Naturally
Small feathered things flew through the air before perching in my memory. The birds glided into the conspicuous and vibrant red veins of spring, the red-osier dogwood. The many-stemmed shrub is a favorite nest site of goldfinches and is also called red twig dogwood, red willow and redstem dogwood. Red-osier dogwood has pliable stems used in wicker baskets and furniture.
Why is a dogwood tree called a dogwood? The possible origins are many and varied. In the 1500s, the trees were known in Europe as the dagwood because the small stems were used for dags, daggers, arrows or skewers. It might have been referred to as a dag or dagge in old English. It could have originated in colonial times because its fruit was edible but not fit for dogs. Another belief is that it’s called dogwood because a medicine concocted from its bark was used to treat dogs plagued with mange. Others suggest the name dogwood is a derivation of the word "daggerwood." Daggerwood sticks were sharpened and used to skewer meat for cooking.
I’ve started watching for turkey vultures. Bald eagles soar with wings held flat and steady. Vultures have a rocking flight with wings held in a V-shape (dihedral). If they were automobiles, an eagle would drive on a new, smooth road and the vulture travel a road filled with potholes.
European starlings attacked the suet with a fierce hunger. This bird was introduced into the U.S. and reached southeastern Minnesota in 1929. Within a decade, they were distributed statewide.
Thomas S. Roberts first observed a flock of house sparrows in Minneapolis in 1876. A resident had a dozen of the birds brought from New York and released in his garden in 1875. By 1877, the house sparrow was established as a breeding bird in the Twin Cities. The house sparrow will use plastic trash in its nests. Squirrels do, too. Discarded monofilament fishing lines become a danger when wrapped around the beaks, wings and feet of birds.
Minnesota’s favorite marmot, the groundhog, doesn’t appear above ground on its official day, Feb. 2. Its internal clock awakens it in March. It’s also called the woodchuck and whistle pig. Next February, celebrate Woodchuck Day, Whistle Pig Day and Groundhog Day.
A newly molted male cardinal’s feathers are tipped with gray. Those tips wear away slowly during fall and early winter, revealing the brilliant red feathers the cardinal is known for. Research found cardinals reach peak redness by midwinter ahead of spring breeding season. The brightest red males are most attractive to females.
I raised Araucana chickens. Most were rumpless (no main tail feathers), had feather tufts on the sides of the head and pea combs. They laid eggs with blue shells or other pastel colors, and the eggs were claimed to be higher in protein and to contain little or no cholesterol. No research confirmed that.
Kearney, Nebraska, and the Platte River
It’s a natural wonder when over 500,000 sandhill cranes stage along the Platte River, with numbers typically peaking the third week of March. You can walk with the pioneers over the Oregon Trail by visiting the Archway. The Museum of Nebraska Art is in Kearney and Pioneer Village in nearby Minden, Nebraska, has over 50,000 historical artifacts, such as vintage cars, farm equipment and airplanes.
You can find more information at:
https://rowe.audubon.org
https://cranetrust.org
https://archway.org
https://visitkearney.org
Q&A
Glenda Batt of Albert Lea asked if deer change colors during the year. A deer's coat provides thermoregulation and camouflage. Summer coats are thin and reddish, allowing deer to better cope with heat stress. In the fall, deer begin a process of molting triggered by hormonal changes that reflect the changing seasons. The reddish summer coat turns a faded gray or brown color as the new winter coat grows. Coat color, regardless of the season, tends to be darker in forested areas and lighter in agricultural areas where deer are exposed to more direct sunlight.
“What bird sounds as if it’s saying, ‘Ricky, Ricky’?” Cardinals sound like they’re singing, “cheer, cheer, cheer” or “birdie, birdie, birdie.” Birdie and Ricky aren’t that dissimilar. Other possibilities are tufted titmouse, black-capped chickadee, Carolina wren and ruby-crowned kinglet.
“Are wild turkeys native to Minnesota?” There isn’t much evidence that they are, but if turkeys did occur in Minnesota, they were extirpated by a combination of overhunting, disease and unrestricted logging. The state released farm birds in the 1920s, 1930s and 1950s, hoping they’d adapt to the wild. They didn't. In 1971, DNR obtained 29 wild turkeys from the Missouri Ozarks and released them in southeastern Minnesota. The birds thrived and other reintroductions followed.
Thanks for stopping by
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”–Vincent van Gogh.
“Let us bless the imagination of the Earth.”–John O’Donohue.
Do good.
©️Al Batt 2024
Often referred to as a subtle beauty, the female cardinal is striking. The difference in her coloration from the red male is called sexual dichromatism. Female cardinals are slightly smaller than males and are among the more vocal of female North American songbirds. She sings while on the nest to tell the male when to bring food and when to stay away. She sings back-and-forth with the male to reinforce pair-bonding early in the breeding season. Photo by Al Batt.