My hometown. This was not taken last week.
The cartoon characters Heckle and Jeckle were magpies. Here they are examining dirty snow.
I love this native art presented prominently in Klukwan, a village of 95 people in Alaska.
I see a bald eagle nearly every day. I find that amazing.
I took this photo of an old barn for only one reason — I like old barns. I have often been accused of having been born in a barn.
No harbingering of spring here.
A downy woodpecker has the bill for sunflower seeds, but I pay for them.
Fun fact: Chickadees do not like ketchup on their sunflower seeds.
Why suet when you can eat it?
Despite its name, many American tree sparrows nest on the tundra.
Life is a picnic.
The Floyd Monument in Sioux City, Iowa. Sergeant Charles Floyd was the only member of the crew to die during the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Having a long tail can be a real drag.
An Andean bear at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo.
This peacock can relax because his tail keeps eyes out for predators.
by Al Batt, albertleatribune.com
January 5, 2019 09:00 AM
Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. Email him at SnoEowl@aol.com.
The guy from just down the road
My neighbor Crandall stops by.
“How are you doing?” I ask.
“Everything is nearly copacetic. I should be taking a nap, but I don’t have the energy to take one. Thanks to the magic of a nifty trash compactor, I was able to fit all the presents I’d bought into one small gift bag this Christmas. I’ve resolved to give up making New Year’s resolutions. Have you noticed that traffic has increased greatly in the neighborhood? I think it’s because my neighbor Still Bill bought a second pickup. Why he needs two, I don’t know. Still Bill is a pain in the ankle when he starts singing Elvis Presley songs. I like Elvis Costello more than Elvis Presley. I choose the lesser of two Elvises. This is one of the greatest days ever. I’ve learned that jelly doughnuts are the perfect breakfast.”
“Who told you that?” I say.
“Hugh Cares, the owner of the Breaking Bad Bakery.”
Naturally
It looked like a fairyland. The trees were white. Hoarfrost is a deposition of ice crystals on objects like tree branches, wires and poles without the moisture passing through a liquid phase. It typically forms on clear, cold and calm nights. Hoar is a reference to the frosty coating and comes from the word hoary, meaning white or gray with age. Rime is similar, but different. It’s ice that forms when fog droplets freeze upon coming in contact with objects.
The temperature was supposed to drop. I think it was likely due to the cold. A little winter snarkiness there. Sorry. The night’s activities are often inscribed in the snow, but the snow had melted or hardened, making clues difficult to find. I picked up trash from the road ditch. Like a crow, I pick up shiny things from the ground.
Blue jays were having a collective cow as I walked. Jays are known to eat eggs and nestlings of other birds, but in a study of blue jay diets, only 1 percent of jays showed evidence of having eaten eggs or baby birds. The diets of the jays studied were composed of mostly insects and nuts. The oldest known wild blue jay was at least 26 years, 11 months old.
On the subject of studies, researchers discovered that opossums have impressive memories when it comes to food. Opossums were found to be better at remembering food locations than were cats, dogs, pigs and rats. Any mammal can get rabies, but the chance of finding rabies in an opossum is extremely slim.
Q&A
“How fast do a deer’s antlers grow?” A white-tailed buck’s antlers begin growing in April and are fully grown by mid-August. Depending upon the source for this information, his antlers grow 1/4 inch to an inch per day.
“Have you ever heard of a Manitoba fly trap?” It’s a cone-shaped canopy/trap open at the bottom and standing on three legs. A black ball is suspended from its center. Horse or deer flies are attracted to the black sphere and are captured in a collection chamber after they fly into the upper reaches of the trap.
“What happened to the barn owls I used to see in Minnesota?” It’s probably due to changes in agriculture that has reduced grassy habitats. Barn owls aren’t made for cold weather. A barn with livestock was just the ticket for a barn owl. Barns can buy happiness. Barns provided shelter, heat and food (rodents). We used to have more pastured land, which provided hunting grounds for barn owls. Both barns and pastures have declined in number.
“Did I see a red fox or a gray fox?” A red fox has a white tip to its tail and a gray fox has a black tip to its tail. Mating for foxes peaks in February, with kits born in April or May.
“Do sapsuckers harm trees?” Yellow-bellied sapsuckers drill sapwells in many species of trees and woody plants, but have a strong preference for birches and maples, trees with high sugar concentrations. Sapsucker sapwells are approximately 1/4 inch in diameter and are typically numerous holes drilled in horizontal rows. The sapwells attract hummingbirds. Sapsucker damage could make a tree vulnerable to other problems, such as insects, disease or decay fungi. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is the only woodpecker in eastern North America that is completely migratory.
“How common are spider bites?” Not common unless you’re a fly. Most suspected spider bites are bites from other creatures such as fleas. Spiders have no reason to bite people. We’re not food for them and many spiders aren’t capable of piercing human flesh.
