Birdwatching

Through a Country Window Blog Post

Birdwatching

Winter 2015-2016

In winter I move inward, as most people do. I have brought in my plants from the screened porch and arrayed them on, over and below the bay window in the kitchen. I also have brought in my rocking chair from the porch and plunked it in front of the bay window. From this spot I sit, often with a cup of tea green tea and a journal, watching the birds at the feeders. That is where the “window show” really is during winter.

There are pine trees between the window and the farm field fence – some dead and bare, some full of green.

If I bend over and look to the left, I see the Hawthorn, then the Persimmon tree. For some reason, and for the first time ever, the Hawthorn produced no fruit. Normally, the birds go for the Hawthorn fruit, which is not sweet, late in the winter.

It is among the live and dead pines that I hang the bird feeders. I have some tube feeders, a couple of hopper feeders with suet cages on the ends, a tray feeder held up by a hooked pole stuck in the ground, and a little peanut butter feeder we made in a workshop, plus one thistle seed “sock.”

I am not a “birder”, as it is not my vocation or avocation to go out seeking birds specifically, and I don't keep a “life list”, though I do have a good pair of binoculars (selected according to the advice of some real birder friends, from whom I have learned much.)

I am a “generalist” naturalist who knows more about plants than anything else (probably because they stay in one place so details can be examined), who is really into bugs, who has an utter fascination for fungi, and who has a good background in the Earth Sciences. But, I'm really fascinated by, and study, everything in Nature. The most important aspect to me is not any particular subject or group of beings but how absolutely everything is connected, all the movements together that make up the dance, all the workings and how they work together – whether or not they are considered “sentient.”

So, I could not rightly be called a “birder” because too many other things are grabbing my attention and it's all so consuming.

But, I do watch birds.

The winter feeders provide a prime opportunity to do so. I am better able to identify and learn about individual species, since they come closer and hang out in one spot a bit longer, and I can more easily observe their interactions with each other and everything else.

It's a very nice thing to do while sipping tea in a rocking chair with a blanket on one's lap on a cold winter day.

And, I do tend to make bird lists from watching the feeders.

Here is my list from the Winter of 2015-2016 (not including Sparrows, which I list further down):

Mourning Dove                                        Zenaida macroura

Red-winged Blackbird                             Agelaius phoeniceus

European Starling                                    Sturnus vulgaris

Blue Jay                                                   Cyanocitta cristata

Common Grackle                                    Quiscalus quiscula

Brown-Headed Cowbird                         Molothrus ater

American Robin                                      Turdus migratorius

Northern Cardinal                                    Cardinalis cardinalis

Male Cardinal and House Finch

House Finch                                            Carpodacus mexicanus

Goldfinch                                                Carduelis tristis

Eastern Towhee                                       Pipilo erythrophthalmus

Dark-eyed Junco                                     Junco hyemalis

Carolina Chickadee                                 Poecile carolinensis

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse                                      Baeolophus bicolor

Tufted Titmouse

White-Breasted Nuthatch                        Sitta carolinensis

Carolina Wren                                         Thryothorus ludovicianus

Downy Woodpecker                                Picoides pubescens

Red-Bellied Woodpecker                        Melanerpes carolinus

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker                       Sphyrapicus varius

I had seen the Sapsucker flitting around the pines and Persimmon during early winter, before I had put out the feeders.

The Sparrows are the most vexing to sort out. There are a variety with streaked or plain breasts, striped  or plain heads, and markings around eyes, mouth, neck, or no markings. This is complicated by the variations with females and juveniles, as well as the possible confusion with some other species (for example, a female House Finch can be mistaken for a Sparrow.)

So, during the Winter of 2014-2015 I painstakingly made a little guide to “Winter Sparrows”, for myself:

It was very helpful that winter. It was not helpful this winter because I had forgotten where I put it and didn't find it until mid-March. I think I will get it copied and laminated, then keep it with my bird field guides.

Here are a few Sparrows from this winter:

White-Crowned                                      Zonotrichia leucophrys

White-Throated                                      Zonotrichia albicollis

English/House                                        Passer domesticus

English, or House, Sparrow on far left

The latter is an alien species that tends to convene in large groups, descend en masse on the feeders, clear them out quickly, and make a lot of noise.

There were also:

Song Sparrows                                       Melospiza melodia

Some other Sparrows that may have been there, since I did see them the previous winter, are:

American Tree                                       Spizella arborea

Field                                                       Spizella pusilla

Fox                                                         Passerella iliaca

This is not to say I haven't seen some other kinds of birds during other winters – and who knows what I've missed when I wasn't at the window.

