Posted 4-18-21
Naturally
I walked to the intersection of birds and me, hoping to discover new things. There were songs in the trees. They made me want to join the band.
A great blue heron lumbered through the air. It’s about the size of a sandhill crane, each about 4 feet from tip of beak to tip of tail and they have similar wingspans. The heron weighs 5 pounds and a crane could be double that.
An insect hatch provides a food crop of caterpillars for upcoming warbler arrivals. I watched a brown creeper on the trunk of a tree, looking as if it were a piece of animated bark. A flicker called, “Flicka, flicka, flicka.” I didn’t grade any of the birds. I merely marked them present.
I watched a ring-billed gull looking as if it were landing on top of a hooded merganser on the water. The merganser dived out of the way. The gull repeated the behavior several times. I suspect it was an attempt to steal any fish the diving duck might have caught.
I saw a pair of trumpeter swans. I recalled a time I stood along a river on the foggiest of days. Two swans emerged from the fog, their white color enhanced by the contrast. They made no vocalizations as they flew over my head, but I heard their wings. I knew it was a cool experience because the hair on my arms stood up and a shiver ran up my spine. It was a glorious experience.
European starlings imitated meadowlarks, peewees, robins, cowbirds and house sparrows. I loved seeing horned larks paired up on nesting territory and a stunning brown thrasher, enjoyed the beautiful songs of house finches and western chorus frog practices. Confrontational red-winged blackbird males called into the cattails. I walked around the Mayo Clinic Campus in Rochester while watching a peregrine falcon flying overhead. It was a superb aerialist. Amazingly, I bumped into neither post nor person. The strong winds blew the nyjer seeds from a feeder. It was a thistleblower.
It’s we over me. Multi-colored Asian lady beetles overpowered me with their numbers.
Q&A
Donna Swenson of Waseca found wood duck eggs under a nest box and wondered what happened. Egg carrying by female ducks has been reported for several species, including wood ducks, but I’d think they’d carry them away. Raccoons are prime predators, and their paws are capable of remarkable things. Fishers are notable predators in parts of the state. Several bird species and squirrels damage eggs. Starlings try to usurp boxes.
“Can you tell a female blue jay from a male?” I can. The female is the one that lays the eggs. Male and female blue jays look the same. This is called sexual monomorphism. The males are slightly larger.
“Do geese poop in flight?” Geese are less likely to defecate when flying than when grazing on the ground, and they tend to discharge droppings upon takeoff. A strange incident occurred at Disneyland in 2017 when flying geese pooped on 17 people near the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Police and a hazmat crew responded. They found no crime had occurred.
“Why does it rain cats and dogs?” No one is certain. One suggestion is the phrase derives from mythology. Dogs were attendants to Odin, the god of storms, and sailors associated dogs with rain. Witches took the form of cats and rode the wind.
“How many bird species hybridize?” Of the 10,446 species, at least 16.4% do. Waterfowl are notorious for hybridizing.
“How many female birds sing?” A study at the University of Maryland Baltimore County found 70% of female birds sing.
The Book Club
“The iPhone Photography Book” by Scott Kelby aims to get professional images using the camera you always have with you. Here are a few of the book’s ideas. Keep the flash off, hold the camera still, and silence the shutter by muting the phone. Optical zoom is the good zoom. Tap the 2X lens at the bottom of the screen to get it. Pinch-and-zoom (digital zoom) is the bad zoom. Light makes good photos and direct sunlight can be problematic. Shoot outdoors when the sun is low or on cloudy days. A photo of three things is more likely to be liked than photos of two or four. Hold your phone high and aim down while you look up for selfies. Focus on the eyes in portraits and don’t leave too much space above the subject’s head, which should be moved forward and tilted down slightly. Shoot flowers from a low angle, not down at them. This 250-page book is filled with helpful hints.
Thanks for stopping by
“It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.”—Barbara Kingsolver
“Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.”―H. L. Mencken
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
I walked to the intersection of birds and me, hoping to discover new things. There were songs in the trees. They made me want to join the band.
A great blue heron lumbered through the air. It’s about the size of a sandhill crane, each about 4 feet from tip of beak to tip of tail and they have similar wingspans. The heron weighs 5 pounds and a crane could be double that.
An insect hatch provides a food crop of caterpillars for upcoming warbler arrivals. I watched a brown creeper on the trunk of a tree, looking as if it were a piece of animated bark. A flicker called, “Flicka, flicka, flicka.” I didn’t grade any of the birds. I merely marked them present.
I watched a ring-billed gull looking as if it were landing on top of a hooded merganser on the water. The merganser dived out of the way. The gull repeated the behavior several times. I suspect it was an attempt to steal any fish the diving duck might have caught.
I saw a pair of trumpeter swans. I recalled a time I stood along a river on the foggiest of days. Two swans emerged from the fog, their white color enhanced by the contrast. They made no vocalizations as they flew over my head, but I heard their wings. I knew it was a cool experience because the hair on my arms stood up and a shiver ran up my spine. It was a glorious experience.
European starlings imitated meadowlarks, peewees, robins, cowbirds and house sparrows. I loved seeing horned larks paired up on nesting territory and a stunning brown thrasher, enjoyed the beautiful songs of house finches and western chorus frog practices. Confrontational red-winged blackbird males called into the cattails. I walked around the Mayo Clinic Campus in Rochester while watching a peregrine falcon flying overhead. It was a superb aerialist. Amazingly, I bumped into neither post nor person. The strong winds blew the nyjer seeds from a feeder. It was a thistleblower.
It’s we over me. Multi-colored Asian lady beetles overpowered me with their numbers.
Q&A
Donna Swenson of Waseca found wood duck eggs under a nest box and wondered what happened. Egg carrying by female ducks has been reported for several species, including wood ducks, but I’d think they’d carry them away. Raccoons are prime predators, and their paws are capable of remarkable things. Fishers are notable predators in parts of the state. Several bird species and squirrels damage eggs. Starlings try to usurp boxes.
“Can you tell a female blue jay from a male?” I can. The female is the one that lays the eggs. Male and female blue jays look the same. This is called sexual monomorphism. The males are slightly larger.
“Do geese poop in flight?” Geese are less likely to defecate when flying than when grazing on the ground, and they tend to discharge droppings upon takeoff. A strange incident occurred at Disneyland in 2017 when flying geese pooped on 17 people near the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Police and a hazmat crew responded. They found no crime had occurred.
“Why does it rain cats and dogs?” No one is certain. One suggestion is the phrase derives from mythology. Dogs were attendants to Odin, the god of storms, and sailors associated dogs with rain. Witches took the form of cats and rode the wind.
“How many bird species hybridize?” Of the 10,446 species, at least 16.4% do. Waterfowl are notorious for hybridizing.
“How many female birds sing?” A study at the University of Maryland Baltimore County found 70% of female birds sing.
The Book Club
“The iPhone Photography Book” by Scott Kelby aims to get professional images using the camera you always have with you. Here are a few of the book’s ideas. Keep the flash off, hold the camera still, and silence the shutter by muting the phone. Optical zoom is the good zoom. Tap the 2X lens at the bottom of the screen to get it. Pinch-and-zoom (digital zoom) is the bad zoom. Light makes good photos and direct sunlight can be problematic. Shoot outdoors when the sun is low or on cloudy days. A photo of three things is more likely to be liked than photos of two or four. Hold your phone high and aim down while you look up for selfies. Focus on the eyes in portraits and don’t leave too much space above the subject’s head, which should be moved forward and tilted down slightly. Shoot flowers from a low angle, not down at them. This 250-page book is filled with helpful hints.
Thanks for stopping by
“It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.”—Barbara Kingsolver
“Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.”―H. L. Mencken
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 4-11-21
Naturally
The day was a stunner.
I followed a chickadee and liked it at every opportunity. Each chickadee is a prime symbol of the natural world. As I filled the feeders, a chickadee landed on my arm. I tried not to breathe.
Starlings cornered the yard. I was under a flock of countless starlings one day. It was a murmuration. They zoomed over me and I heard this incredible whoosh that was both thrilling and mesmerizing. It caused the hair on my arms to stand. It was a splendid gift.
Research by biologist Mark Miller in 1929 found that the first robin songs began about 45 minutes before sunrise, but modern neighborhoods flooded in artificial light cause robins to sing much earlier.
A birder in Cleveland, Ohio, discovered a banded 28-year-old ring-billed gull, the oldest individual of that species on record. This proves that a proper diet isn’t always important to longevity.
A report from the US Fish and Wildlife Service said bald eagles have quadrupled in population since 2009.
"Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom" has returned to television. It will air as two original episodes back-to-back each Sunday on RFD-TV in its original time slot of 7 p.m. An owner of a trail cam told me his device is occupied with the filming of skunks and raccoons. It's his own Wild Kingdom.
Gee Whiz
The first whooping crane hatched at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin has died of natural causes. The crane, named Gee Whiz, was 38 years, 9 months old. A whooping crane’s average life expectancy in captivity is about 25 years. The oldest crane in captivity died at age 46, according to the foundation. Gee Whiz fathered 178 cranes and was known for his nasty disposition. Whooping cranes are the tallest birds in North America. The population has grown from fewer than 20 birds in the mid-1940s to around 850 birds today. The Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin, opens May 1.
The mafia hypothesis
I listened to biologist Sarah Winnicki speak about her interesting brown-headed cowbird research on a podcast. She found eight cowbird eggs in one dickcissel nest. She added there is thought that the dickcissels feed their babies more than they do the cowbird babies. Sarah mentioned the mafia hypothesis, which suggests hosts accept parasitism to avoid retaliation against their nestlings.
The NCAA is for the birds
The NCAA men's and women's tournaments have teams with bird nicknames. Some have won national championships — Stanford Cardinal, Louisville Cardinals, Marquette Golden Eagles, South Carolina Gamecocks and Kansas Jayhawks. The Oregon Ducks won the first NCAA men's basketball national championship in 1939. Other avian handles include the Iowa Hawkeyes (few teams are named after the body parts of birds), the Creighton Bluejays (should be Blue Jays) and the Virginia Tech Hokies (a manufactured sobriquet) with HokieBird, a turkey mascot.
Q&A
"What do killdeer eat?" They feed primarily on invertebrates — earthworms, snails, crayfish, grasshoppers, beetles and aquatic insect larvae. They will eat seeds left in agricultural lands.
"Where do the sandhill cranes seen in Nebraska in March nest?" The most numerous and smallest subspecies there is the lesser sandhill crane. The Canadian (intermediate in size) sandhill crane makes up about 15% of the birds staging along the Platte River and the greater sandhill crane comprises about 5%. Greater sandhill cranes nest in the Great Lakes and the Interlake region of Manitoba. The Canadian subspecies breeds throughout central Canada from the Hudson Bay west to the Rocky Mountains. Lesser sandhill cranes nest across the northern reaches of Canada and Alaska, with about 80,000 of the birds crossing the Bering Strait to nest in eastern Siberia. An individual crane spends about 29 days along the Platte where 90% of its diet is corn. Cranes stopping in Nebraska generally winter in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. They arrive in Nebraska in February with their population peaking about the third week of March. Large numbers remain through the first week of April.
"Do polar bears hibernate?" Black and brown bears hibernate. Polar bears don't and only pregnant polar bears den. The female may lower her heart rate, metabolism and breathing rate, but never to the point of true hibernation.
"What is onion snow?" Onion snow is a term originated by the Pennsylvania Dutch and refers to a snowfall that occurs after the spring onions have been planted or is an indication it’s time to plant onions.
Thanks for stopping by
"If only the sun-drenched celebrities are being noticed and worshiped, then our children are going to have a tough time seeing the value in the shadows, where the thinkers, probers, and scientists are keeping society together." — Rita Dove
"What a pity flowers can utter no sound! A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle oh, what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be!" - Henry Ward Beecher
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
The day was a stunner.
I followed a chickadee and liked it at every opportunity. Each chickadee is a prime symbol of the natural world. As I filled the feeders, a chickadee landed on my arm. I tried not to breathe.
Starlings cornered the yard. I was under a flock of countless starlings one day. It was a murmuration. They zoomed over me and I heard this incredible whoosh that was both thrilling and mesmerizing. It caused the hair on my arms to stand. It was a splendid gift.
Research by biologist Mark Miller in 1929 found that the first robin songs began about 45 minutes before sunrise, but modern neighborhoods flooded in artificial light cause robins to sing much earlier.
A birder in Cleveland, Ohio, discovered a banded 28-year-old ring-billed gull, the oldest individual of that species on record. This proves that a proper diet isn’t always important to longevity.
A report from the US Fish and Wildlife Service said bald eagles have quadrupled in population since 2009.
"Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom" has returned to television. It will air as two original episodes back-to-back each Sunday on RFD-TV in its original time slot of 7 p.m. An owner of a trail cam told me his device is occupied with the filming of skunks and raccoons. It's his own Wild Kingdom.
Gee Whiz
The first whooping crane hatched at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin has died of natural causes. The crane, named Gee Whiz, was 38 years, 9 months old. A whooping crane’s average life expectancy in captivity is about 25 years. The oldest crane in captivity died at age 46, according to the foundation. Gee Whiz fathered 178 cranes and was known for his nasty disposition. Whooping cranes are the tallest birds in North America. The population has grown from fewer than 20 birds in the mid-1940s to around 850 birds today. The Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin, opens May 1.
The mafia hypothesis
I listened to biologist Sarah Winnicki speak about her interesting brown-headed cowbird research on a podcast. She found eight cowbird eggs in one dickcissel nest. She added there is thought that the dickcissels feed their babies more than they do the cowbird babies. Sarah mentioned the mafia hypothesis, which suggests hosts accept parasitism to avoid retaliation against their nestlings.