Thanks for stopping by
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” — Willie Nelson
“One should pay attention to even the smallest crawling creature for these, too, may have a valuable lesson to teach us.” — Black Elk
Do good.
Pine siskins, like many northern finches, have a fondness for salt and are seenon winter highways on which salt had been applied.
To some, a pine siskin sounds like a hoarse American goldfinch.
This tiny bird, the white-breasted nuthatch, is the largest of the five species of nuthatches found in North America.
And there we were, doing a little birding on Lake Superior in Duluth on a cool day.
A pole-dancing opossum.
A red fox kit in June in North Dakota.
A squirrel logging in for the day.
It appeared to be a corncob popsicle.
There have been pine siskins at every port but one.
Any port in a storm.
Except one.
A purple finch and a cardinal redden things up at the feeders.
I count on seeing black squirrels while doing Christmas Bird Counts.
There are ears for listening and ears for eating.
It was a wonderful Christmas pheasant.
I wish you a bright and happy New Year with or without sundogs.
by Al Batt, albertleatribune.com
December 29, 2018 09:00 AM
Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. Email him at SnoEowl@aol.com.
The guy from just down the road
My neighbor Crandall stops by.
“How are you doing?” I ask.
“Everything is nearly copacetic. I gave Ma a new washing machine and all my dirty laundry for Christmas. I’ve decided to make a bunch of New Year’s resolutions.”
“Good for you. Each of us is in need of constant tinkering,” I say.
“I’ve decided to give up dangerous sports like heli-skiing, bull riding, rugby, skydiving, mountaineering, surfing, cliff diving and jousting.”
“What?” I wonder aloud.
“And I’m giving up eating raccoon jerky, opossum chili, deep-fried butter, chislic, livermush, chitterlings, Cincinnati chili (it has spaghetti in it), scrapple and fried rattlesnake. I’m not going to sink a fang in any of those foods.”
“How do you expect to give up sports you’ve never participated in and to stop eating foods you don’t eat?” I ask.
“Simple. It’s called willpower.”
Naturally
My wife threw out some nuts for the squirrels. The squirrels didn’t take long to find them. One fox squirrel chased another fox squirrel and a red squirrel away. In between chases, the squirrel grabbed the nuts like a Black Friday shopper with a new credit card. It carried a morsel away and buried it in the snow in a different spot on the lawn. A hole was dug, the nut dropped into it, the hole covered and the snow patted down. This was done while keeping an eye out for other squirrels. This process was continued until all the nuts were hidden.
Q&A
“Why does a friend put a bird nest in her Christmas tree?” Folklore says that if you have a bird nest in your Christmas tree, your family will experience health, wealth and happiness in the coming year. Use an artificial nest, as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid federal permit.
Millie Woller wondered why there were many birds at her feeders one day and barely any the next day. That’s a great question, and like so many great questions, there are many answers. Some possible factors are: A predator showed up. A hunting hawk in my yard sure drops the census numbers. Birds are in constant search of food sources and can quickly move to a neighbor’s feeder. Nice weather makes it easier to sample natural food supplies, so birds might take that opportunity to hunt for new food. Some of the birds you see at your feeder in the morning may not be the same birds you see in late afternoon. Birds move to other areas. Family groups break up. They migrate. They find new food sources. They establish new territory. Or it could be another reason. A predator and the availability of natural foods are the primary reasons causing desertion at my feeders. Birds have wings. They come and go. Bad weather does make for a busy bird table.
Doug Christopherson of Albert Lea asked about some white and black ducks he’d seen with mallards. Leucism occurs in mallards, but the mallard has been known to breed with approximately 40 other species of waterfowl, plus some domestic ducks. The mallard is the ancestor of most domesticated ducks. Mallards frequently breed with their closest relatives such as the American black duck and also with species more distantly related, like the northern pintail.
“I saw a raccoon in late December? Shouldn’t it be sleeping?” Raccoons winter in places like tree cavities, animal burrows, abandoned buildings, chimneys and rock crevices. They stay in their dens and sleep lightly during bad weather. When temperatures and weather improve, they are out looking for food. They eat as much as possible in the fall, in order to build an extra layer of fat. They don’t hibernate, but hole up in dens during the nastiest winter days and are capable of sleeping for long periods of time. Raccoons are typically solitary creatures, but sometimes den in groups during cold weather.
“Do birds ever freeze after using a heated bird bath in the winter?” I have never encountered a feathered popsicle, but a friend tells of finding cardinals unable to fly due to frozen feathers. Some people put rocks in the bath or boards over the bath to allow drinking, but not bathing when the temps become frighteningly frigid.
Thanks for stopping by
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” — Neil Gaiman
“I think nature’s imagination is so much greater than man’s, she’s never going to let us relax.”— Richard Feynman
Do good. Happy New Year.