Male Cardinals, as we all know, look splendid against white snow and green pine.

The females are not as brightly colored, but still lovely.

The ground below the feeders, especially when there was a cover of snow, was very busy with the activity of an array of ground feeders:  Towhees, Robins, Mourning Doves, and many Juncos, as well as Cardinals and various Sparrows.

Dark-eyed Junco

Mourning Dove

Goldfinches and House Finches love the tube feeders …       

      Goldfinches at the tube feeder

… while Woodpeckers mostly go for the suet.

Female Downy Woodpecker

 Male Downy Woodpecker

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers eat at the suet feeders, at the trees, and also take seeds from the tray

 The hopper feeders are sometimes shared.

House Finches and Goldfinches

Female Downy Woodpecker and male Northern Cardinal 

But, when the European Starling comes over, everyone else leaves.

This male Starling was going after the suet cakes, sometimes in an acrobatic manner:

Starlings would sometimes come in a raucous group to hog the hanging tray feeder. But, when they weren't there, other birds shared nicely.

Tufted Titmouse (left) and Goldfinch

The tray feeder was also visited by Carolina Chickadees (who seemed to be in constant motion between the feeders, the branches, the fence, etc.), Red-Winged Blackbirds, Blue Jays (it can withstand the weight of the larger birds) and, once in a while, a Carolina Wren.

White-breasted Nuthatches visit the feeders (especially for suet), but are more often seen scooting down the side of a tree trunk, searching the bark

 Two Sparrows

 Blue Jay

I have a special affinity for the Corvids. I love how they move, how they fly in, how they suddenly drop down from one spot to another, how they tilt their heads. I love their uncanny intelligence and their often harsh-sounding voices.

Blue Jay

  Common Grackle

As the winter wears down and spring starts to seep in, my life becomes busier with gardens, woodlands and other things. As a result, I tend to forget to refill the feeders. But, Spring came early this year, and along with it the emerging bugs and buds. The birds are starting to find new food in the wild after almost using up the seeds and berries that hung on and sustained them all winter. And, the birds are busier with staking out claims, trying to impress the females, and even gathering nesting materials.

Also, mammalian wildlife, such as Raccoons, Opossums and Squirrels, become more active as spring arrives, some needing to feed more to their early young or to their nursing selves. This means that I more often find bird feeders emptied out, or knocked to the ground, or even set up sideways on a tree limb. Sometimes I find them several yards from the feeding area. I still have not found the cap to one of my tube feeders.

But, I'll probably fill feeders a few more times, even if it is, as I write, late March.

Before long, we will declutter and scrub out the porch. We will be having porch-sitting weather. Then my attentions, and this blog, will be looking out the porch and other windows.

So long, for now, to winter and the bay window.

Towering III

Towering III: Last Update

November 20, 2015

I finally decided it was time to remove the potato "towers", or cages, from the raised bed. There had been one good frost so far, and the potato plants that had regrown in one tower had succumbed and wilted. After the Big Mistake I had made earlier in the season (see "Towering II"), I really did not know what to expect.

The old fencing cages and the mish-mash of poles holding them up were pulled up and set off to the side. I am not yet sure if I'll use them again.

What I had left were piles of rich compost, holding the mystery of possibilities within. Would I find nothing at all, or would I be surprised by piles of Magic Molly purple potatoes?

I rummaged through the first pile of compost. Then through the next. And the next. I went to get my English spading fork so I could move the stuff around more, as some of it had clumped at the bottom of the piles. I crouched down and rummaged some more.

I checked and checked, and then finally came up with my harvest.

Wait for it ... here it comes ....

Just about to show up ...

... and ... here it is!!

Yes, here it is!

One little Magic Molly purple potato.

Well ... I suppose I could use it. I could slice it up thinly and saute it gently with onions and garlic, then slowly savor every little bite.

Or, I could leave it on the counter top and glance at it now and then as it gradually shrivels over time.

I could tuck it into one of the compost piles (maybe it would even sprout next spring and I could transplant it.)

Or, I could enshrine it somehow.

Whatever I do with it (if anything), it will serve as a reminder of adages such as "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" and "Learn from your mistakes." Will I try potato towers again? I might. I'll just make sure the material I put in them does not have a speck of green. I'm willing to try it one more time, I think.

Well, besides the lesson, I got something else out of this towering experiment, so it's not a complete waste. I also got four really nice piles of rich compost, which I can spread across the bed to improve it later on, after the surrounding plants are taken out.

In truth, my four raised beds are going to be completely transformed next year. Boards will be removed, and the whole area will be redesigned into an (mostly) herb garden with wandering paths. But, that's a blog post for another time.