The NCAA is for the birds
The NCAA men's and women's tournaments have teams with bird nicknames. Some have won national championships — Stanford Cardinal, Louisville Cardinals, Marquette Golden Eagles, South Carolina Gamecocks and Kansas Jayhawks. The Oregon Ducks won the first NCAA men's basketball national championship in 1939. Other avian handles include the Iowa Hawkeyes (few teams are named after the body parts of birds), the Creighton Bluejays (should be Blue Jays) and the Virginia Tech Hokies (a manufactured sobriquet) with HokieBird, a turkey mascot.
Q&A
"What do killdeer eat?" They feed primarily on invertebrates — earthworms, snails, crayfish, grasshoppers, beetles and aquatic insect larvae. They will eat seeds left in agricultural lands.
"Where do the sandhill cranes seen in Nebraska in March nest?" The most numerous and smallest subspecies there is the lesser sandhill crane. The Canadian (intermediate in size) sandhill crane makes up about 15% of the birds staging along the Platte River and the greater sandhill crane comprises about 5%. Greater sandhill cranes nest in the Great Lakes and the Interlake region of Manitoba. The Canadian subspecies breeds throughout central Canada from the Hudson Bay west to the Rocky Mountains. Lesser sandhill cranes nest across the northern reaches of Canada and Alaska, with about 80,000 of the birds crossing the Bering Strait to nest in eastern Siberia. An individual crane spends about 29 days along the Platte where 90% of its diet is corn. Cranes stopping in Nebraska generally winter in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. They arrive in Nebraska in February with their population peaking about the third week of March. Large numbers remain through the first week of April.
"Do polar bears hibernate?" Black and brown bears hibernate. Polar bears don't and only pregnant polar bears den. The female may lower her heart rate, metabolism and breathing rate, but never to the point of true hibernation.
"What is onion snow?" Onion snow is a term originated by the Pennsylvania Dutch and refers to a snowfall that occurs after the spring onions have been planted or is an indication it’s time to plant onions.
Thanks for stopping by
"If only the sun-drenched celebrities are being noticed and worshiped, then our children are going to have a tough time seeing the value in the shadows, where the thinkers, probers, and scientists are keeping society together." — Rita Dove
"What a pity flowers can utter no sound! A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle oh, what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be!" - Henry Ward Beecher
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 4-4-21
Naturally
Two of my favorite birds are the fox sparrow I'm seeing now and the brown thrasher that I'll be seeing soon. I'm thrilled by their rufous-brown colors. White-throated and song sparrows decorate my yard with their presence.
I saw a small flock of ring-billed gulls in a parking lot. They're called seagulls, but that name is colloquial and not scientific. They could be more rightly called parking-lot gulls, landfill gulls or french-fry gulls. This gathering of gulls enjoyed fries.
A flock of birds is one enormous eye. And it looks in all directions. A murder of crows flew over a farm field. Their name is one of the most recognized collective nouns for birds. I enjoy seeing horned larks on roadsides, which gives me an opportunity to declare, "An exultation of larks." Other interesting group names are a murmuration of starlings, an unkindness of ravens, a parliament of owls (rarely seen in groups other than at nests) and a pitying of doves. I'm not sure of the legitimacy of the dove one. It's a book title. A murder of crows is the name of books, movies, TV shows, plays, albums and bands. An unkindness of ravens is the title of a novel.
There are many names for the full moon in March. The sugar moon or sap moon because March marks the time of year when the sap of sugar maple trees flows and the crust moon because of the crusty snow that results from thawing during the day and refreezing at night. The crow moon because of the cawing of crows at the end of winter and the worm moon because March is the time of year in which earthworms appear in the soil as the ground thaws.
Q&A
"When do crows nest in Minnesota?" They build a bulky bowl of dead twigs high in a tree. Crow nests are large, measuring 1.5 feet or more in diameter and 8 or more inches high, but well concealed. Crows lay 3-7 eggs. Nest construction begins in early March and could continue through June. I've seen active nests in April, May and June. It takes 1-2 weeks to finish a nest with a lifespan of about 9-10 weeks including 1-2 weeks building, 6 days of egg-laying, 20 days of incubating and 4 weeks (30-40 days) of nestlings. Crows use a nest once and fledge one brood a year. They will build on top of an old nest in areas where nest trees are sparse.
"Why do worms come to the surface when it rains?" In my childhood, I thought they did so to keep from drowning when water filled their burrows, but they can survive for a long time submerged in water. Scientists have theories about why worms engage in this behavior. One is that coming above ground when it rains allows worm tourism. Traveling across dry ground can be difficult for them. Worms might move toward the surface to escape a mole and move the same way when it rains, mistaking the vibrations caused by the rain for predators.
"How many eggs does a pheasant lay and how long does she sit on them?" A ring-necked pheasant hen lays 7-15 eggs and incubates them for 23-28 days, with most egg laying done in April and May.
"There is a wobbly squirrel in my yard. Is it injured?" Possibly, but it's more likely the victim of raccoon roundworm, a disease spread by raccoon feces that can cause neurological problems. The roundworm is found in the intestines of raccoons and their eggs are shed in scat. If these eggs are ingested by an animal eating seeds, it can damage its brain. This can affect mice, woodchucks, rabbits, birds, chipmunks, ground squirrels, foxes, porcupines, dogs and squirrels. The most common symptoms exhibited by squirrels affected by this disease are balance problems, a strange lopsided stance and staggering. An infected squirrel might demonstrate a lack of coordination, an inability to walk or climb properly, and little fear of humans. It's rare in humans, but keep pets and children away from areas with raccoon fecal contamination (evidence of latrines).
The Book Club
I read "Walking my Dog, Jane" by Ned Rozell. It's about travel and a dog. What could be better? The author said, "I took my dog for a walk last spring and we didn't come home until fall." Ned and Jane, a chocolate Lab that had seen him through "three pickup trucks and seven girlfriends," walked 800 miles along the trans-Alaska pipeline beginning at Valdez and ending at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean.
Thanks for stopping by
"Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush." — Doug Larson
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." — Louis L'Amour
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
Two of my favorite birds are the fox sparrow I'm seeing now and the brown thrasher that I'll be seeing soon. I'm thrilled by their rufous-brown colors. White-throated and song sparrows decorate my yard with their presence.
I saw a small flock of ring-billed gulls in a parking lot. They're called seagulls, but that name is colloquial and not scientific. They could be more rightly called parking-lot gulls, landfill gulls or french-fry gulls. This gathering of gulls enjoyed fries.
A flock of birds is one enormous eye. And it looks in all directions. A murder of crows flew over a farm field. Their name is one of the most recognized collective nouns for birds. I enjoy seeing horned larks on roadsides, which gives me an opportunity to declare, "An exultation of larks." Other interesting group names are a murmuration of starlings, an unkindness of ravens, a parliament of owls (rarely seen in groups other than at nests) and a pitying of doves. I'm not sure of the legitimacy of the dove one. It's a book title. A murder of crows is the name of books, movies, TV shows, plays, albums and bands. An unkindness of ravens is the title of a novel.
There are many names for the full moon in March. The sugar moon or sap moon because March marks the time of year when the sap of sugar maple trees flows and the crust moon because of the crusty snow that results from thawing during the day and refreezing at night. The crow moon because of the cawing of crows at the end of winter and the worm moon because March is the time of year in which earthworms appear in the soil as the ground thaws.
Q&A
"When do crows nest in Minnesota?" They build a bulky bowl of dead twigs high in a tree. Crow nests are large, measuring 1.5 feet or more in diameter and 8 or more inches high, but well concealed. Crows lay 3-7 eggs. Nest construction begins in early March and could continue through June. I've seen active nests in April, May and June. It takes 1-2 weeks to finish a nest with a lifespan of about 9-10 weeks including 1-2 weeks building, 6 days of egg-laying, 20 days of incubating and 4 weeks (30-40 days) of nestlings. Crows use a nest once and fledge one brood a year. They will build on top of an old nest in areas where nest trees are sparse.
"Why do worms come to the surface when it rains?" In my childhood, I thought they did so to keep from drowning when water filled their burrows, but they can survive for a long time submerged in water. Scientists have theories about why worms engage in this behavior. One is that coming above ground when it rains allows worm tourism. Traveling across dry ground can be difficult for them. Worms might move toward the surface to escape a mole and move the same way when it rains, mistaking the vibrations caused by the rain for predators.
"How many eggs does a pheasant lay and how long does she sit on them?" A ring-necked pheasant hen lays 7-15 eggs and incubates them for 23-28 days, with most egg laying done in April and May.
"There is a wobbly squirrel in my yard. Is it injured?" Possibly, but it's more likely the victim of raccoon roundworm, a disease spread by raccoon feces that can cause neurological problems. The roundworm is found in the intestines of raccoons and their eggs are shed in scat. If these eggs are ingested by an animal eating seeds, it can damage its brain. This can affect mice, woodchucks, rabbits, birds, chipmunks, ground squirrels, foxes, porcupines, dogs and squirrels. The most common symptoms exhibited by squirrels affected by this disease are balance problems, a strange lopsided stance and staggering. An infected squirrel might demonstrate a lack of coordination, an inability to walk or climb properly, and little fear of humans. It's rare in humans, but keep pets and children away from areas with raccoon fecal contamination (evidence of latrines).
The Book Club
I read "Walking my Dog, Jane" by Ned Rozell. It's about travel and a dog. What could be better? The author said, "I took my dog for a walk last spring and we didn't come home until fall." Ned and Jane, a chocolate Lab that had seen him through "three pickup trucks and seven girlfriends," walked 800 miles along the trans-Alaska pipeline beginning at Valdez and ending at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean.
Thanks for stopping by
"Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush." — Doug Larson
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." — Louis L'Amour
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 3-28-21
Naturally
I seek magic. A yard-filling flock of red-winged blackbirds blackening the snow-covered ground was magical. The world needed to hear their song. It's spring singing. Researchers from California Polytechnic State University analyzed how the natural sounds people hear when outdoors affect well-being. They found the chorus of birdsong increased welfare. I tried to determine by use of my Hartland Grade School arithmetic how many blackbirds there were and reckoned there were at least 14, but that might have been low. I'd estimate it was well into the hundreds. A much smaller flock of rusty blackbirds blew in with a storm. I'm always happy to see them. I wanted to yell, "Pour another cup of water into the soup, we have company." Brown-headed cowbirds joined the melee on the ground below the feeders. A female cowbird was taking a break in a lilac when two male house sparrows attacked her. She fought back and the battle was prolonged. Had her parasitizing reputation preceded her? Was it over a prime perching position? Or was it merely orneriness? Interesting behavior no matter the cause.
Dark-eyed juncos made the sounds of ray guns. The snow must go. The juncos must, too.
A male and female cardinal kissed on a lilac branch. He offered her a sunflower seed and their bills touched in what I found a heartwarming moment. It's known as mate feeding and is a sign of courtship. I gave my wife a Chunky candy bar when courting her.
Crows walked bandy-legged over the lawn, searching winter's detritus for food. A northern harrier (formerly called a marsh hawk) male was a gray glider swooping low over a field. Glorious!
Q&A
Jim Beal of Eagle Lake wrote, "I rarely see a blue jay and haven’t seen any all winter. It seems like if I put peanuts in the shell out the blue jays come out of nowhere and take every peanut. How do they know that I put out peanuts?" Blue jays use trail cams to spot peanuts in feeders. This is a little-known fact. It's known only by me. It's not true, but it'd be cool if it were. They find the peanuts by sight. They notice them because they are always looking for food and check places that have proved rewarding in the past. When one jay sees peanuts, it calls loudly, announcing to the world the goobers have arrived. A cavalry of jays soon arrives.
Brenda Kotasek of St. Peter said her son saw a crow chasing a rabbit. He wondered if it was chasing it into traffic and harm's way. Crows are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and plants. Crows survive by being both scavengers and predators. Rabbits tend to try to escape rather than fight back. Aside from preying on dead rabbits, crows prey upon baby bunnies or rabbits that are ill, injured or old. Crows are intelligent. They could chase rabbits for practice or play. There are reports of crows driving rabbits onto roads where they are injured by cars. Whether this was done intentionally, only the crows know. A cottontail runs about 30 mph and a crow can fly at a speed double that.
"You should let everyone know about the award you received from the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union." How nice of you to give me an opportunity for humblebrag. A few years ago, I received the Thomas S. Roberts Memorial Award. MOU's lifetime achievement award for "Outstanding Contributions to Minnesota Ornithology and Birding." I'm delighted to be mentioned with Thomas Sadler Roberts (1858 - 1946) who was a physician known for his work in ornithology, bird conservation, his book "The Birds of Minnesota," and for his help in establishing the Bell Museum of Natural History.
The Book Club
"Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants." by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a trained botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. This well-written book combines the scientific with the mythic and poetic, and is terrific. She wrote, "In some Native languages the term for plants translates to those who take care of us." Plants were our first teachers. She wrote we should respect and care for nature by working in harmony with it. We need to give in the present to get in the future and consider the gifts we are given and be thankful. It's a great read.
