Heaven and nature sing—naturally
I keep looking. Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.” Surrounded by wonder, I watched a chickadee enter a cavity in a dead tree. Life and death, death and life. On a chilly night, a chickadee roosts in a cavity or dense vegetation. It caches food. Being a bird is hard work, but a chickadee carries a jauntiness with it. A joy of being among the living.
Some of the wind-rustled leaves had become cardinal-wannabes and flew past as I filled the feeders where chickadees and cardinals are valued customers. I want them to turn the feed into feathers and flights.
The annual hint list
What do you give a nature lover for Christmas other than your undying appreciation or raucous cheers extolling their perfection? Here are a few other welcome gifts. The birds come already wrapped. Share your love of them with another.
The Audubon Bird Guide app and the Merlin Bird ID app (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) are free and useful on a cellphone as a field guide in your pocket or on a tablet. The Audubon app offers detailed descriptions, bird songs, range maps and color photos. There is a search function for identifying a bird by song, wing shape, time of year, state, locomotion and more. The Merlin app allows you to answer three simple questions about a bird you are trying to identify and Merlin gives you a list of possible matches. It has a sound ID that listens to the birds around you and offers a potential identification. If you take a photo of a bird or pull one from your camera roll, Merlin’s photo ID offers a short list of potential matches. Many other outstanding field guide apps require payment. Warm socks, warm gloves or mittens, cap (I’ve found that the dorkier a hat looks, the warmer it is) or flip-top mittens allow the wearer to fold back the mitten to reveal fingerless gloves. I love the arm freedom vests provide. Books of all kinds. I enjoy the tactile sensation of paper field guides and they are all excellent. I prefer painted birds over photos and guides covering more than a single state, but your preferences may vary. A small book showing the birds of only one state is suitable for those who do their birding from the kitchen window or at a feeder. I advise you to look at field guides in a bookstore before deciding on which one fits. A Leatherman, ice cleats, trekking or hiking poles, snowshoes, a dependable travel mug (one that hollers at you when you are about to forget it somewhere—please let me know if you find one), a pocket-sized notebook or a back, day or fanny pack. Binoculars are lovely gifts but are easier to buy for a child than for an adult. Get a gift receipt or be accompanied by the adult gift recipient at the time of purchase. A membership in a local Audubon or bird club, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Birding Association, Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union, Wild Ones or Izaak Walton League. Please don’t fall for the scam and join the Mosquito Lovers of Minnesota group. I’ve been the only one there at the last three meetings. A state park sticker, feeders, birdseed, a subscription to BWD magazine (a birding publication) and a bunch of things I’ve neglected to mention would make lovely gifts.
Q&A
Jerry Viktora of Ellendale asked why he hadn’t seen any cardinals in his yard since the summer. By late summer, when nesting is over and cardinals relax the defense of their territorial boundaries, the birds sing less and flocks form. They don’t migrate but can expand their range while foraging for food. They determine where to spend the winter. The flocks are ever-changing and dependent on weather and available resources. If you continue to offer food and water, they are likely to make return visits.
“What is the mortality rate for nestling songbirds?” I have seen various references saying for typical passerines or perching birds, juvenile mortality in the nest is around 50%. I cannot cite a study.
“Why do vultures circle dying animals?” Ah, the dreaded circle of death, seen often in cowboy movies and jungle films. Turkey vultures don't circle dying animals, waiting for them to go onto the menu. They ride thermals to travel and to find food. They do investigate possible prey.
Thanks for stopping by
"For somehow, not only for Christmas, but all the long year through, the joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you."—Margaret Elizabeth Sangster.
"Christmas is the season for kindling, not merely the fire of hospitality in the hall, but the genial flame of charity in the heart."—Washington Irving.
Do good.
©️Al Batt 2023
It was a bluebird day when a couple of bluebirds of happiness showed up. As the song “Over the Rainbow” said, “Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly. Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh, why can't I? If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow. Why, oh, why can't I?” Eastern bluebirds photo by Al Batt.