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INTEREST
Earfuls of cedar waxwings common along Front Range
By Greg Lowell Redstone Review
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LYONS – Some birds just make me smile: dippers constantly bobbing along the river rocks,
Lowell hummingbirds hovering a foot in front of the Red Sox “B” on my hat, and my favorite, cedar waxwings. Maybe it’s because I spend so much time along rivers these birds frequent that they always seem to be where I am and, aside from chickadees, may be the least bothered by my presence, flitting around me as they pick off hatching bugs. The cedar waxwing’s name comes from the splash of red on its wings that resembles sealing wax that was once commonly used on envelopes. (I suspect if they were to be named today they’d be called whiskeywings after the red wax seal on Maker’s Mark whiskey.) The front part of its name comes from its appetite for the fruits of the red cedar tree. Primarily fruit eaters, this time of the year the waxwings eat lots of insects, typically darting out from waterfront bushes, executing a mid-air stall to snatch a bug, then retreating to a nearby branch. Maybe because they’re so intent on the smorgasbord of bugs they don’t notice the big human waving the long stick in midstream but they often light on branches an arm’s length from me. And when they do, this bird? The yellow-banded tail, the touch of red on its wings, the Zorro mask and the distinctive crest, all painted on an unruffled body of creamy tan. We can debate the beauty of many birds but to me it’s clearly the cedar waxwing. Cedar waxwings are highly social birds and sometimes travel in flocks of a hundred or more. Trivia question: What do you call a group of waxwings? Answer: An “earful of waxwings.” Next to the “murder of crows” appellation, this may be one of the oddest terms I’ve heard to describe an animal group. The “earful” term comes from the near dog-whistle sound of hundreds of waxwings, which makes more sense than envisioning corvids homicide. Cedar waxwings nest late, generally not until mid-summer. As befits their sociability, they tend to nest near others of their
kind in small colonies. The nests are made of grass, weeds, and twigs and lined with moss, fine grass or hair. The female lays three to five eggs that hatch out in in two weeks. The young are fed primarily on insects by both parents, and fledge in 14 to18 days. Cedar waxwings produce two broods a year, which no doubt accounts for their common presence. Unlike many birds whose numbers are declining, cedar waxwing populations are holding up well or even increasing, according to the Audubon Society. Not-so-fun fact: In 1908, Vermont fruit growers introduced a bill that would allow them to shoot cedar waxwings. The bill passed in the House, but didn’t fly in the Senate. Cedar waxwings range from Central America to northern Canada with only those far northern birds migrating south in the winter. Their breeding and wintering areas may change from year to year, depending on food supplies. Colorado is right on the edge of their year-round range and their winter range, meaning cedar waxwings can be seen at any time of the year. Like most fruit-eating birds, cedar waxwings can occasionally fall over dead drunk, literally. The birds eat fermented fruit, become inebriated and sometimes die if they eat too much of it. The Audubon Society suggests putting out raisins and apples to attract waxwings to backyard feeders. Given the disastrous late frost here in Lyons, which put a big dent in fruit production, that sounds like a good idea and one that may put a smile on your face.
Lyons resident Greg Lowell is a Lyons Town Board Trustee and serves as a liaison to the Ecology Advisory Board.
By Staff Reports Redstone Review
BOULDER – In September 2020, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) will turn 50 years old. NARF was started by John Echohawk with a small group of attorI just grin. How can you not find joy in Echohawk, in 1970 with the purpose of providing legal services to Indigenous people in the U.S. John Echohawk was the first Native American to graduate from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1970. He had a scholarship from a government program that was affiliated with the War on Poverty Program under President Lyndon Johnson. After he graduated, he joined a new program to offer legal services to Indigenous people under the California Legal Services, funded by the Ford Foundation – the Native American Rights Fund. About a year later, John Echohawk took NARF to Boulder because he said that it was a central location to several
American Indian nations. The offices are located at 1506 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and University Avenue. NARF incorporated separately with an all-Indian Board of Directors, and in a few short years, the Native American Rights Fund grew from a three-lawyer staff to a firm of 40 full-time staff members, with 15 attorneys. That same year, with start-up funding from the Carnegie Corporation, NARF established the National Indian Law Library located at NARF’s main office in Boulder. NARF is governed by a volunteer board of directors composed of 13 Native Americans from different tribes throughout the country with a variety of expertise in Indian matters. The staff has grown from a few attorneys to approximately 18 attorneys in three offices and handles over 50 major cases at any given time, with most of the cases taking several years to resolve. Cases are accepted on the basis of their breadth and potential importance in setting precedents and establishing important principles of Indian law. Offices are located in Boulder, Washington, D.C. and Anchorage, Alaska. John Echohawk said the pool of Native American attorneys and those practicing Indian law was very small when he started his career. It has increased alongside awareness of Native American legal rights. According to a report in 2015, the National Native American Bar Association
The 2020 Census is ending early
By Katherine Weadley Redstone Review
LYONS – The 2020 Census collection time has been cut a month short to September 30. Originally the period had been extended through October but now the last day to respond to the Census is September 30. There really is only one way to respond to the 2020 Census now and that is with self-response. This can be on the phone, or by mail, or electronically on a computer. For people who have not responded at this point nobody will show up at your door to ask the Census questions. They will only leave information on your door on how to self-respond. This is in response to the public health crisis caused by Covid-19. Lyons is considered a “hard to count” area for the Census due to its small size and rural nature. Compounding this issue is that there are a lot of people who receive their mail via P.O. Boxes. People who get mail in a mailbox as opposed to a P.O. Box may have received a special code
for the census. If you are one of the many people in small and rural communities across Colorado who use a P.O. Box you will not receive a special code. Forget the code. You do not need a special code to respond to the Census. “represents more than 2,500 American Indian, Alaska Native and Hawaiian Native attorneys throughout the United States.” neys including his cousin, Walter
NARF in was able to win a big decision earlier this year in North Dakota. When North Dakota added new restrictions to its voter ID law in 2013, it required individuals to present identification listing a street address, but most tribal IDs do not have street addresses, which is due in part to the fact that the U.S. Postal Service does not have residential delivery for American Indian communities. Most of the Indian communities have P.O. Boxes, which did not satisfy the voter requirement. NARF filed a lawsuit to block the voter ID law in 2016 on behalf of eight Native Americans saying that the law violated the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution by disenfranchising Native American voters. The ND Secretary of State agreed to settle in February and to work with the Department of Transportation to implement a program with the Continue NARFon Page 14
Census data is driven by where people live and not by where they get mail. According to the U.S. Census Bureau “households without a standard street address, e.g., households in primarily rural areas that receive mail only though a post office box will be hand-delivered a census packet.” P.O. Boxes can be used to retrieve mail in any place and can be used by business. It is for these reasons the Census Bureau does not mail census forms to post office boxes. That is why self-response is so important for Lyons and other areas that receive mail in Post Office boxes. Why does the Census matter? About Continue Census on Page 14
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