Thanks for stopping by
"For 50 million years our biggest problems were too few calories, too little information. For about 50 years our biggest problem has been too many calories, too much information. We have to adjust, and I believe we will really fast. I also believe it will be wicked ugly while we're adjusting." — Penn Jillette
"When you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud, too." — Denzel Washington (as Robert McCall in "The Equalizer")
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
I seek magic. A yard-filling flock of red-winged blackbirds blackening the snow-covered ground was magical. The world needed to hear their song. It's spring singing. Researchers from California Polytechnic State University analyzed how the natural sounds people hear when outdoors affect well-being. They found the chorus of birdsong increased welfare. I tried to determine by use of my Hartland Grade School arithmetic how many blackbirds there were and reckoned there were at least 14, but that might have been low. I'd estimate it was well into the hundreds. A much smaller flock of rusty blackbirds blew in with a storm. I'm always happy to see them. I wanted to yell, "Pour another cup of water into the soup, we have company." Brown-headed cowbirds joined the melee on the ground below the feeders. A female cowbird was taking a break in a lilac when two male house sparrows attacked her. She fought back and the battle was prolonged. Had her parasitizing reputation preceded her? Was it over a prime perching position? Or was it merely orneriness? Interesting behavior no matter the cause.
Dark-eyed juncos made the sounds of ray guns. The snow must go. The juncos must, too.
A male and female cardinal kissed on a lilac branch. He offered her a sunflower seed and their bills touched in what I found a heartwarming moment. It's known as mate feeding and is a sign of courtship. I gave my wife a Chunky candy bar when courting her.
Crows walked bandy-legged over the lawn, searching winter's detritus for food. A northern harrier (formerly called a marsh hawk) male was a gray glider swooping low over a field. Glorious!
Q&A
Jim Beal of Eagle Lake wrote, "I rarely see a blue jay and haven’t seen any all winter. It seems like if I put peanuts in the shell out the blue jays come out of nowhere and take every peanut. How do they know that I put out peanuts?" Blue jays use trail cams to spot peanuts in feeders. This is a little-known fact. It's known only by me. It's not true, but it'd be cool if it were. They find the peanuts by sight. They notice them because they are always looking for food and check places that have proved rewarding in the past. When one jay sees peanuts, it calls loudly, announcing to the world the goobers have arrived. A cavalry of jays soon arrives.
Brenda Kotasek of St. Peter said her son saw a crow chasing a rabbit. He wondered if it was chasing it into traffic and harm's way. Crows are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and plants. Crows survive by being both scavengers and predators. Rabbits tend to try to escape rather than fight back. Aside from preying on dead rabbits, crows prey upon baby bunnies or rabbits that are ill, injured or old. Crows are intelligent. They could chase rabbits for practice or play. There are reports of crows driving rabbits onto roads where they are injured by cars. Whether this was done intentionally, only the crows know. A cottontail runs about 30 mph and a crow can fly at a speed double that.
"You should let everyone know about the award you received from the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union." How nice of you to give me an opportunity for humblebrag. A few years ago, I received the Thomas S. Roberts Memorial Award. MOU's lifetime achievement award for "Outstanding Contributions to Minnesota Ornithology and Birding." I'm delighted to be mentioned with Thomas Sadler Roberts (1858 - 1946) who was a physician known for his work in ornithology, bird conservation, his book "The Birds of Minnesota," and for his help in establishing the Bell Museum of Natural History.
The Book Club
"Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants." by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a trained botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. This well-written book combines the scientific with the mythic and poetic, and is terrific. She wrote, "In some Native languages the term for plants translates to those who take care of us." Plants were our first teachers. She wrote we should respect and care for nature by working in harmony with it. We need to give in the present to get in the future and consider the gifts we are given and be thankful. It's a great read.
Thanks for stopping by
"For 50 million years our biggest problems were too few calories, too little information. For about 50 years our biggest problem has been too many calories, too much information. We have to adjust, and I believe we will really fast. I also believe it will be wicked ugly while we're adjusting." — Penn Jillette
"When you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud, too." — Denzel Washington (as Robert McCall in "The Equalizer")
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
 Photo by Al Batt
Male & female red-winged blackbirds. |
Photo by Al Batt
|
Posted 3-21-21
Naturally
It was a lovely dawn on its way to becoming a lovely day. The yard was awash with migrants. I searched for primavera (spring). I found grackles.
Lord Byron wrote, "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, there is a rapture on the lonely shore." And through the glass. I stared out windows with hawklike attention. That suits me. I see the comings and goings. I hear them, too. Handsome red-winged blackbird males sang, "Look at me." I looked. Juncos made ray gun sounds. Both species give voice to spring. It's their thing.
Nature news
A cellphone was removed from a brown pelican's stomach in Florida after it likely thought the device was a fish.
A white bison lives in Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. They’re becoming more common thanks to crossbreeding with cattle. The calf is named Takoda, meaning "friend to everyone." My wife and I visited Janesville, Wisconsin, years ago to see a white calf.
Q&A
"What can I do if my dog is sprayed by a skunk?" Move and leave no forwarding address. There are various remedies, but some are as bad as the skunk perfume. The Humane Society recommends washing your dog in a solution made from 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda and a teaspoon of liquid dishwashing soap. Wear rubber gloves and don’t get the solution in its eyes. Don't leave it on long before rinsing thoroughly and shampooing. Or you could mix 2 parts water with 1 part apple cider vinegar, the amount needed varies the dog's size. There are commercial products available.
"Do woodpeckers reuse nests?" Woodpeckers are primary cavity nesters, meaning they create nest and roost sites for themselves. Secondary cavity-nesters are those that cannot excavate cavities such as bluebirds, wood ducks and swallows. Typically, woodpeckers make a hole for each brood. Some species, like red-headed woodpeckers, reuse nest cavities. Some use nest boxes. I pack flicker boxes with pine wood chips for the birds to excavate.
Karen Wright of Mankato asked the difference between mink, weasels, martens and fishers. They're all members of the Mustelidae (weasel family), which includes otters, skunks, ferrets, wolverines and badgers. Mink and weasels are common. Mink are larger and heavier than weasels and are typically found near water. Weasels are yellowish-brown or brown and have white fur in the winter. Mink have dark brown or black fur with a white chin and throat. The American (pine) marten and fisher (sometimes called fisher-cat) are rarely encountered as they prefer areas with wilderness character. Martens are similar in color, size and shape to mink, but are usually found in the uplands while mink are associated with water. A marten is smaller than a fisher and has orange on throat and chest, which fishers lack. Both have bushy tails, but a marten's ears and snout are more pointed than a fisher's. Martens live in northern Minnesota in deciduous and coniferous forests. Fishers live in various forest types in northern Minnesota with some animals reported in southeastern Minnesota.
"Are there butterflies that winter here as adults?" Yes. Mourning cloaks, eastern commas, gray commas and Compton tortoiseshells are some. They spend the winter in sheltered cracks, crannies and crevices.
"Why do raptors allow smaller birds to mob them?" They aren't given a choice. Mobbing isn't that dangerous to smaller birds as they know what they're doing, possess greater maneuverability than the raptor, and the raptor's element of surprise has been eliminated.
"When do barred owls nest?" The only owl species in Minnesota with dark eyes begins nesting in March in hollow trees, tree snags, abandoned nests of other animals or in nest boxes. The two or three white eggs hatch in 28-33 days. Owlets leave the nest 4-5 weeks after hatching.
The Book Club
"Celebrating Birds: An Interactive Field Guide Featuring Art from Wingspan" by Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez is a lavishly illustrated and interactive full-color guide to 181 birds of North America and is based upon the bestselling bird-focused board game Wingspan, where birders and gamers come together. The number of birds in North America has declined precipitously and this book is an enjoyable way to raise awareness on important environmental issues. Maintaining its relationship to Wingspan, the book can be used to take a game outdoors. Players collect points based on birds, nests, habitats and foods of birds. Text and factoids are provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. All bird books resonate with me. Each one is an opportunity knocking. This book offers an engaging way to educate, entertain and enhance. It's available at your favorite book place.
Thanks for stopping by
"In come the March winds, they blow and blow, they sweep up the brown leaves that green ones may grow." — George Washington Wright
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." — From a fortune cookie but not from Confucius
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
It was a lovely dawn on its way to becoming a lovely day. The yard was awash with migrants. I searched for primavera (spring). I found grackles.
Lord Byron wrote, "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, there is a rapture on the lonely shore." And through the glass. I stared out windows with hawklike attention. That suits me. I see the comings and goings. I hear them, too. Handsome red-winged blackbird males sang, "Look at me." I looked. Juncos made ray gun sounds. Both species give voice to spring. It's their thing.
Nature news
A cellphone was removed from a brown pelican's stomach in Florida after it likely thought the device was a fish.
A white bison lives in Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. They’re becoming more common thanks to crossbreeding with cattle. The calf is named Takoda, meaning "friend to everyone." My wife and I visited Janesville, Wisconsin, years ago to see a white calf.
Q&A
"What can I do if my dog is sprayed by a skunk?" Move and leave no forwarding address. There are various remedies, but some are as bad as the skunk perfume. The Humane Society recommends washing your dog in a solution made from 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda and a teaspoon of liquid dishwashing soap. Wear rubber gloves and don’t get the solution in its eyes. Don't leave it on long before rinsing thoroughly and shampooing. Or you could mix 2 parts water with 1 part apple cider vinegar, the amount needed varies the dog's size. There are commercial products available.
"Do woodpeckers reuse nests?" Woodpeckers are primary cavity nesters, meaning they create nest and roost sites for themselves. Secondary cavity-nesters are those that cannot excavate cavities such as bluebirds, wood ducks and swallows. Typically, woodpeckers make a hole for each brood. Some species, like red-headed woodpeckers, reuse nest cavities. Some use nest boxes. I pack flicker boxes with pine wood chips for the birds to excavate.
Karen Wright of Mankato asked the difference between mink, weasels, martens and fishers. They're all members of the Mustelidae (weasel family), which includes otters, skunks, ferrets, wolverines and badgers. Mink and weasels are common. Mink are larger and heavier than weasels and are typically found near water. Weasels are yellowish-brown or brown and have white fur in the winter. Mink have dark brown or black fur with a white chin and throat. The American (pine) marten and fisher (sometimes called fisher-cat) are rarely encountered as they prefer areas with wilderness character. Martens are similar in color, size and shape to mink, but are usually found in the uplands while mink are associated with water. A marten is smaller than a fisher and has orange on throat and chest, which fishers lack. Both have bushy tails, but a marten's ears and snout are more pointed than a fisher's. Martens live in northern Minnesota in deciduous and coniferous forests. Fishers live in various forest types in northern Minnesota with some animals reported in southeastern Minnesota.
"Are there butterflies that winter here as adults?" Yes. Mourning cloaks, eastern commas, gray commas and Compton tortoiseshells are some. They spend the winter in sheltered cracks, crannies and crevices.
"Why do raptors allow smaller birds to mob them?" They aren't given a choice. Mobbing isn't that dangerous to smaller birds as they know what they're doing, possess greater maneuverability than the raptor, and the raptor's element of surprise has been eliminated.
"When do barred owls nest?" The only owl species in Minnesota with dark eyes begins nesting in March in hollow trees, tree snags, abandoned nests of other animals or in nest boxes. The two or three white eggs hatch in 28-33 days. Owlets leave the nest 4-5 weeks after hatching.
The Book Club
"Celebrating Birds: An Interactive Field Guide Featuring Art from Wingspan" by Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez is a lavishly illustrated and interactive full-color guide to 181 birds of North America and is based upon the bestselling bird-focused board game Wingspan, where birders and gamers come together. The number of birds in North America has declined precipitously and this book is an enjoyable way to raise awareness on important environmental issues. Maintaining its relationship to Wingspan, the book can be used to take a game outdoors. Players collect points based on birds, nests, habitats and foods of birds. Text and factoids are provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. All bird books resonate with me. Each one is an opportunity knocking. This book offers an engaging way to educate, entertain and enhance. It's available at your favorite book place.
Thanks for stopping by
"In come the March winds, they blow and blow, they sweep up the brown leaves that green ones may grow." — George Washington Wright
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." — From a fortune cookie but not from Confucius
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Dark eyes and yellow bill on a Barred Owl.
Sorry, Shakespeare fans, it’s not a bard owl.
It’s nicknamed hoot owl, eight hooter, rain owl, laughing owl and crazy owl.
Posted 3-14-21
Naturally
It's sprinter. Part spring, part winter.
Chickadees, nuthatches, jays and some woodpeckers cache food. The success of this scatter-hoarding depends on the birds' spatial memories to find cached food.
I'll miss being along the Platte River in Nebraska for the sandhill crane migration this year. It's the greatest wildlife spectacle I've ever witnessed. Rowe Audubon Sanctuary in Minden and the Crane Trust in Wood River are marvelous resources. The crane counts by the Crane Trust are found at https://cranetrust.org/ and a crane cam at Rowe can be accessed at https://explore.org/livecams/national-audubon-society/crane-camera
The light was fading as I noticed from my window how the sun had warmed the dark bark of trees enough to cause the snow to melt in a circle around the trunk of each tree. There was an incident at dusk under a bird feeding station in my yard. A raccoon, likely a kit (cub) from last year, became inquisitive about a skunk. The skunk gave a proper warning. It arched its back, raised its tail high like a flag, turned sideways, hopped and stamped its front feet. The raccoon must have thought it was playtime or the skunk was oddly behaving food. It got too close. I watched from my office window and was about to bang on the glass to scare them off, but I couldn't stop watching. I became a gawker. The skunk sprayed and the raccoon lumbered off. The putrid odor found entry into the friendly confines of my office. There was an opossum nearby, but it wasn't involved in the hostilities. Neither raccoons nor skunks are hibernators, but sleep through the coldest weather.
A small flock of rusty blackbirds showed up in the yard. Johnny Cash should have thrown a bit of brown into his wardrobe because that color combination sure looks good on a rusty. The birds slogged through wet areas at the edge of our woods, searching for food. I don't imagine they're picky when peckish in March.
