January 03, 2008 - Bird seed in snowJanuary 3, 2008 • The Suffolk Ti
i seed ird
(This story was written on a cold ana snowy ctay
in December.)
What a day! Thirty -degrees with 40 mph winds,
coupled with sleet and rain. I sit in front of our big
picture window where I see leafless black- and -white
silhouetted trees. It's here I watch the first white -
throated sparrows, along with a few song sparrows
and a pair of cardinals, slip out of the darkness to
feed on the seeds we threw out earlier.
There's an endless line of movement as more and
more birds fly in. A squirrel ventures out to find just
the right hickory nut to carry back to its castle in the
big cherry tree.
We hear the cheerful call of the Carolina wren but
don't see her. She is probably searching the wood-
pile on the back porch for some hidden spiders or
their eggs.
How the trees thrash about amongst themselves;
the wind egging them on.
A lone dove flies in, looks cautiously about, takes
a dozen steps and flies away.
Where's its mate? We often
Focus see them together. Did one
of them fall prey to a hawk?
ON Or did it succumb during the
NATURE night's cold? Who will miss its
passing?
by Paul Everything is in motion. A
Stoutenburgh few more leaves have been
_ freed by the high winds. Nuts
still bombard us from the leaf-
less hickory trees. Nature is releasing her wrath upon
Waves of rain are blowing across the pasture, only
to get lost in the'dark-woods to the north.
Two bullies, the noisy blue jays, fly in. Everything
takes off, leaving the jays to fill their jowls with sun-
flower seeds. The jays leave but soon return, having
stashed their loot in a safe place for later use.
Next day: We're up before 6 a.m. — dark, windy, 24
degrees. Oh, how the wind is blowing. I filled an old
cup with birdseed and inched the sliding door open.
Then with a twisting motion, I threw my cup full of
birdseed as far as I could. Half of it flew up and came
back to me in a windblown spray of seed. I'll try a
second.one but this time I'll brave the cutting wind
and walk out to spread my cup of birdseed.
An hour passes before we have any visitors. Like
yesterday, the whitethroats are first to arrive, then
four or five song sparrows along with a single junco.
Where did they spend the night? Probably in the
depths of some bush that keeps the winter wind out
and also gives some protection against predators.
Some, like the chickadee, will find a tree cavity and
spend the night there; sometimes alone; other times
with others. They will have a much slower heartbeat
as they sleep the night away.
While we're on the subject of how birds make it
through the night, why don't birds' feet freeze as
nom
ey move about on the ice ana ^ • i it cnecx
Lt. With a little research I found they have evolve
ecial veins that carry warm blood to their legs an
et, preventing these extremities from freezing. It
markable how evolution, through time, has cry
ed such wonders.
As the morning sun rose, more and more birc
,w in to get their share of seed and, like humar
ere is always a bully in the crowd. I think they cz
"the pecking order." You know the type, he or st
in of rules over the office or the job.
Speaking of bullies, here comes five blue jays. E
•y bird takes off, leaving the noisy jays to the spoi
ft: Food is important for all living
ings but it is useless if there is
i water available. To make sure
ere's always water during the col
-ezing weather, we use a heater
at only goes on when the
They soon leave, moving on to another place where
they'll help themselves and again chase all the other
birds away.
A robin, attracted by all the birds feeding, isn't in-
terested in the seeds but stops for a drink of water,
We use an electric heater that we plug into an out-
side receptacle. The only problem with the system is
you have to add water to make-up for evaporation
and bird consumption.
And so the winter winds continue. A pair of red -
tailed hawks still use my windmill to search for prey.
The drama of wildlife goes on. Some will make it;
others will not. It's called survival. —
32
�r
(Above: Where the ground is covered
with snow, ground feeders cannot fir
food. This is the time to feed birds.
They'll come from far and near to
partake of your good will. They are
lots of fun to watch as they run from
one spot to another, hoping to find
IIWM
(Above: Where the ground is covered
with snow, ground feeders cannot fir
food. This is the time to feed birds.
They'll come from far and near to
partake of your good will. They are
lots of fun to watch as they run from
one spot to another, hoping to find