Many people do not realize that just because we are in mid-winter that there is still plenty of wildlife to observe, especially birds. These fall into three categories: First are those birds which live here year round. They include Nuthatches, Chickadees, Titmice, and various woodpeckers, among others. Then there are birds that move into our area for the winter and then depart again in the spring. Our friendly little White-throated Sparrow (see left) is in that group and its song is one of the most delightful of all bird songs. It appears in our area around mid-October and leaves for the north some time in April. Its cousins, the White-crowned Sparrow and Dark-eyed Juncos are also considered winter birds although both may be found year round in higher elevations. The third group are those birds that appear only in certain winters, usually as a result of food shortages further north. The great eruption in Pine Siskins during the winter of 2008-09 is a good example. We do not see this third types every winter.Any of these birds, including the rarities mentioned above may appear on or under
your winter feeders. That is one thing nice about winter birding: you don't have to don boots and Mackinaws to go out looking for winter birds; if your habitat is right, you can bring the birds into you while you sit inside in front of a window near the fire place with your binocs in one hand and a hot toddy in the other. It is more civilized this latter way. But you do need to have trees and particularly, shrubs, nearby for the birds to rest between feeding forays to your feeder. They need cover and if you do not have it, you may not expect much besides House Sparrows and Starlings. Habitat is everything. Once I lived right next to a woods not many yards away and I lured nice birds like Thrushes and Towhees out of the woods where they normally live. Too far away and I would not have seen them.
your winter feeders. That is one thing nice about winter birding: you don't have to don boots and Mackinaws to go out looking for winter birds; if your habitat is right, you can bring the birds into you while you sit inside in front of a window near the fire place with your binocs in one hand and a hot toddy in the other. It is more civilized this latter way. But you do need to have trees and particularly, shrubs, nearby for the birds to rest between feeding forays to your feeder. They need cover and if you do not have it, you may not expect much besides House Sparrows and Starlings. Habitat is everything. Once I lived right next to a woods not many yards away and I lured nice birds like Thrushes and Towhees out of the woods where they normally live. Too far away and I would not have seen them.
Type of food and feeders you put out also makes a difference in what kind of birds you can attract. Don't go for the cheap-O brands at K Mart; these contain too much filler that interesting song birds don't eat. You will get lots of pigeons though which like to feed on all the junk dropped to the ground by all the better birds. Put out some suet feeders around the house or close to the woods and you will see a variety of woodpeckers, e.g., Downy, Hairy, and Pileated (see right). Although you may see these birds visit your feeder anytime during the winter, mine seem to visit more often towards the onset of nesting season. Getting a resplendent Pileated Woodpecker to visit your feeder regularly is truly a wonderful accomplishment.
Well, maybe you live in an apartment on the tenth floor or your yard is in a overly-manicured development in which all the trees and shrubs were removed by the bulldozers before the houses went up and maybe you don't like to trudge through the ice and snow in search of winter birds in the wild; what to do? Cheer - up all is not lost. Set up a card table under some good lighting, obtain some good 140 pound rag paper, some paint brushes and some water colors. Now you can see any kind of bird you would care to. By the vicarious means of water colors, you can bring the birds right in to you (see above and below) and do your winter birding in front of the fire with some Christmas carols playing on the stereo.
Merry Christmas, Everybody!
Well, maybe you live in an apartment on the tenth floor or your yard is in a overly-manicured development in which all the trees and shrubs were removed by the bulldozers before the houses went up and maybe you don't like to trudge through the ice and snow in search of winter birds in the wild; what to do? Cheer - up all is not lost. Set up a card table under some good lighting, obtain some good 140 pound rag paper, some paint brushes and some water colors. Now you can see any kind of bird you would care to. By the vicarious means of water colors, you can bring the birds right in to you (see above and below) and do your winter birding in front of the fire with some Christmas carols playing on the stereo.
Merry Christmas, Everybody!
ReplyDeleteI like most everything, especially those wonderful classical busts.