I’m doing a Christmas Bird Count and I’m watching as many deer as birds.
One of our intrepid Christmas Bird Counters this year is a hybrid — a human and pileated woodpecker cross.
This chickadee is on a diet in which it eats only one thing. More.
On cold days, being fluffy is a good thing to be.
The first time exercising after Christmas can be a challenge.
A Christmas nap enjoyed at the aviary at the New Richland Care Center.
by Al Batt, albertleatribune.com
December 22, 2018 09:00 AM
Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. Email him at SnoEowl@aol.com.
My neighbor Crandall stops by.
“How are you doing?” I ask.
“Everything is nearly copacetic, but I think it’s time the weather adjusted to my liking. I have a satellite TV dish. I get too many channels. I get so many, I found myself watching an infomercial about enema kits. I found it moving. I subscribed to the dish because I got a deal with my Bumper Sticker of the Month Club membership. This month’s sticker was, “Forget world peace, visualize using your turn signal.” You know, I didn’t get a Fulbright Scholarship. I got a PhD (posthole digger) on a Halfbright Scholarship and you, neighbor, are the only fruitcake I can abide. I wish you a Merry Christmas.”
Naturally
I got a nice Christmas card from a Baltimore oriole. It said he was warm and eating fruit and nectar in Costa Rica. After reading the card, I moved to a pretty place: the window.
There were chickadees at the feeders. My favorite bird eats about 35 percent of its weight per day. A Cooper’s hawk had been hunting/haunting the yard. That raptor eats 12 percent of its weight daily.
It was 10 degrees, and an opossum was nibbling on seeds that had fallen from feeders. I was eating an apple. I tossed the apple core outside, nearly hitting the opossum. I didn’t mean to come that close. It didn’t alarm the animal. An opossum’s eyesight isn’t the greatest, but it smelled the apple and grabbed it with its mouth of 50 teeth and ambled away. I felt good about my simple gift.
I ventured outside to enjoy the winter wonderland. I walked as if I were wearing gravy boats for shoes. It was that icy.
A male house sparrow in the yard had an impaired wing. Birds don’t fly well on one wing. I tried to catch the little bird, but it was too quick for me. I’ve been feeding it. Many would say that it’s just a house sparrow. Even though I’m more than willing to trap a mouse or swat a mosquito or stable fly, I try not to judge creatures. They are what they are. The house sparrow’s popularity does exceed that of the starling. Rachel Carson, author of “Silent Spring,” said this of the starling: “In spite of his remarkable success as a pioneer, the starling probably has fewer friends than almost any other creature thatwears feathers.” I remain hopeful on the sparrow’s behalf.
Some trees have held fast to their dead and dried leaves. This leaf retention is called marcescence and is common in some oak species and ironwood. Marcescence is most common with smaller trees and the reduced sunlight when growing beneath taller trees might slow abscission (the natural detachment of the leaves). The understory leaves might continue the photosynthetic process as upper leaves fall. Some speculate the retained leaves deter browsing animals, such as deer, by concealing the buds. Perhaps by holding onto their leaves, trees are able to retain and recycle nutrients.
The night before, my wife and I had been awakened at 2:30 a.m. in the morning by a coyote cacophony. It sounded like a celebration. Coyote mating season is January and February. Five to seven pups are born in April. Their mother teaches them to hunt when they are 8 to 12 weeks old. From autumn until mid-winter, the pups leave the den and search for their own territories.
I saw where crows, coyotes and a young bald eagle had been feeding upon a dead deer. Deer are nature’s living “reduce speed” signs. Just think how fast people would drive if it weren’t for deer.
Fountain Lake Book Store
I love to read. This lifetime addiction has caused me to own far more books than I’ve room for. I’ve been hauling many boxes of lovely books to the Fountain Lake Book Store on the first floor of City Hall in Albert Lea. A great number of recently published, once-read nature books are looking for good homes. The book store is manned by terrific volunteers who welcome book donations. The books for sale are beyond reasonably priced.
Albert Lea Christmas Bird Count
The Christmas Bird Count will take place Dec. 29. Feeder counters are welcome. For more information, contact me at snoeowl@aol.com or 845-2836.
Q&A
“I found a small nest low in a tree with blue eggs in it this past summer. What kind of bird made it?” Sounds like a chipping sparrow nest. They typically build nests low in a shrub or tree.
Thanks for stopping by
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” — Vincent Van Gogh
“The wind lifted me up into the trees, where I danced to the rhythm of the evergreen. Swaying to the tune of the northern breeze, frozen in timeless melody — Christy Ann Martine
Do good.
Merry Christmas.
A squirrel feeder feeds a squirrel. The feeder was built by Jerry Determan of Fairmont. - Al Batt/Albert Lea Tribune
Another violet to warm an hour.