Q&A
"How can I exclude bats from my house without harming them?" To the Navajos, the bat is an intermediary bridging the supernatural distance between men and gods. The bats most commonly found in homes are the little brown bat and the big brown bat. The big brown weighs less than an ounce and has a wingspan of 13 inches. Big brown bats tolerate colder winter temperatures and are active later in the fall than little browns, which are likely to hibernate in caves where the temperatures stay above freezing. Big brown bats successfully hibernate in caves or buildings. Examine your home for holes that might allow bats entry into your living quarters. Drape bird netting or plastic screen or sheeting over the outside entry points. The netting should extend several inches above, 1 foot to the sides and 2 feet below the opening. Tape or staple the top and sides of the netting to the structure, leaving the bottom open, allowing bats to crawl out. Don't stretch the netting too taut or the bats won't be able to leave. When the bats return from feeding, they'll land on the netting close to the hole but can't enter. Bats won't chew through the netting. Leave the netting in place for a week before caulking any openings larger than a quarter-inch by a half-inch. Avoid doing this from May through August because of the possibility of there being young bats.
"Thank you for identifying the bird for me. How did a Eurasian collared-dove end up in my yard?" The sandy brown bird with a black collar was brought to the Bahamas in the 1970s. Escapees from pet shops there found their way to Florida in 1982. Their goal was to make it to your yard. They were first seen in Minnesota in 1998 and were in Alaska by 2006.
"What is a hoot owl?" I reckon it could be any owl that gives a hoot. The distinctive call of the barred owl is "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" It's commonly called a hoot owl.
"Why is the bufflehead called the spirit duck?" It came from the bufflehead’s ability to dive to safety as soon as it saw the flash of an old muzzleloader. A. C. Bent wrote in his "Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl" in 1925, “It can often succeed in diving at the flash of a gun and thus escape being shot.”
"Why are beaver teeth orange?" It's not from eating Cheetos. Beaver have long incisors that are orange from an iron-rich protective coating of enamel.
"Where are your favorite birding places?" My yard, local parks, trails and preserves, nature centers and Sax-Zim Bog.
Thanks for stopping by
"To see things in the seed, that is genius." – Lao Tzu
"Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; whenever you’re right, shut up." — Ogden Nash
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
It's sprinter. Part spring, part winter.
Chickadees, nuthatches, jays and some woodpeckers cache food. The success of this scatter-hoarding depends on the birds' spatial memories to find cached food.
I'll miss being along the Platte River in Nebraska for the sandhill crane migration this year. It's the greatest wildlife spectacle I've ever witnessed. Rowe Audubon Sanctuary in Minden and the Crane Trust in Wood River are marvelous resources. The crane counts by the Crane Trust are found at https://cranetrust.org/ and a crane cam at Rowe can be accessed at https://explore.org/livecams/national-audubon-society/crane-camera
The light was fading as I noticed from my window how the sun had warmed the dark bark of trees enough to cause the snow to melt in a circle around the trunk of each tree. There was an incident at dusk under a bird feeding station in my yard. A raccoon, likely a kit (cub) from last year, became inquisitive about a skunk. The skunk gave a proper warning. It arched its back, raised its tail high like a flag, turned sideways, hopped and stamped its front feet. The raccoon must have thought it was playtime or the skunk was oddly behaving food. It got too close. I watched from my office window and was about to bang on the glass to scare them off, but I couldn't stop watching. I became a gawker. The skunk sprayed and the raccoon lumbered off. The putrid odor found entry into the friendly confines of my office. There was an opossum nearby, but it wasn't involved in the hostilities. Neither raccoons nor skunks are hibernators, but sleep through the coldest weather.
A small flock of rusty blackbirds showed up in the yard. Johnny Cash should have thrown a bit of brown into his wardrobe because that color combination sure looks good on a rusty. The birds slogged through wet areas at the edge of our woods, searching for food. I don't imagine they're picky when peckish in March.
Q&A
"How can I exclude bats from my house without harming them?" To the Navajos, the bat is an intermediary bridging the supernatural distance between men and gods. The bats most commonly found in homes are the little brown bat and the big brown bat. The big brown weighs less than an ounce and has a wingspan of 13 inches. Big brown bats tolerate colder winter temperatures and are active later in the fall than little browns, which are likely to hibernate in caves where the temperatures stay above freezing. Big brown bats successfully hibernate in caves or buildings. Examine your home for holes that might allow bats entry into your living quarters. Drape bird netting or plastic screen or sheeting over the outside entry points. The netting should extend several inches above, 1 foot to the sides and 2 feet below the opening. Tape or staple the top and sides of the netting to the structure, leaving the bottom open, allowing bats to crawl out. Don't stretch the netting too taut or the bats won't be able to leave. When the bats return from feeding, they'll land on the netting close to the hole but can't enter. Bats won't chew through the netting. Leave the netting in place for a week before caulking any openings larger than a quarter-inch by a half-inch. Avoid doing this from May through August because of the possibility of there being young bats.
"Thank you for identifying the bird for me. How did a Eurasian collared-dove end up in my yard?" The sandy brown bird with a black collar was brought to the Bahamas in the 1970s. Escapees from pet shops there found their way to Florida in 1982. Their goal was to make it to your yard. They were first seen in Minnesota in 1998 and were in Alaska by 2006.
"What is a hoot owl?" I reckon it could be any owl that gives a hoot. The distinctive call of the barred owl is "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?" It's commonly called a hoot owl.
"Why is the bufflehead called the spirit duck?" It came from the bufflehead’s ability to dive to safety as soon as it saw the flash of an old muzzleloader. A. C. Bent wrote in his "Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl" in 1925, “It can often succeed in diving at the flash of a gun and thus escape being shot.”
"Why are beaver teeth orange?" It's not from eating Cheetos. Beaver have long incisors that are orange from an iron-rich protective coating of enamel.
"Where are your favorite birding places?" My yard, local parks, trails and preserves, nature centers and Sax-Zim Bog.
Thanks for stopping by
"To see things in the seed, that is genius." – Lao Tzu
"Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; whenever you’re right, shut up." — Ogden Nash
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 3-7-21
Naturally
I survived the stretch of -20° weather and it looks as if you did, too. That's good news. Those kinds of temperatures are the ones we'll be telling someone about this summer.
I hear little about March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb or vice versa. Maybe it comes in like a cardinal? There were four cardinals in a hawthorn tree in my yard. I'm still celebrating. I've seen more than that in a tree before, but never at my place.
I saw robins. The vast majority of robins move south in the winter. However, some stick around — and move around. Fruit is the robin's winter food source. As the ground thaws in the spring, they switch to earthworms and insects. While robins may arrive when the average daily temperature isotherms reach 37°, it's because their food becomes available, not because the robins need warm temperatures. Because some overwinter here, they might not be a true harbinger of spring, but I do enjoy seeing them bob, bob, bobbing along.
I spotted a muskrat doing a walkabout. Perhaps it had run out of food and was forced to venture from its house. Muskrats aren't rats and they (2 to 4 pounds) are much smaller than beavers (30-70 pounds).
I looked at a garden catalog that came in the mail and pictured the birds a garden brings with it. It seems as if every garden has a song sparrow to keep it company. E. B. White wrote, "The song sparrow, who knows how brief and lovely life is, says, Sweet, sweet, sweet interlude; sweet, sweet, sweet interlude."
A sign of spring is the sight of a killdeer. Killdeer are shorebirds that don't need a beach. They call out their names. Another sign is the return of the red-winged blackbirds. I love hearing the males singing "Look-at-meee" from a preferred, prominent perch. Their songs remind me of Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound," "Home where my thought's escaping. Home where my music's playing. Home where my love lies waiting, silently for me." And the females are silent because they generally return later than the males.
I rarely see gray or Hungarian partridges near my home anymore. Once a year is about average. Sometimes they're in my yard. Years ago, there was a chukar, an escapee from a game farm, in my yard following a pair of gray partridges around. The chukar isn't a native to North America and the other partridges were the closest things to itself that it could find. I named it Chubby Chukar. I had to.
I filled the seed dispensary units with sunflower seeds. These small vending machines dispense bird food when in the company of a bird. Native Americans domesticated the sunflower around 1000 BC. About 75% of the North American sunflower seed is produced in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
Sad news
The number of monarch butterflies at their winter roosting grounds in central Mexico decreased by about 26% this year after many trees were lost to illegal logging, drought and other causes. The butterflies’ population covered 5.2 acres in 2020, compared to 6.9 acres in 2019 and 14.95 acres in 2018. Monarchs cluster densely in pine and fir trees, making it easier to count them by area than individually. Scientists estimate 15 acres of forest canopy is needed to sustain the monarch population.
Q&A
"Do voles come into houses?" Voles want to stay outside, prefer eating plant materials and don't do well indoors. They rarely enter houses.
"Why are they called ruffed grouse?" The name "ruffed" came from the long, shiny, black- or chocolate-colored neck feathers most prominent on the male.
"Does a bird have a voice box?" A bird has a syrinx, a sound-producing organ, that's the equivalent of a voice box. It's at the junction of the two bronchi or air tubes leading to the lungs. This gives the syrinx two potential sound sources, one in each bronchus. The separate membranes on each bronchus produce independent sounds, which can be mixed to produce a variety of sounds.
"Why are the squirrels removing bark from a tree in my yard?" Squirrels strip the bark from thin-barked trees because that bark is easier to remove than thick bark. The squirrels might use the bark to line their nests. Bark removal exposes a tree's cambium layer, which holds nutrients and sugars produced by the tree. That provides food for hungry squirrels in winter and early spring when other food sources are less readily available. Chewing on the bark of a tree helps keep squirrels' teeth in good shape.
Thanks for stopping by
"The naked, silent trees have taught me this, the loss of beauty is not always loss!"
– Elizabeth Drew Stoddard
"Laws are like cobwebs which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through." — Jonathan Swift
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
I survived the stretch of -20° weather and it looks as if you did, too. That's good news. Those kinds of temperatures are the ones we'll be telling someone about this summer.
I hear little about March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb or vice versa. Maybe it comes in like a cardinal? There were four cardinals in a hawthorn tree in my yard. I'm still celebrating. I've seen more than that in a tree before, but never at my place.
I saw robins. The vast majority of robins move south in the winter. However, some stick around — and move around. Fruit is the robin's winter food source. As the ground thaws in the spring, they switch to earthworms and insects. While robins may arrive when the average daily temperature isotherms reach 37°, it's because their food becomes available, not because the robins need warm temperatures. Because some overwinter here, they might not be a true harbinger of spring, but I do enjoy seeing them bob, bob, bobbing along.
I spotted a muskrat doing a walkabout. Perhaps it had run out of food and was forced to venture from its house. Muskrats aren't rats and they (2 to 4 pounds) are much smaller than beavers (30-70 pounds).
I looked at a garden catalog that came in the mail and pictured the birds a garden brings with it. It seems as if every garden has a song sparrow to keep it company. E. B. White wrote, "The song sparrow, who knows how brief and lovely life is, says, Sweet, sweet, sweet interlude; sweet, sweet, sweet interlude."
A sign of spring is the sight of a killdeer. Killdeer are shorebirds that don't need a beach. They call out their names. Another sign is the return of the red-winged blackbirds. I love hearing the males singing "Look-at-meee" from a preferred, prominent perch. Their songs remind me of Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound," "Home where my thought's escaping. Home where my music's playing. Home where my love lies waiting, silently for me." And the females are silent because they generally return later than the males.
I rarely see gray or Hungarian partridges near my home anymore. Once a year is about average. Sometimes they're in my yard. Years ago, there was a chukar, an escapee from a game farm, in my yard following a pair of gray partridges around. The chukar isn't a native to North America and the other partridges were the closest things to itself that it could find. I named it Chubby Chukar. I had to.
I filled the seed dispensary units with sunflower seeds. These small vending machines dispense bird food when in the company of a bird. Native Americans domesticated the sunflower around 1000 BC. About 75% of the North American sunflower seed is produced in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
Sad news
The number of monarch butterflies at their winter roosting grounds in central Mexico decreased by about 26% this year after many trees were lost to illegal logging, drought and other causes. The butterflies’ population covered 5.2 acres in 2020, compared to 6.9 acres in 2019 and 14.95 acres in 2018. Monarchs cluster densely in pine and fir trees, making it easier to count them by area than individually. Scientists estimate 15 acres of forest canopy is needed to sustain the monarch population.
Q&A
"Do voles come into houses?" Voles want to stay outside, prefer eating plant materials and don't do well indoors. They rarely enter houses.
"Why are they called ruffed grouse?" The name "ruffed" came from the long, shiny, black- or chocolate-colored neck feathers most prominent on the male.
"Does a bird have a voice box?" A bird has a syrinx, a sound-producing organ, that's the equivalent of a voice box. It's at the junction of the two bronchi or air tubes leading to the lungs. This gives the syrinx two potential sound sources, one in each bronchus. The separate membranes on each bronchus produce independent sounds, which can be mixed to produce a variety of sounds.
"Why are the squirrels removing bark from a tree in my yard?" Squirrels strip the bark from thin-barked trees because that bark is easier to remove than thick bark. The squirrels might use the bark to line their nests. Bark removal exposes a tree's cambium layer, which holds nutrients and sugars produced by the tree. That provides food for hungry squirrels in winter and early spring when other food sources are less readily available. Chewing on the bark of a tree helps keep squirrels' teeth in good shape.
Thanks for stopping by
"The naked, silent trees have taught me this, the loss of beauty is not always loss!"
