wire.
Thanks for the links to both Carel’s site (those paintings look like photographs!) and to the article about Steve. Two additional reasons to plan a trip to SLC. 🙂
And to think I live here and I’ve never actually met either one of them.
Field trip for you, Mia, and me! 😀
And April!
I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if April’s met either or both of them. She worked in wildlife rehab for years so it’s very possible.
Don’t know that I’ve seen a better photo of a Greater Sage Grouse. The golden tones belie the cold you describe in other posts.
Good to know empty beer cans have other uses other than for target practice and for jerks to toss into roadside ditches.
I checked out all the links. Inspiring guys; the bar is a contender for smallest and funkiest, and although I hate Facebook, the photos on their page are a kick:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Bar—Grill/Eden-Saloon-493899104321618/
I scrolled through many of the photos and clips on their FB page, Lyle. Brings back fond memories of some of our MT bars similar to that one.
Wonderful story. So creative and insightful to solve the problem.
It sure was. Thanks, Vickie.
Devil’s wire….HATE, HATE, HATE IT!!!
I know you do, Patty.
Wonderful post, Ron — I love how your old photos (such a gorgeous Sage Grouse!) inspire new stories and, as today, offer links to people, ideas and information we might otherwise never know of. Thanks for sharing all of this today.
Thanks very much, Chris.
Oh Ron.
How I loved this post. And huge thanks for the links. You are so very right about the video. And what a brilliant use for discarded cans/plastic bags.
Good. I’m glad you liked it, EC.
Wonderful! It is so nice to hear a positive story for a change.
Agreed, April.
Great! Get me 100,000 plastic tags and some approved fence and I will start installing them tomorrow! I can even do that within the shutdown and social distancing parameters. 😀
That made me smile, Art. See what I mean by “inspiring”…
Most interesting post! The little flags are great but what an excellent use of beer cans plus being a life saver without the cost…time and labor being done because of love and dedication! It never ceases to amaze me the ingenuity people have.
Thanks, Kathy. Ingenuity indeed.
What an inspiring story Ron. Those two men and anyone else who participates in tagging those fences definitely deserve praise. You have to be very wildlife motivated to go along for miles and miles tagging fences like that. I did enjoy the humor though of your last line wondering if their motivation was emptying those beer cans. 🙂
You are to be commended too for all the important information that you pass on to your followers in addition to your outstanding feathered photography.
Over the past couple years I have learned much more about wildlife than I did prior to signing on.
Everett, Wyoming small town bars are very similar to those in Montana and believe me I’ve had some experience with them over the years. I couldn’t let that beer joke go unsaid.
Good to know you’ve learned some things on Feathered Photography. Thank you.
TOO true and a good laugh on the Montana and Wyoming (and, probably others) “small town bars”……. 😀
WOW! Grinning ear to ear…….. 🙂 From “blight on the land” to life saver…… 🙂 Both are VERY talented, creative people.
“From “blight on the land” to life saver”
That’s a good way to put it, Judy.
Ron: Thank you for entertaining us while imprisoned in our homes. Over 75, immuno-suppressed, love bird watching, and locked up at home (only essential trips out). Your columns are always interesting, always informative, almost always beautiful. Thank you!
Thanks very much, Richard. I’m mostly stuck at home too, for some of the same risk factors you mention.