The robin made the weather nicer.
Sometimes you feel like a nut. A blue jay always feels that way.
It was like snow running off a robin’s back.
Then one day it happened. Another bird feeder miracle. A squirrel turned into a bird feeder.
John Muir said, “How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!”
These are in Haines, Alaska.
Witch’s hair lichens at the Shrine of Saint Therese in Juneau, Alaska.
An Anna’s hummingbird seen in Haines, Alaska on November 11.
It may not have set a record, but it was one.
Wooden you know it?
Decoys at the Nicollet County Historical Society - Treaty Site History Center in St. Peter, MN
It bears witness.
Out. On a limb.
Watch your step and watch when you step on the gas.
by Al Batt, albertleatribune.com
December 8, 2018 09:00 AM
The Hawkeye goldfinchPhoto by: American goldfinch
Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. Email him at SnoEowl@aol.com.
My neighbor Crandall stops by.
“How are you doing?” I ask.
“Everything is nearly copacetic. I’m so busy, I had no time for a shower today. I had to spit into the air and walk under it.”
“Thanks for sharing that. I had fun at your father’s birthday party,” I say.
“I had to get a permit to light all the candles on Pop’s cake. I told Pop that and he called me an aperture in the hindquarters. Ma has a dog that’s a cross between a Chihuahua and a gerbil. It jumped on Ma’s piano to chase the cat. It tiptoed on the keys. That mutt’s Bach was worse than its bite. I planned on getting my Christmas shopping done early this year. I love going into stores. Where else would I go to the bathroom when I’m out? My old truck gets terrible mileage. One frigid day, I left it running while I filled it with gas. The pump couldn’t keep up with the amount of fuel being consumed. That puts a crimp in my Christmas spending. That means I’ll probably give everyone the same thing I give them every Christmas — an apology.”
Naturally
I walked the sidewalks of a small city. The stroll was an icy one, so I quoted a chickadee. Chickadees make a chickadee-dee-dee call and increase the number of dee notes when they are alarmed. Blue jays flew from yard to yard. They sampled the fare at various bird feeders as if they were running a trap line. The jays share one belief with all other jays: Jays are wonderful.
Q&A
“You cautioned against using honey in hummingbird feeders. Why?” You should use table sugar rather than honey to make hummingbird nectar because when honey is diluted with water, bacteria and fungus thrive in it. The normal mixture is ¼ cup of sugar per cup of water. In cold, rainy or foggy conditions, it’s OK to make the mixture 1/3 cup of sugar per cup of water. Concentrations of sugars in natural nectars vary within that range. If you mix small quantities of sugar water every day or two, there’s no need to boil the water. If you mix up a larger batch and refrigerate it for later use, it’s wise to make the mixture with boiling water.
“What do golden eagles eat?” A golden eagle preys primarily on mammals such as rabbits, hares and rodents. Up to 20 percent of its diet are birds and reptiles. It feeds mostly on food it catches, but will eat carrion.
“Why do some Canada geese migrate so late?” Some Canada geese don’t migrate at all. They are short distance migrants, so temperature and the resulting iced-covered water can influence their timing.
“Don’t deer eat ferns?” Deer eat most any plant if they are hungry enough. However, ferns and some ornamental grasses aren’t their preferred fare.
“What kind of bird is a snowflake?” Sometimes called “snowflakes,” snow buntings resemble snowflakes as they swirl through the air before settling on winter fields.
“What is a duck test?” The duck test is a form of abductive reasoning. If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck.
“Is there a national mammal?” In May 2016, President Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act into law, which made the American bison the national mammal of the United States. Once, 20 to 30 million bison roamed North America. Because of unregulated shooting and habitat loss, that population had dropped to only 1,091 by 1889.
“Are there any bird-friendly sports arenas?” A new arena named the Fiserv Forum, where the Milwaukee Bucks play, has been proclaimed the world’s first bird-friendly sports and entertainment venue. This is a victory for bird conservation because up to 1 billion birds in the United States die annually due to glass collisions. Scientists estimate that this total accounts for 5 to 10 percent of the bird population in this country. Addressing this destruction is vitally important, not only because of the inherent value of birds, but also because birds reduce pest populations, pollinate plants, disperse seeds and captivate millions of people with their breathtaking beauty and fascinating behavior. The Fiserv Forum has set a new precedent for bird-friendly building design.
Thanks for stopping by
“I think reading is a gift. It was a gift that was given to me as a child by many people, and now as an adult and a writer, I’m trying to give a little of it back to others. It’s one of the greatest pleasures I know.” — Ann M. Martin
“I go out into the woods; and every bird and flower I see stirs me to the heart with something, I do not know what it is; only I love: I love them with all my strength.” — Ernest Seton Thompson
Do good.
The Hawkeye goldfinch (American goldfinch) Photo by Al Batt