– Elizabeth Drew Stoddard
"Laws are like cobwebs which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through." — Jonathan Swift
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 2-28-21
Naturally
Another day of snow and tell. When it’s frigid, birds become puffier. It helps to be fluffy. Watching birds is a fabulous experience. The wonders of the universe unfold before my eyes. The birds enjoy curbside service. I filled feeders and a chickadee checked out the vending machines. A hairy woodpecker put sunflower seeds into the bark of a tree and hammered them open. This activity attracted the interest of a blue jay curious to see what the woodpecker was up to. It's like one of our species back when we filled restaurants. We looked around to see what looked good going into other people's mouths.
I have window feeders. They are great for birds and for folks prone to stir-craziness. They adhere to the window via suction cups. The window needs to be clean and it helps the suction if the glass is warm. Spread vegetable oil lightly on the suction cup rims to enhance adherence. I have a heated birdbath, a recycled dog food dish. Birds can use snow and ice as a source of water but it expends precious energy to convert it to water. Heated birdbaths don't create warm water, but keep it from freezing. If you don't have a heated birdbath, you could offer fresh water in the early morning and right before dark. Those are the popular times birds want water.
A ring-necked rooster pheasant found something to crow about. The roosters crow throughout the year. I've been grounded like everyone else, but I've been fortunate to speak at birding things in Alabama, Connecticut, Alaska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc. via Zoom because roosters need to crow.
A mourning dove pair fed on fallen safflower seeds under the feeders. In ancient Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was depicted by doves. Early European superstition held that the devil and witches could turn themselves into any bird shape except the dove. In Hinduism, the dove is an emblem of the spirit and its infinite capacity for love. Ancient Aztecs believed Xochiquetzal, the mother of humanity, arrived as a dove after the great flood. Native Americans associated a dove with the Great Spirit. In the Old Testament, Noah released a dove after the great flood to search for land. It returned with an olive branch to show that the Biblical flood had receded.
At this moment in Minnesota, great horned owls are incubating eggs. A parent, typically the female, must keep them warm to prevent them from freezing. This early nesting gives the owlets a head start in the spring and extra time to learn how to be a good great horned owl. The young aren't free of parental care until in October. Great horned owls have the most diverse diet of all North American raptors. Their principal prey items are rabbits, mice, voles, hares and coots, but their menu is substantial. They occasionally hunt in broad daylight and may walk on the ground to stalk small prey.
Nature news
Railroad crews used explosives to provoke small avalanches in British Columbia when an onlooker noticed an elk engulfed in a wave of white. The man and a friend went to help the elk and found its face peering out from the snow, immobilized by the weight of the avalanche. The men dug the elk free and it walked away. No tip was requested.
A two-headed bird (a ruffed grouse) was spotted in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The bird eats with both beaks and can fly.
The world’s oldest known wild bird is a mother once again. Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, hatched a chick on Feb. 1 on Midway Atoll. Wisdom is approximately 70 years old and has hatched 30-36 chicks.
Q&A
Jay Gregerson of Albert Lea sent a photo of a house finch with an elongated bill and wondered about the cause. Many factors have been implicated in causing bird bills to grow abnormally — disease, parasites, nutritional deficiencies, genetic defects, extreme heat, environmental contaminants and structural damage caused by a collision or other trauma.
"Do feeders help birds survive winter?" Stanley Temple, a University of Wisconsin professor studied this (1982-85) and found, on average, 69% of banded chickadees with access to a feeder survived the winter (October through April) compared to 37% without supplemental food.
"There is a downy woodpecker that appears to be healthy but sometimes remains motionless at the suet feeder or on the trunk of a tree. What's it doing?" Woodpeckers aren’t the fastest flyers, which means the downy’s best defense is to freeze in place to escape an accipiter's notice.
Thanks for stopping by
"The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings." — Wendell Berry
"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." — C.S. Lewis
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
Another day of snow and tell. When it’s frigid, birds become puffier. It helps to be fluffy. Watching birds is a fabulous experience. The wonders of the universe unfold before my eyes. The birds enjoy curbside service. I filled feeders and a chickadee checked out the vending machines. A hairy woodpecker put sunflower seeds into the bark of a tree and hammered them open. This activity attracted the interest of a blue jay curious to see what the woodpecker was up to. It's like one of our species back when we filled restaurants. We looked around to see what looked good going into other people's mouths.
I have window feeders. They are great for birds and for folks prone to stir-craziness. They adhere to the window via suction cups. The window needs to be clean and it helps the suction if the glass is warm. Spread vegetable oil lightly on the suction cup rims to enhance adherence. I have a heated birdbath, a recycled dog food dish. Birds can use snow and ice as a source of water but it expends precious energy to convert it to water. Heated birdbaths don't create warm water, but keep it from freezing. If you don't have a heated birdbath, you could offer fresh water in the early morning and right before dark. Those are the popular times birds want water.
A ring-necked rooster pheasant found something to crow about. The roosters crow throughout the year. I've been grounded like everyone else, but I've been fortunate to speak at birding things in Alabama, Connecticut, Alaska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc. via Zoom because roosters need to crow.
A mourning dove pair fed on fallen safflower seeds under the feeders. In ancient Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was depicted by doves. Early European superstition held that the devil and witches could turn themselves into any bird shape except the dove. In Hinduism, the dove is an emblem of the spirit and its infinite capacity for love. Ancient Aztecs believed Xochiquetzal, the mother of humanity, arrived as a dove after the great flood. Native Americans associated a dove with the Great Spirit. In the Old Testament, Noah released a dove after the great flood to search for land. It returned with an olive branch to show that the Biblical flood had receded.
At this moment in Minnesota, great horned owls are incubating eggs. A parent, typically the female, must keep them warm to prevent them from freezing. This early nesting gives the owlets a head start in the spring and extra time to learn how to be a good great horned owl. The young aren't free of parental care until in October. Great horned owls have the most diverse diet of all North American raptors. Their principal prey items are rabbits, mice, voles, hares and coots, but their menu is substantial. They occasionally hunt in broad daylight and may walk on the ground to stalk small prey.
Nature news
Railroad crews used explosives to provoke small avalanches in British Columbia when an onlooker noticed an elk engulfed in a wave of white. The man and a friend went to help the elk and found its face peering out from the snow, immobilized by the weight of the avalanche. The men dug the elk free and it walked away. No tip was requested.
A two-headed bird (a ruffed grouse) was spotted in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The bird eats with both beaks and can fly.
The world’s oldest known wild bird is a mother once again. Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, hatched a chick on Feb. 1 on Midway Atoll. Wisdom is approximately 70 years old and has hatched 30-36 chicks.
Q&A
Jay Gregerson of Albert Lea sent a photo of a house finch with an elongated bill and wondered about the cause. Many factors have been implicated in causing bird bills to grow abnormally — disease, parasites, nutritional deficiencies, genetic defects, extreme heat, environmental contaminants and structural damage caused by a collision or other trauma.
"Do feeders help birds survive winter?" Stanley Temple, a University of Wisconsin professor studied this (1982-85) and found, on average, 69% of banded chickadees with access to a feeder survived the winter (October through April) compared to 37% without supplemental food.
"There is a downy woodpecker that appears to be healthy but sometimes remains motionless at the suet feeder or on the trunk of a tree. What's it doing?" Woodpeckers aren’t the fastest flyers, which means the downy’s best defense is to freeze in place to escape an accipiter's notice.
Thanks for stopping by
"The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings." — Wendell Berry
"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." — C.S. Lewis
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 2-21-21
Naturally Birds are meant to invoke awe and wonder. A love of birds is a reason to go outside. I'm constantly amazed as I watch birds trying to make a living. No bird carries a wallet or a purse. They survive without a credit card. It was -19° and the house sparrows were chirping merrily. It invigorated this listener. When I was a lad, hawks were called chicken hawks, including the beautiful red-tailed hawk. I ate more chickens than any red-tailed hawk ever did. The hawk's diet varies with availability, season and location, but mammals such as voles, mice, rats, rabbits and ground squirrels are major prey items. Tree squirrels and chipmunks are less important prey to this hawk, which is generally brown above and whitish below.
I watched a strange cat sneak through the yard at -19° with a windchill I didn't want to know. Cats want to be outdoors. Humans want to use hard drugs, eat too much and drive too fast. Being outdoors is as bad for a cat as those other things are for us.
I saw an American kestrel on a utility wire. The mourning dove-sized bird had slate-blue wings that identified it as a male. The female's wings are rusty. A kestrel often bobs its tail while perched.
The news had a couple of odd nature-related things. A call to save an injured goose on the Raisin River in Detroit caused a fire rescue crew to suit up and crawl onto the treacherous ice. Once close, they discovered the goose was a decoy. Officials considered it an unexpected training session.
Gray squirrels are an invasive species in the UK and the government there is trying to lure the squirrels into feeding boxes with small pots containing hazelnut spread spiked with an oral contraceptive. Prince Charles played a key role in setting up the UK Squirrel Accord, which aims to manage the negative impacts of invasive gray squirrels in the UK.
I watched the fox squirrels in my yard. They survive our cantankerous winters because they keep working at it.
Q&A
"What does beaver scat look like?" Beaver scat isn't often seen because beavers typically defecate in the water. Beaver scat is predominantly wood material. Their feces disintegrate quickly in water because they're mostly wood pulp in either a round or elongated pellet up to an inch in diameter. The scat resembles wood chips or sawdust glued together and is usually a light brown to tan color. The Beaver Institute says the preferred tree species of beavers include alder, aspen, apple, birch, cherry, cottonwood, poplar and willow. Aspen, poplar and cottonwood are their favorites. If the supply of their preferred trees is low they will harvest oaks and maples. Conifers are their least favorite. I see them gnawing on ash trees and enjoying the bark of willows.
"Why don't the feet of birds freeze?" Bird feet are little more than bone, sinew and scale, with few nerves. A countercurrent heat exchange system means the arteries that transport blood to the legs lie in contact with the veins that return blood to the bird’s heart. The warm arteries heat the cooler veins. Because the veins also cool the arteries, the bird’s feet are closer to the environmental temperature and don’t lose as much heat as they would if they were at body temperature.
This system isn’t as effective in mourning doves and their feet are prone to freezing. Pigeons and chickens suffer frostbite. Frostbitten feet on other birds aren’t an impossibility. On a barely related note, the rock pigeon, the pigeon we see in farm and city, was trained for communication by the United States Army Pigeon Service or Signal Pigeon Corps. During WWII, this force consisted of 3,150 soldiers and 54,000 pigeons. Over 90% of Army messages sent by pigeons were received. The pigeon named G.I. Joe received the Dickin Medal for gallantry that saved at least 1,000 lives. From 1917 until 1957, the US Army Pigeon Breeding and Training Center was based at Fort Monmouth, N.J.
"Do raccoons wash their food before eating?" They aren't germaphobes. It's a myth. When they find something that might be food, they roll it around in their front paws to determine what it is. If a raccoon encounters a likely item at a distance from water, they will roll it around in their paws without involving any water. Research has determined that wetting the paws increases their sensitivity. Their scientific name, Procyon lotor, means "washing bear." Raccoons typically weigh 14 to 40 pounds, sometimes more. If raccoons had opposable thumbs, they might be our overlords.
Thanks for stopping by
"You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment." — Annie Dillard
"When a man is wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty small package." — John Ruskin
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally Birds are meant to invoke awe and wonder. A love of birds is a reason to go outside. I'm constantly amazed as I watch birds trying to make a living. No bird carries a wallet or a purse. They survive without a credit card. It was -19° and the house sparrows were chirping merrily. It invigorated this listener. When I was a lad, hawks were called chicken hawks, including the beautiful red-tailed hawk. I ate more chickens than any red-tailed hawk ever did. The hawk's diet varies with availability, season and location, but mammals such as voles, mice, rats, rabbits and ground squirrels are major prey items. Tree squirrels and chipmunks are less important prey to this hawk, which is generally brown above and whitish below.
I watched a strange cat sneak through the yard at -19° with a windchill I didn't want to know. Cats want to be outdoors. Humans want to use hard drugs, eat too much and drive too fast. Being outdoors is as bad for a cat as those other things are for us.
I saw an American kestrel on a utility wire. The mourning dove-sized bird had slate-blue wings that identified it as a male. The female's wings are rusty. A kestrel often bobs its tail while perched.
The news had a couple of odd nature-related things. A call to save an injured goose on the Raisin River in Detroit caused a fire rescue crew to suit up and crawl onto the treacherous ice. Once close, they discovered the goose was a decoy. Officials considered it an unexpected training session.
Gray squirrels are an invasive species in the UK and the government there is trying to lure the squirrels into feeding boxes with small pots containing hazelnut spread spiked with an oral contraceptive. Prince Charles played a key role in setting up the UK Squirrel Accord, which aims to manage the negative impacts of invasive gray squirrels in the UK.
I watched the fox squirrels in my yard. They survive our cantankerous winters because they keep working at it.
Q&A
"What does beaver scat look like?" Beaver scat isn't often seen because beavers typically defecate in the water. Beaver scat is predominantly wood material. Their feces disintegrate quickly in water because they're mostly wood pulp in either a round or elongated pellet up to an inch in diameter. The scat resembles wood chips or sawdust glued together and is usually a light brown to tan color. The Beaver Institute says the preferred tree species of beavers include alder, aspen, apple, birch, cherry, cottonwood, poplar and willow. Aspen, poplar and cottonwood are their favorites. If the supply of their preferred trees is low they will harvest oaks and maples. Conifers are their least favorite. I see them gnawing on ash trees and enjoying the bark of willows.
"Why don't the feet of birds freeze?" Bird feet are little more than bone, sinew and scale, with few nerves. A countercurrent heat exchange system means the arteries that transport blood to the legs lie in contact with the veins that return blood to the bird’s heart. The warm arteries heat the cooler veins. Because the veins also cool the arteries, the bird’s feet are closer to the environmental temperature and don’t lose as much heat as they would if they were at body temperature.