For now, I will bolster my ego by reminding myself that I've been very successful at growing a number of other things, like giant Daikon radishes:

Yup ...

And bouquets of Rainbow Swiss Chard:

A truly most wonderful vegetable

And lots of other stuff:

The "emergency harvest" before a big freeze

Gardeners are the most hopeful, positive people in the world. Every single year, we say, "I'll do it better next year." 

Gathering-In

Gathering-In

November 4, 2015

During late summer, our screened porch was constantly bedecked with piles of tomatoes, in boxes and spread out on newspapers. They were bright red, orange, pink, rosy and yellow. They were giant and tiny. They were bulbous, pear-shaped, smooth, convoluted. We had to toss some into the compost every day or so, but most were transformed into meals, sauces, ketchup and juice.

Eventually, the piles of relatively thin-skinned tomatoes gave way to piles of thick-skinned pie pumpkins and other winter squashes in various shades of orange.

We had switched from a summer to an autumn gathering-in.

The pumpkins will keep much longer than the tomatoes did, but will gradually be transformed into soups, pies and canned pulp.

Other piles have appeared on our porch – items left from our daughter Sarina's Halloween wedding on October 31.

It was a classy affair, both moving and fun, that celebrated this union through the celebration of Halloween. Through this we have gathered in our new son-in-law Jordon and his family into ours. This autumn, our family has increased along with the harvest.

Mini-pumpkins for reception table numbers

Jordon (left) and a couple of the groomsmen carving pumpkins for the reception hall

Sarina (middle) and a couple of the bridesmaids carving pumpkins for the reception hall

Sarina (far right), her three bridesmaids and her mother-in-law-to-be (center) getting favors ready for the wedding reception.

Through all the work and fretting of wedding preparation and details, I managed to take some time to enjoy the parade of autumn color from our windows and during occasional walks in the woods. The respite was much appreciated. I also made a trip to a local orchard, gathering in a variety of apples as well as cider, caramel apples and apple cider donuts.

Items from Apple Hill Orchard and Charlie's Caramel Corn and Candies, along with one of the local magazines for which I write

In late October I watched, through a kitchen window, two giant wild Turkeys sauntering about in our garden area.

Then, as November dawned, I watched autumn color through the screened porch.

On this morning, Cardinals are chattering and chipping in the Tulip Poplar out front, and the song of another bird reverberates through the woods. It is a damp morning, and the water droplets in the air amplify the song and carry it further, along with the moan of a faraway train.

Now and then, at woods' edge, a leaf drifts down from a tree. Some trees are bare now, but most are still abundant in fall colors, and some are still green.

I removed the tall Sunflower stalks some time ago, after the absence of visiting birds signaled that the seeds had been all harvested. The Sun Root plants, which bloomed much later than the domestic Sunflowers, have also finished blooming, the stalks like brown sentinels. The roots are probably ready to harvest.

The Tulip Poplar and Dogwood are practically bare. I find large Tulip Poplar leaves in interesting places.

The Persimmon and Hawthorn trees are well on their way to bareness. There are still fruits hanging onto Persimmon branches. Oddly, no clusters of crimson berries appeared on the Hawthorn this year. Normally, they are the last berries harvested by birds near the end of winter.

The sky is puffs of dark gray layered with blue. White light from the rising sun burns intensely through spaces around edges of clouds.

The tiny, fine leaves of Asparagus plants are yellowed and many have drifted to the ground, allowing the tiny scarlet berries to stand out. Each berry glistens with a tiny ball of moisture hanging off the bottom, reflecting part of its surrounding world.

November is my favorite month. I love the cloudy, steel-blue skies, the trees changing from bright colors to skeletal shapes, the forest floor deepening with fallen leaves. I love the transition from autumn to winter, with always an edge of cold that keeps me wide awake and alert.

It is a gathering-in time – gathering in the harvest, cleaning up gardens. Wildlife gather in stores of food for the winter as well as leaves, sticks and mud for winter dens. We start gathering ever more into our houses, cleaning them up and making them a place we can stay for the winter.

We begin the holiday season, gathering in with friends and family, as we did during the wedding on Halloween.

We have had one good frost so far, followed by “Indian Summer.” At that time, I gathered all of the plants from the screened porch and brought them in to the bay window in the kitchen. Soon I will set up bird feeders outside that window. From my rocking chair and the warmth of our house, this will be my main view for the winter, through a country window.

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A bit of prologue:

In late November, we canned seven quarts of Winter Luxury Pumpkin that Richard had grown and stored on the screened porch.