Birds in Winter

The other day I was surprised to see a flock of about 20 American Robins feeding on the hairy red fruits of  the Staghorn Sumac that was growing behind our shopping center. Because the fruits are dry, have little flesh, no fat or sugar they are usually left untouched until late winter. In spring and summer we are used to seeing them foraging on the ground, running, then suddenly stopping to listen and pouncing to extract an earthworm. In the winter when the ground is frozen they switch to fruit on the ground or still hanging in the trees. 

The Robins we see here in the winter probably probably started their fall  in Canada and found the Northeast temperate enough to stay through the winter, whereas those that summer with us have shifted southward. So these are probably the same Robins we see in early spring when the snow is receding,  in transient large flocks foraging among the old grasses and leaves in our backyards and fields.

Many birds that are solitary during the breeding season often flock together in winter, when food sources are rare and much more sporadic. Even through the bounty must be shared with a larger number it still pays off to have more eyes scouting for them.

Snow Buntings are highly territorial in the summer, jealously defending their nesting sites in the tundra, but during the winter they often travel in mixed flocks with Horned Larks. They are most easily found along plowed roadsides where they forage for grass seeds and grains.

Snow Buntings crossing a paved road

Flock of foraging Snow Buntings and Horned Larks

Male Horned Larks

Both the Horned Larks and Snow Buntings roost in scrapes in the ground or burrow into the snow for extra protection against the cold. During a storm they may let themselves be snowed in. 

In the winter Northern Shrikes, like this first year juvenile, migrate south from their home in the tiga/tundra to southern Canada and the northern United States where prey may be more available.  Sitting high in a tall tree they look innocuous, watching and scouting for any small movement in the trees or on the ground, when they are down in a flash to grab a bird or small mammal, revealing their true nature and justifying their Latin name Lanius excubitor "Butcher Bird".

House Sparrow puffed up against the cold trying to keep warm.

Bohemian Waxwings are true  nomads, roaming in flocks  and descending when finding berry or fruit bearing trees. They are voracious eaters and only leave when all the fruits have been consumed. They are so unpredictable that It's always a special thrill to see them. 

They cheer me up with their jaunty masks and feathered caps, the red wax tips on their wings and the red untertail coverts. Here they are feeding on fruit fallen off a crap apple tree. 

Their rakish looks make me smile.

Homely looking Wild Turkeys foraging on a manure pile in a snowy field.

I first saw this Common Raven on the flat roof of parking garage. It then flew across the parking lot and landed on a  mound of snow at the edge of the lot where I followed it in my car. I was able to take a couple more photos before it flew off heading east into the morning sky.

Happy Birding in 2013!

"I was the shadow of the waxwing slain....."

I was the shadow of the waxwing slain

By the false azure in the windowpane

I was the shadow of the waxwing slain

By the false azure in the windowpane;

I was the smudge of ashen fluff--and I

Lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky.

             Flying into the azure reflection of the sky and so transcending 

                   the finality of the Waxwings catastrophic end... These lines colored 

        for me my first reading of Nabokov's novel "Pale Fire" many 

      years ago and do so now again. Back then I didn't know a 
waxwing or seen one, but the name spoke to me
 of wild birds  in wild woods. 

  For a short spell they have come south for a visit, the 

          Cedar and the Bohemian Waxwings, having probably grazed 

             clean every fruit tree north of here and have settled on some 

                ornamental crab apple trees at the side of a busy thoroughfare, 

           but just for a day because the next morning the trees were 

                  empty and the birds gone.                  

They were picking the last of the dropped fruit from the pavement

Happy Birding! Happy Spring!

Carolina Wren, Bohemian Waxwing, and a personal update

Last Saturday I drove to Putney School to look for the pair of White-winged Crossbills that had been reported there along with a flock of Bohemians. The Crossbills didn't show up at the feeder where they had been seen before, but a Carolina Wren was perching on top of a shrub nearby singing loudly. Of course as soon as I grabbed my camera it took off for a tree at some distance. Still I managed to get a couple of photos.

Their song  consists of a rich variety of phrases, uttered with a vocal force that's amazing in such a small bird.. 



I also observed a mixed flock of about 20 Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings in a crab apple tree, but the snow that had fallen the previous night made it difficult to get close. So I only got one fairly decent photo.

Now for a change of subject: 

I have been meaning to post an update on my brother whose bicycle accident last July resulted in massive head trauma  affecting mostly the speech center on the left side. After months of rehab he is home now, but things are far from ordinary. The accident resulted in him losing his speech. He understands questions but is unable to answer. He can't find the proper words - they come our garbled - nor can he string them together into a meaningful sentence.

I have been trying to imagine what that feels like. How do you fill the emptiness when that inner speech, that running commentary on your life is silenced? Speech is integral to thought and has been an integral part of our genes for about 40,000 years. On the outside he looks just the same as always, but losing that you lose a major chunk of who you are. I have difficulty wrapping my head around that fact.

He is receiving speech therapy of course and our hope is that other nerve cells will take over the function of those that are lost, hope that his brain is young enough to make that switch. Only time will tell.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment.

Midwinter Waxwings and other birds

Another cold but bright day yesterday. I was walking around on the Putney School campus looking for the flock of Bohemian Waxwings that had been reported there earlier in the week. At one point I saw a flock of about 20 birds flying past and knew they were Bohemians, not just by their undulating flight but also by their contact sounds, a soft constant rippling trill. They briefly settled on a tall tree near me and then were gone again, not to be seen again. A student pointed me to an apple tree where they had been spotted before. I only found a lone Winter Robin picking away at a frozen apple.

In the same neighborhood near a feeder I spotted this little bright-eyed house sparrow all puffed up against the cold.

Eventually I gave up and drove home. I consoled myself with going over photos of Bohemians I had taken two years earlier during an irruptive year. Now having software with better noise removal, less intrusive sharpening and better color rendition, I set about to rework the originals. The results are posted below.

This was a large group of Bohemians, some basking in the warm winter sun, others foraging in the crab apple trees or on the ground underneath.

On another occasion, when the sun was not as bright and colors more muted,  I saw a smaller flock in a row of crab apple trees.

I don't give up easily. I went back on the campus today. Walking was more treacherous as many of the walkways were iced over despite having been sanded. I had to take a picture of the fantastic icicles hanging from the roof of a cabin. 

Still no Bohemians, but found a small flock of Cedar Waxwings foraging in an apple tree.

 

 

Good Birding! Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment.

Related articles

• Weatherwatch: The unpredictable waxwing (guardian.co.uk)