This system isn’t as effective in mourning doves and their feet are prone to freezing. Pigeons and chickens suffer frostbite. Frostbitten feet on other birds aren’t an impossibility. On a barely related note, the rock pigeon, the pigeon we see in farm and city, was trained for communication by the United States Army Pigeon Service or Signal Pigeon Corps. During WWII, this force consisted of 3,150 soldiers and 54,000 pigeons. Over 90% of Army messages sent by pigeons were received. The pigeon named G.I. Joe received the Dickin Medal for gallantry that saved at least 1,000 lives. From 1917 until 1957, the US Army Pigeon Breeding and Training Center was based at Fort Monmouth, N.J.
"Do raccoons wash their food before eating?" They aren't germaphobes. It's a myth. When they find something that might be food, they roll it around in their front paws to determine what it is. If a raccoon encounters a likely item at a distance from water, they will roll it around in their paws without involving any water. Research has determined that wetting the paws increases their sensitivity. Their scientific name, Procyon lotor, means "washing bear." Raccoons typically weigh 14 to 40 pounds, sometimes more. If raccoons had opposable thumbs, they might be our overlords.
Thanks for stopping by
"You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment." — Annie Dillard
"When a man is wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty small package." — John Ruskin
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 2-14-21
Naturally
It was one above zero. Crows gathered in the woods near my window. It was a murder in the first degree.
A friendly chickadee landed on a feeder while I was filling it. It snacked on nyjer seeds. I don’t see chickadees as regular consumers of those thistle seeds. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "A birdie with a yellow bill Hopped upon my window sill, Cocked his shining eye and said: 'Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head!'" A European starling’s bill turns yellow as the breeding season approaches.
I'm seeing flocks of horned larks. Some spend the winter in southern Minnesota. The horned larks that migrated south begin returning north into Minnesota in early February.
A cardinal and a house sparrow are each missing a tail in my yard. Not the same tail. If a feather is broken, it remains broken until the next molt. If a feather is pulled out, regrowth begins immediately. I doubt it's a fraternity initiation. Birds could lose their tail feathers in a fright molt while trying to avoid being captured. Those feathers come out easily, leaving the would-be predator with a mouthful of feathers. Tails are important, but not critical to survival.
I've heard from a good number of people who have seen Carolina wrens this winter. Matt Young, the collections management leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library, said the red crossbill is the most recorded bird in that library with the Carolina wren next.
Q&A
"How do you pronounce 'leucism'?" I hear it sometimes pronounced "loo-si-zim," but I say "loo-kiz-em." Leukemia is pronounced "loo-kee-mee-ah," not "loo-see-mee-ah." Both words come from the Greek word leukos (lyoo-kos) meaning white.
"How can an owl catch a crow?" Great horned owls snatch them from the crows' nightly roosting sites.
Joyce Tabor of Askov wrote, "When I sit in the living room at night, I hear owls hooting. Are they calling so they can mate or is it too early?" Great horned owls can be noisy during territorial formation and pair bonding in December and January. They lay eggs in late January into March, varying with location. When a pair of owls call a duet, the female usually hoots first and hers is higher-pitched. The male replies in a deeper voice. Females are larger than males, but the smaller male has a bigger syrinx.
"What do opossums eat?" If opossums went to school, they'd flunk spelling, but they'd eat their homework because opossums eat almost anything, including birdseed, worms, compost, snakes, acorns, insects, slugs, eggs, young birds, berries, decayed or overripe fruit, grain, ticks, garbage and carrion. Winter is tough on them. The opossum's naked ears, nose, and tail are susceptible to frostbite.
"Does a camel's hump hold water?" No, it stores fat. The camel uses it as nourishment when food is scarce.
"Do juncos eat suet?" They do, especially any bits that fall to the ground. It makes sense as juncos feed on spruce budworms and consume insects during their breeding season.
"Does the osprey eat anything other than fish?" The osprey is the only hawk on the continent that eats almost exclusively live fish, which account for 99% of an osprey’s diet. On rare occasions, ospreys have been observed feeding on dead fish, birds, snakes, voles, squirrels, muskrats and salamanders. The osprey is one of the few birds found on every continent except Antarctica. The peregrine falcon is another.
"Do vultures circle dying animals?" They don't stalk dying creatures as a wounded animal could harm them. Circling vultures don't necessarily indicate the presence of a dead animal. Circling vultures may be gaining altitude for long flights, searching for food or exhibiting playfulness. Vultures soar on thermals of warm, rising air that allow them to conserve energy in flight. They rely on thermals of warm air to remain aloft while scanning the ground for food.
"Will screech owls eat fish?" Eastern screech owls eat many kinds of small animals, including mammals (especially mice and voles), birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians. Their diets include bats, tadpoles, moths, crickets, worms and fish. A bald eagle and an osprey aren't the only birds that watch fish like a hawk. If they can catch it, screech owls eat it.
"Why are moths attracted to lights?" Like a moth to a flame, moths and other insects gather around lights. Scientists don’t know why this fatal attraction occurs but speculate moths might think the light is the moon that aids their navigation. Or they might mistake it for daylight and become confused.
Thanks for stopping by
"When February sun shines cold, there comes a day when in the air the wings of winter slow unfold, and show the golden summer there." — Philip Savage
"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." — Proverbs 12:18
Do good.
© Al Batt 2021
Naturally
It was one above zero. Crows gathered in the woods near my window. It was a murder in the first degree.
A friendly chickadee landed on a feeder while I was filling it. It snacked on nyjer seeds. I don’t see chickadees as regular consumers of those thistle seeds. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "A birdie with a yellow bill Hopped upon my window sill, Cocked his shining eye and said: 'Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head!'" A European starling’s bill turns yellow as the breeding season approaches.
I'm seeing flocks of horned larks. Some spend the winter in southern Minnesota. The horned larks that migrated south begin returning north into Minnesota in early February.
A cardinal and a house sparrow are each missing a tail in my yard. Not the same tail. If a feather is broken, it remains broken until the next molt. If a feather is pulled out, regrowth begins immediately. I doubt it's a fraternity initiation. Birds could lose their tail feathers in a fright molt while trying to avoid being captured. Those feathers come out easily, leaving the would-be predator with a mouthful of feathers. Tails are important, but not critical to survival.
I've heard from a good number of people who have seen Carolina wrens this winter. Matt Young, the collections management leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library, said the red crossbill is the most recorded bird in that library with the Carolina wren next.
Q&A
"How do you pronounce 'leucism'?" I hear it sometimes pronounced "loo-si-zim," but I say "loo-kiz-em." Leukemia is pronounced "loo-kee-mee-ah," not "loo-see-mee-ah." Both words come from the Greek word leukos (lyoo-kos) meaning white.
"How can an owl catch a crow?" Great horned owls snatch them from the crows' nightly roosting sites.
Joyce Tabor of Askov wrote, "When I sit in the living room at night, I hear owls hooting. Are they calling so they can mate or is it too early?" Great horned owls can be noisy during territorial formation and pair bonding in December and January. They lay eggs in late January into March, varying with location. When a pair of owls call a duet, the female usually hoots first and hers is higher-pitched. The male replies in a deeper voice. Females are larger than males, but the smaller male has a bigger syrinx.
"What do opossums eat?" If opossums went to school, they'd flunk spelling, but they'd eat their homework because opossums eat almost anything, including birdseed, worms, compost, snakes, acorns, insects, slugs, eggs, young birds, berries, decayed or overripe fruit, grain, ticks, garbage and carrion. Winter is tough on them. The opossum's naked ears, nose, and tail are susceptible to frostbite.
"Does a camel's hump hold water?" No, it stores fat. The camel uses it as nourishment when food is scarce.
"Do juncos eat suet?" They do, especially any bits that fall to the ground. It makes sense as juncos feed on spruce budworms and consume insects during their breeding season.
"Does the osprey eat anything other than fish?" The osprey is the only hawk on the continent that eats almost exclusively live fish, which account for 99% of an osprey’s diet. On rare occasions, ospreys have been observed feeding on dead fish, birds, snakes, voles, squirrels, muskrats and salamanders. The osprey is one of the few birds found on every continent except Antarctica. The peregrine falcon is another.
"Do vultures circle dying animals?" They don't stalk dying creatures as a wounded animal could harm them. Circling vultures don't necessarily indicate the presence of a dead animal. Circling vultures may be gaining altitude for long flights, searching for food or exhibiting playfulness. Vultures soar on thermals of warm, rising air that allow them to conserve energy in flight. They rely on thermals of warm air to remain aloft while scanning the ground for food.
"Will screech owls eat fish?" Eastern screech owls eat many kinds of small animals, including mammals (especially mice and voles), birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians. Their diets include bats, tadpoles, moths, crickets, worms and fish. A bald eagle and an osprey aren't the only birds that watch fish like a hawk. If they can catch it, screech owls eat it.
"Why are moths attracted to lights?" Like a moth to a flame, moths and other insects gather around lights. Scientists don’t know why this fatal attraction occurs but speculate moths might think the light is the moon that aids their navigation. Or they might mistake it for daylight and become confused.
Thanks for stopping by
"When February sun shines cold, there comes a day when in the air the wings of winter slow unfold, and show the golden summer there." — Philip Savage
"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." — Proverbs 12:18
Do good.
© Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 2-7-21
Nature by the yard
Juncos are gray birds that brighten a gray day. A pine siskin wore the evidence of a correct weather forecast. The proof was a few snowflakes perched on the bird's back. Happiness is in the bag. Sunflower seeds. Chickadees moved to and from the feeders at the rate of the candy on an "I Love Lucy" TV episode, the one where Lucy and Ethel got jobs as candy makers at Kramer's Kandy Kitchen. They worked in the wrapping room assembly line where their task was to wrap every chocolate candy as it went by on a conveyor belt. The speed of the conveyor forced them to eat the candies or stuff the sweets into their hats and blouses.
A friend, Penny Jacobsen of Albert Lea, called to recommend the book, "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants" a nonfiction book by Robin Wall Kimmerer and published by Milkweed. It's a wonderful book I'd just started reading not long before her kind call.
I haven't seen a chipmunk in the yard since New Year's Day. Chipmunks hibernate in winter, but they don’t sleep through the season. Hibernation means something different to each species. Some call the chipmunk's a torpor. It's a restless hibernation. They retreat to their burrows and wake every few days to raise their body temperatures to normal, feed on stored food rather than fat reserves, and urinate and defecate. Their heart rate declines from about 350 beats per minute to four beats per minute. Body temperature may drop from 94° to the temperature of the burrow — as cold as 40°.
There were five pheasants and four fox squirrels foraging under the feeders. All was calm. Then another fox squirrel dropped from a feeder. Panic ensued. It became the Monty Python skit of the footrace for people with no sense of direction. I recalled a day years before when the house cat was birdwatching from a window holding a feeder attached by suction cups. As the feline watched, a squirrel dropped from the roof in a superhero attempt to find access to the feeder. The weight of the squirrel knocked the feeder from the glass. The cat's eyes grew larger as it turned and looked at me as if to say, "That's why I watch birds."
Eight pheasants became eight lumps in a bent tree in the gathering darkness. Roosting in trees is a predator-avoidance behavior.
My eyes produced tears as I walked into an east wind. The proverb says, "When the wind is in the east, 'tis neither good for man nor beast; when the wind is in the north, the skillful fisher goes not forth; when the wind is in the south, it blows the bait in the fishes' mouth; when the wind is in the west, then 'tis at the very best."
Carol Hegel Lang of Albert Lea, Jill Evans of Mankato and Tim Scott of Mankato all reported wintering Carolina wrens. I recall walking a trail in Columbia, Missouri, lost in my thoughts and delighting in the songs of the Carolina wren that followed me.
There was a spruce budworm outbreak across large portions of Quebec and Ontario the past several years. Because of the pandemic, areas of Quebec weren't treated with pesticides for budworm. Large sections of the boreal forests produced two excellent spruce cone crops during the last four years. These things led to a finch irruption event. Evening grosbeak, purple finch, and to a lesser extent, pine siskin, are spruce budworm specialists. There are spruce budworm warblers, too — Cape May, Tennessee and bay-breasted.
Q&A
"What can I feed wintering robins?" Place apple slices, raisins, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, cherries, small bits of suet or mealworms at ground level.
"How many snowy owls have been seen in Minnesota this winter?" As of Jan. 31 there had been 72 observations in 16 counties: Becker, Kittson, Marshall, Pine, Polk, St. Louis, Benton, Dodge, Hennepin, Lac qui Parle, Le Sueur, Martin, Rice, Stearns, Stevens and Watonwan.
"Where do the sandhill cranes from Minnesota go in winter?" Minnesota birds are short-distance migrants. Birds in eastern Minnesota migrate southeast to Georgia and Florida; birds in western Minnesota migrate south to the Gulf Coast of Texas.
"When are the mating seasons for coyotes and red foxes?" Coyotes mate at age two and may pair for life. The mating season begins in January and lasts through February. Five to seven pups are born in April. Red foxes mate at age one in February and 52 days later five to ten pups are born that are fully independent at seven months.
Thanks for stopping by
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way." — Attributed to Napoleon Hill, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Teresa
"When snow falls, nature listens." — Antoinette van Kleeff
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Nature by the yard
Juncos are gray birds that brighten a gray day. A pine siskin wore the evidence of a correct weather forecast. The proof was a few snowflakes perched on the bird's back. Happiness is in the bag. Sunflower seeds. Chickadees moved to and from the feeders at the rate of the candy on an "I Love Lucy" TV episode, the one where Lucy and Ethel got jobs as candy makers at Kramer's Kandy Kitchen. They worked in the wrapping room assembly line where their task was to wrap every chocolate candy as it went by on a conveyor belt. The speed of the conveyor forced them to eat the candies or stuff the sweets into their hats and blouses.
A friend, Penny Jacobsen of Albert Lea, called to recommend the book, "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants" a nonfiction book by Robin Wall Kimmerer and published by Milkweed. It's a wonderful book I'd just started reading not long before her kind call.
I haven't seen a chipmunk in the yard since New Year's Day. Chipmunks hibernate in winter, but they don’t sleep through the season. Hibernation means something different to each species. Some call the chipmunk's a torpor. It's a restless hibernation. They retreat to their burrows and wake every few days to raise their body temperatures to normal, feed on stored food rather than fat reserves, and urinate and defecate. Their heart rate declines from about 350 beats per minute to four beats per minute. Body temperature may drop from 94° to the temperature of the burrow — as cold as 40°.
There were five pheasants and four fox squirrels foraging under the feeders. All was calm. Then another fox squirrel dropped from a feeder. Panic ensued. It became the Monty Python skit of the footrace for people with no sense of direction. I recalled a day years before when the house cat was birdwatching from a window holding a feeder attached by suction cups. As the feline watched, a squirrel dropped from the roof in a superhero attempt to find access to the feeder. The weight of the squirrel knocked the feeder from the glass. The cat's eyes grew larger as it turned and looked at me as if to say, "That's why I watch birds."
Eight pheasants became eight lumps in a bent tree in the gathering darkness. Roosting in trees is a predator-avoidance behavior.
My eyes produced tears as I walked into an east wind. The proverb says, "When the wind is in the east, 'tis neither good for man nor beast; when the wind is in the north, the skillful fisher goes not forth; when the wind is in the south, it blows the bait in the fishes' mouth; when the wind is in the west, then 'tis at the very best."
Carol Hegel Lang of Albert Lea, Jill Evans of Mankato and Tim Scott of Mankato all reported wintering Carolina wrens. I recall walking a trail in Columbia, Missouri, lost in my thoughts and delighting in the songs of the Carolina wren that followed me.
There was a spruce budworm outbreak across large portions of Quebec and Ontario the past several years. Because of the pandemic, areas of Quebec weren't treated with pesticides for budworm. Large sections of the boreal forests produced two excellent spruce cone crops during the last four years. These things led to a finch irruption event. Evening grosbeak, purple finch, and to a lesser extent, pine siskin, are spruce budworm specialists. There are spruce budworm warblers, too — Cape May, Tennessee and bay-breasted.
Q&A
"What can I feed wintering robins?" Place apple slices, raisins, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, cherries, small bits of suet or mealworms at ground level.
"How many snowy owls have been seen in Minnesota this winter?" As of Jan. 31 there had been 72 observations in 16 counties: Becker, Kittson, Marshall, Pine, Polk, St. Louis, Benton, Dodge, Hennepin, Lac qui Parle, Le Sueur, Martin, Rice, Stearns, Stevens and Watonwan.
"Where do the sandhill cranes from Minnesota go in winter?" Minnesota birds are short-distance migrants. Birds in eastern Minnesota migrate southeast to Georgia and Florida; birds in western Minnesota migrate south to the Gulf Coast of Texas.
"When are the mating seasons for coyotes and red foxes?" Coyotes mate at age two and may pair for life. The mating season begins in January and lasts through February. Five to seven pups are born in April. Red foxes mate at age one in February and 52 days later five to ten pups are born that are fully independent at seven months.
Thanks for stopping by
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way." — Attributed to Napoleon Hill, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mother Teresa
"When snow falls, nature listens." — Antoinette van Kleeff
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 1-31-21
Naturally
A house sparrow missing his tail was in the yard. If Jim Rockford were still around, I'd have him put a tail on the bird. Dark-eyed juncos are snowbirds. Old Man Winter gave them a lot of responsibility, but they came through with 8 inches of the white stuff in the recent storm. Some red-bellied woodpeckers take their red bellies everywhere. Others, not so much. The red belly isn't always easily noticed. A friend from Maine brought up the chestnut colors on the south end of a northbound white-breasted nuthatch. A nervous rooster pheasant in the yard behaved hawkwardly. Its presence made a nice birthday pheasant for my wife. A cat sat on a warm rock I'd placed into a heated dog dish I've convinced the birds is a birdbath.
Squirrels left footprints in the snow with their larger hind feet appearing in front of the smaller front feet. Rabbit tracks resemble those of squirrels except the front feet aren't paired with hind feet and form a triangular shape. I can tell where rabbits have fed as twigs and shrubs show clean diagonal cuts.
Alberta rats
Norway rats are destructive — they can carry disease and eat crops. For over 70 years Alberta has been determined to stop rats from calling Alberta home, concentrating efforts along the Saskatchewan border, banning the animals as pets, and investigating any hint of a rat inside the province. Out of 481 rat reports in 2020, 26 were actual rats. About half of the sightings were muskrats. Rats ride into Alberta on vehicles.
Q&A
Barb Lamson of Mankato asked where squirrels live in the winter. Do they stay in their tree nests? How do they stay warm? Squirrels live in two types of structures: Dens, which are holes in trees and dreys, which are densely packed masses of sticks and leaves typically located high in the forked branches of large trees. Dens, insulated with dried leaves and other materials, are preferred for winter and brood chambers, but dreys are sturdy and weather-resistant. Dreys require more maintenance. Squirrels fatten up as much as possible, grow a thicker coat that helps keep them warm, and use shivering to generate body heat. In cold weather, squirrels might share a nest in order to share body heat, but this can lead to disputes.
"Are birds at feeders more likely to fall victim to predators?" According to a Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology study, avian predators are attracted to busy feeders, but cats aren't more active at feeding sites. Evidence suggested feeders may provide safe havens from predation. There are more birds to sound alarms. Feeders may reduce foraging time and exposure to predators.
"Why do beavers build dams?" A dam, made of trees and mud, blocks or slows water flow in a river or stream, creating a pond. They build lodges in those ponds, which provide protection from predators like wolves, coyotes or mountain lions. They offer warm places to sleep and raise young. Lodges are built of sticks, grasses and mud, and have underwater entrances. Ponds are important habitats for other wetland animals.
"What's the white covering on trees called?" If it's not snow, it could be rime ice that happens in areas of dense fog when fog droplets come in contact with surfaces below freezing. Or hoarfrost, which is similar to dew and occurs on cold, clear, calm nights when water vapor freezes onto below-freezing surfaces. Hoar refers to the frosty coating, coming from the word hoary, which means white or gray with age.
Diane Norvell of Owatonna asked if it's unusual to see robins in Minnesota in January. The great poet Anonymous wrote, "The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow, and what will the robin do then, poor thing? He’ll sit in a barn, and keep himself warm, and hide his head under his wing, poor thing!" A small percentage of our robins spend the winter in Minnesota. And why not? It's a winter wonderland. Wintering robins become gregarious, finding security in flock numbers and sleeping in conifers to stay warm at night. They frequent areas with open water. Robins can survive cold weather if they find enough food to stoke their furnaces. They feed on fruits and berries of hackberry, crabapple, hawthorn, juniper, sumac, mountain ash and buckthorn. Robins that migrated south wander north into areas when and where the temperatures average about 37° and earthworms are emerging. Our wintering emotional support robins follow the food. They move around in search of food and shelter.
Local sightings
Carol Bertelson of Albert Lea — white-winged crossbill
Peggy Swenson of Albert Lea — brown creeper and evening grosbeak
Carol Hegel Lang of Albert Lea — Carolina wren, white-winged crossbill and Oregon junco
Millie Westland of Hayward — brown thrasher
Jeanne Steinbrink of Lyle — evening grosbeak and white-winged crossbill
Thanks for stopping by
"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather." — Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray) in "Groundhog Day."
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." — Albert Camus
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
A house sparrow missing his tail was in the yard. If Jim Rockford were still around, I'd have him put a tail on the bird. Dark-eyed juncos are snowbirds. Old Man Winter gave them a lot of responsibility, but they came through with 8 inches of the white stuff in the recent storm. Some red-bellied woodpeckers take their red bellies everywhere. Others, not so much. The red belly isn't always easily noticed. A friend from Maine brought up the chestnut colors on the south end of a northbound white-breasted nuthatch. A nervous rooster pheasant in the yard behaved hawkwardly. Its presence made a nice birthday pheasant for my wife. A cat sat on a warm rock I'd placed into a heated dog dish I've convinced the birds is a birdbath.
Squirrels left footprints in the snow with their larger hind feet appearing in front of the smaller front feet. Rabbit tracks resemble those of squirrels except the front feet aren't paired with hind feet and form a triangular shape. I can tell where rabbits have fed as twigs and shrubs show clean diagonal cuts.
Alberta rats
Norway rats are destructive — they can carry disease and eat crops. For over 70 years Alberta has been determined to stop rats from calling Alberta home, concentrating efforts along the Saskatchewan border, banning the animals as pets, and investigating any hint of a rat inside the province. Out of 481 rat reports in 2020, 26 were actual rats. About half of the sightings were muskrats. Rats ride into Alberta on vehicles.
Q&A
Barb Lamson of Mankato asked where squirrels live in the winter. Do they stay in their tree nests? How do they stay warm? Squirrels live in two types of structures: Dens, which are holes in trees and dreys, which are densely packed masses of sticks and leaves typically located high in the forked branches of large trees. Dens, insulated with dried leaves and other materials, are preferred for winter and brood chambers, but dreys are sturdy and weather-resistant. Dreys require more maintenance. Squirrels fatten up as much as possible, grow a thicker coat that helps keep them warm, and use shivering to generate body heat. In cold weather, squirrels might share a nest in order to share body heat, but this can lead to disputes.
"Are birds at feeders more likely to fall victim to predators?" According to a Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology study, avian predators are attracted to busy feeders, but cats aren't more active at feeding sites. Evidence suggested feeders may provide safe havens from predation. There are more birds to sound alarms. Feeders may reduce foraging time and exposure to predators.
"Why do beavers build dams?" A dam, made of trees and mud, blocks or slows water flow in a river or stream, creating a pond. They build lodges in those ponds, which provide protection from predators like wolves, coyotes or mountain lions. They offer warm places to sleep and raise young. Lodges are built of sticks, grasses and mud, and have underwater entrances. Ponds are important habitats for other wetland animals.
"What's the white covering on trees called?" If it's not snow, it could be rime ice that happens in areas of dense fog when fog droplets come in contact with surfaces below freezing. Or hoarfrost, which is similar to dew and occurs on cold, clear, calm nights when water vapor freezes onto below-freezing surfaces. Hoar refers to the frosty coating, coming from the word hoary, which means white or gray with age.
Diane Norvell of Owatonna asked if it's unusual to see robins in Minnesota in January. The great poet Anonymous wrote, "The north wind doth blow, and we shall have snow, and what will the robin do then, poor thing? He’ll sit in a barn, and keep himself warm, and hide his head under his wing, poor thing!" A small percentage of our robins spend the winter in Minnesota. And why not? It's a winter wonderland. Wintering robins become gregarious, finding security in flock numbers and sleeping in conifers to stay warm at night. They frequent areas with open water. Robins can survive cold weather if they find enough food to stoke their furnaces. They feed on fruits and berries of hackberry, crabapple, hawthorn, juniper, sumac, mountain ash and buckthorn. Robins that migrated south wander north into areas when and where the temperatures average about 37° and earthworms are emerging. Our wintering emotional support robins follow the food. They move around in search of food and shelter.
Local sightings
Carol Bertelson of Albert Lea — white-winged crossbill
Peggy Swenson of Albert Lea — brown creeper and evening grosbeak
Carol Hegel Lang of Albert Lea — Carolina wren, white-winged crossbill and Oregon junco
Millie Westland of Hayward — brown thrasher
Jeanne Steinbrink of Lyle — evening grosbeak and white-winged crossbill
Thanks for stopping by
"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather." — Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray) in "Groundhog Day."
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." — Albert Camus
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 1-24-21
Naturally
Birds are endlessly entertaining. Watching them helps us where we need help. The Association for the Preservation & Appreciation of Chickadees has bribed me with endless cuteness in the hopes I'd think kindly of chickadees. There are seven species of chickadees in North America. Each one is my favorite bird.
I saw a glimpse of an accipiter. It was a shadow and then gone. They move as fast as time. It was a Cooper's hawk or a sharp-shinned hawk. I called it a Shooper's hawk and a Coop-shinned hawk. I was fine with that.
A hairy woodpecker flew onto a window feeder containing suet. The tired suction cups gave way and the entire feeder fell to the ground while the woodpecker was on it. The bird flew up into the air and landed on another feeder nearby where it looked down at the crashed feeder as if it were wondering who had pulled the ground out from under it.
I spoke virtually to the New Haven (Conn.) Bird Club. They told me their Christmas Bird Count had produced 127 species. I did one in Minnesota that had 32. I was Connecticut dreaming on such a winter’s day.
A pileated woodpecker spent time in my yard. It appeared massive at the suet feeder. I've been a member of the American Birding Association (ABA) for a goodly number of years. The ABA is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, dedicated to recreational birding primarily in the continental United States, Hawaii and Canada. Each year, the ABA picks its Bird of the Year. This year it's the Pileated Woodpecker. How do you pronounce that? It's wu̇d-pe-kər.
Carol Thomas of Minneapolis sent me this,
Up From the Egg: the Confessions of a Nuthatch Avoider - by Ogden Nash.
Bird watchers top my honors list. I aimed to be one, but I missed.
Since I’m both myopic and astigmatic, my aim turned out to be erratic,
and I, bespectacled and binocular, exposed myself to comment jocular.
We don't need too much birdlore, do we, to tell a flamingo from a towhee;
yet I cannot, and never will, unless the silly birds stand still.
And there's no enlightenment so obscure as ornithological literature.
Is yon strange creature a common chickadee, or a migrant alouette from Picardy?
You rush to consult your Nature guide and inspect the gallery inside,
but a bird in the open never looks like its picture in the birdie books --
Or if it once did, it has changed its plumage, and plunges you back into ignorant gloomage.
That is why I sit here growing old by inches, watching the clock instead of finches,
but I sometimes visualize in my gin the Audubon that I audubin."
Q&A
“What makes the blue snow in my yard?” The urine of rabbits or deer that have eaten buckthorn.
"When is the mating season for squirrels?" Fox squirrels mate twice a year, typically December to February and June through July, and have two or three babies. Gray squirrels mate twice a year, typically December to February and June through August, and have two to four babies. Red squirrels mate in late winter and have two to five babies. Red squirrels typically produce one litter per year, but in some years reproduction is skipped and in other years some females breed twice. The babies of all three species are born hairless and are completely independent at 12 weeks. All three species nest in hollow trees or in treetop dens called dreys, which are ball-shaped nests made of leaves, twigs and bark.
"Why are they called evening grosbeaks?" Grosbeak comes from the French gros for “thick” and bec for “beak,” and these finches have thick beaks strong enough to crack cherry pits. John James Audubon never saw this bird and the grosbeak wasn't described to science until 1825. Although it shares the name with the rose-breasted grosbeak, the two aren't closely related. The rose-breasted grosbeak is in the cardinal family, while the evening grosbeak is a finch. It was named the evening grosbeak because it was thought to sing mostly at dusk. That's incorrect as it's vocal most of the day. They are vacuum cleaners at feeders. Feathered hogs at a trough. A friend in North Carolina told me of a man there who'd fed over a ton of sunflower seeds primarily to a flock of the beautiful grosbeaks in his yard. Evening grosbeak populations have dropped steeply according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. There are many possible causes.
Thanks for stopping by
"Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind."
— Albert Schweitzer
"The best theology is probably no theology; just love one another." — Charles Schulz
Do good.
@Al Batt 2021
Naturally
Birds are endlessly entertaining. Watching them helps us where we need help. The Association for the Preservation & Appreciation of Chickadees has bribed me with endless cuteness in the hopes I'd think kindly of chickadees. There are seven species of chickadees in North America. Each one is my favorite bird.
I saw a glimpse of an accipiter. It was a shadow and then gone. They move as fast as time. It was a Cooper's hawk or a sharp-shinned hawk. I called it a Shooper's hawk and a Coop-shinned hawk. I was fine with that.
A hairy woodpecker flew onto a window feeder containing suet. The tired suction cups gave way and the entire feeder fell to the ground while the woodpecker was on it. The bird flew up into the air and landed on another feeder nearby where it looked down at the crashed feeder as if it were wondering who had pulled the ground out from under it.
I spoke virtually to the New Haven (Conn.) Bird Club. They told me their Christmas Bird Count had produced 127 species. I did one in Minnesota that had 32. I was Connecticut dreaming on such a winter’s day.
A pileated woodpecker spent time in my yard. It appeared massive at the suet feeder. I've been a member of the American Birding Association (ABA) for a goodly number of years. The ABA is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, dedicated to recreational birding primarily in the continental United States, Hawaii and Canada. Each year, the ABA picks its Bird of the Year. This year it's the Pileated Woodpecker. How do you pronounce that? It's wu̇d-pe-kər.
Carol Thomas of Minneapolis sent me this,
Up From the Egg: the Confessions of a Nuthatch Avoider - by Ogden Nash.
Bird watchers top my honors list. I aimed to be one, but I missed.
Since I’m both myopic and astigmatic, my aim turned out to be erratic,
and I, bespectacled and binocular, exposed myself to comment jocular.
We don't need too much birdlore, do we, to tell a flamingo from a towhee;
yet I cannot, and never will, unless the silly birds stand still.
And there's no enlightenment so obscure as ornithological literature.
Is yon strange creature a common chickadee, or a migrant alouette from Picardy?
You rush to consult your Nature guide and inspect the gallery inside,
but a bird in the open never looks like its picture in the birdie books --
Or if it once did, it has changed its plumage, and plunges you back into ignorant gloomage.
That is why I sit here growing old by inches, watching the clock instead of finches,
but I sometimes visualize in my gin the Audubon that I audubin."
Q&A
“What makes the blue snow in my yard?” The urine of rabbits or deer that have eaten buckthorn.
"When is the mating season for squirrels?" Fox squirrels mate twice a year, typically December to February and June through July, and have two or three babies. Gray squirrels mate twice a year, typically December to February and June through August, and have two to four babies. Red squirrels mate in late winter and have two to five babies. Red squirrels typically produce one litter per year, but in some years reproduction is skipped and in other years some females breed twice. The babies of all three species are born hairless and are completely independent at 12 weeks. All three species nest in hollow trees or in treetop dens called dreys, which are ball-shaped nests made of leaves, twigs and bark.
"Why are they called evening grosbeaks?" Grosbeak comes from the French gros for “thick” and bec for “beak,” and these finches have thick beaks strong enough to crack cherry pits. John James Audubon never saw this bird and the grosbeak wasn't described to science until 1825. Although it shares the name with the rose-breasted grosbeak, the two aren't closely related. The rose-breasted grosbeak is in the cardinal family, while the evening grosbeak is a finch. It was named the evening grosbeak because it was thought to sing mostly at dusk. That's incorrect as it's vocal most of the day. They are vacuum cleaners at feeders. Feathered hogs at a trough. A friend in North Carolina told me of a man there who'd fed over a ton of sunflower seeds primarily to a flock of the beautiful grosbeaks in his yard. Evening grosbeak populations have dropped steeply according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. There are many possible causes.
Thanks for stopping by
"Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind."
— Albert Schweitzer
"The best theology is probably no theology; just love one another." — Charles Schulz
Do good.
@Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt
Posted 1-17-21
Naturally
My morning started out with a shower. I hoped to clear the cobwebs from my mind. The invigorating stream of water hadn't been hitting me for long before I noticed I wasn't alone in the shower. What does a spider think when it finds a man in its shower? I can only know what I think and did. I said, "Good morning, spider, I hope you'll have a pleasant day."
A friend sent me an email saying, "To hear a duck quacking is a most fortunate omen, indicating the coming of prosperity." I enjoy hearing from pals, but this forward was much more appreciated than the tired political ones and gave me high hopes for everyone's economy.
Once my morning ablutions had been completed, I went for a walk. During these times and all others, I find comfort in birds. Some snowy days, they all become snowbirds. A blue jay flew into the feeder, selected a peanut in the shell and flew to a tree. It flew back to the feeder with the peanut still in its bill. It dropped the goober onto the feeder and took another peanut more to its liking. I don't think I've ever had a bird return food before. I suppose the best-if-used-by date of the peanut had expired. A house finch makes a wonderful neighbor. It beautifies the neighborhood, sings songs I enjoy hearing and borrows no tools. I spotted a brown creeper, white-winged crossbill and Eurasian collared-dove.
Nature gives me bearings and values. Birds brighten my days. A new birdie's headlights illuminated a recent morning. It was a stranger to my yard. The chestnut-capped and white-cheeked visitor was slightly smaller than a house sparrow. A Eurasian tree sparrow was hanging around with a gang of house sparrows in my yard. They are related species. The bird was a lovely surprise. I’d not seen one in my county before. In Eurasia, this species is widespread and abundant. I saw them when I've worked there and I've seen some in this country. There is a small population in the United States derived from a shipment of songbirds (bullfinches, chaffinches, greenfinches, linnets and Eurasian tree sparrows) brought from Germany and released in St. Louis in April 1870. Introducing the songbirds was meant to enhance the native avifauna and provide familiar bird species for newly settled European immigrants. The Eurasian tree sparrow population took hold and the birds are now found in parts of Missouri, Illinois and southeastern Iowa, but are fairly local. The tougher house sparrow, more aggressive and adaptable, may keep them out of areas. This tree sparrow isn't a bird of cities, preferring farms, lightly wooded residential areas and other more natural places than the house sparrow that is at home with pavement and concrete. The welcome visitor found sustenance in the seeds from my feeders. I was as happy as a lark to see that sparrow.
Q&A
"Why do cardinals arrive so early and stay so late at my bird feeders?" Because that's when the seed prices are lowest. Those redbirds never miss taking advantage of a sale. The male is a dandy. His red plumage is bright and distinct in daylight and attracts attention (both wanted and unwanted). His bright color diminishes in dim light. That makes male cardinals as inconspicuous as their mates at twilight and less easily seen by predators like cats. And avian predators like Cooper’s hawks are inactive at dawn and dusk. Cardinals often live year-round near bird feeders. They have a short commute. They can stay later because their flight home is a brief one. Cardinals feed at dawn and dusk because they have less competition at feeders in low light. That means they don't have to wait behind birds who have clipped a ton of coupons.
"What is a jack snipe?" The jack snipe is a small wading bird native to parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. It's the world’s smallest snipe. A brown marsh bird with a long bill. This country has its relative, the Wilson's snipe. I've heard a pectoral sandpiper called a jack snipe. When called that, it doesn't come any closer. Have you been one of the lucky ones who went on a snipe hunt as a youngster? If so, I hope you're not still holding that bag you're supposed to stuff with the snipe you'd catch. I further hope they didn't drench you in snipe spit, which is purported to be a never-fail snipe lure.
Thanks for stopping by
"Black are my steps on silver sod; Thick blows my frosty breath abroad; And tree and house, and hill and lake, Are frosted like a wedding cake." — Robert Louis Stevenson
"You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need." — The Rolling Stones
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Naturally
My morning started out with a shower. I hoped to clear the cobwebs from my mind. The invigorating stream of water hadn't been hitting me for long before I noticed I wasn't alone in the shower. What does a spider think when it finds a man in its shower? I can only know what I think and did. I said, "Good morning, spider, I hope you'll have a pleasant day."
A friend sent me an email saying, "To hear a duck quacking is a most fortunate omen, indicating the coming of prosperity." I enjoy hearing from pals, but this forward was much more appreciated than the tired political ones and gave me high hopes for everyone's economy.
Once my morning ablutions had been completed, I went for a walk. During these times and all others, I find comfort in birds. Some snowy days, they all become snowbirds. A blue jay flew into the feeder, selected a peanut in the shell and flew to a tree. It flew back to the feeder with the peanut still in its bill. It dropped the goober onto the feeder and took another peanut more to its liking. I don't think I've ever had a bird return food before. I suppose the best-if-used-by date of the peanut had expired. A house finch makes a wonderful neighbor. It beautifies the neighborhood, sings songs I enjoy hearing and borrows no tools. I spotted a brown creeper, white-winged crossbill and Eurasian collared-dove.
Nature gives me bearings and values. Birds brighten my days. A new birdie's headlights illuminated a recent morning. It was a stranger to my yard. The chestnut-capped and white-cheeked visitor was slightly smaller than a house sparrow. A Eurasian tree sparrow was hanging around with a gang of house sparrows in my yard. They are related species. The bird was a lovely surprise. I’d not seen one in my county before. In Eurasia, this species is widespread and abundant. I saw them when I've worked there and I've seen some in this country. There is a small population in the United States derived from a shipment of songbirds (bullfinches, chaffinches, greenfinches, linnets and Eurasian tree sparrows) brought from Germany and released in St. Louis in April 1870. Introducing the songbirds was meant to enhance the native avifauna and provide familiar bird species for newly settled European immigrants. The Eurasian tree sparrow population took hold and the birds are now found in parts of Missouri, Illinois and southeastern Iowa, but are fairly local. The tougher house sparrow, more aggressive and adaptable, may keep them out of areas. This tree sparrow isn't a bird of cities, preferring farms, lightly wooded residential areas and other more natural places than the house sparrow that is at home with pavement and concrete. The welcome visitor found sustenance in the seeds from my feeders. I was as happy as a lark to see that sparrow.
Q&A
"Why do cardinals arrive so early and stay so late at my bird feeders?" Because that's when the seed prices are lowest. Those redbirds never miss taking advantage of a sale. The male is a dandy. His red plumage is bright and distinct in daylight and attracts attention (both wanted and unwanted). His bright color diminishes in dim light. That makes male cardinals as inconspicuous as their mates at twilight and less easily seen by predators like cats. And avian predators like Cooper’s hawks are inactive at dawn and dusk. Cardinals often live year-round near bird feeders. They have a short commute. They can stay later because their flight home is a brief one. Cardinals feed at dawn and dusk because they have less competition at feeders in low light. That means they don't have to wait behind birds who have clipped a ton of coupons.
"What is a jack snipe?" The jack snipe is a small wading bird native to parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. It's the world’s smallest snipe. A brown marsh bird with a long bill. This country has its relative, the Wilson's snipe. I've heard a pectoral sandpiper called a jack snipe. When called that, it doesn't come any closer. Have you been one of the lucky ones who went on a snipe hunt as a youngster? If so, I hope you're not still holding that bag you're supposed to stuff with the snipe you'd catch. I further hope they didn't drench you in snipe spit, which is purported to be a never-fail snipe lure.
Thanks for stopping by
"Black are my steps on silver sod; Thick blows my frosty breath abroad; And tree and house, and hill and lake, Are frosted like a wedding cake." — Robert Louis Stevenson
"You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need." — The Rolling Stones
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Photo by Al Batt