With weather like this, what’s a person to do?
Winter, spring; spring, winter. When is it going to make up its mind? A couple of weeks ago milder weather forced the issue. Our tulip, hyacinth, even iris are showing lots of green leaves with the majority of the crocus in full bloom. But a drop in temperatures and the occasional snow squall put us in a panic! What do we do to protect our precious gems? Do we cover them with mulch, compost, or topsoil, or do we leave them alone? I’ve asked some experts on the subject and received different answers. We’ve done a little of each and they are “weathering the storms”.
So what do we do about our animal friends? Do we feed them or not? I guess this is a personal choice. In our household we have chosen to feed. This can present some problems when our cat wanders too close to Mr. Skunk who has woken from his hibernating pattern. Whew! Don’t let the cat out! The deer, which included a doe and her two yearlings a couple of months ago, now total 15, arriving most evenings at 6:00. Interestingly there is an antlered buck and a light-colored doe we call “Blondie”. They jostle for the best position to get at the whole corn poured on the ground for them. This also can present problems such as dug-up turf and chewed plants, but is worth it when our kids exclaim, “deer alert, deer alert!” and we see the show from our kitchen window. With this much food around, gray squirrels are plentiful and fun to watch as this time of year presents a lot of chasing. Stop the feeding and the wildlife disappears, but so does our fun.
With little snow cover this year, the feeder birds have been lacking but constant. I must say that the 6 suet feeders have been the most productive. The usual woodsy birds can be seen throughout the day, and on at least one occasion the resident pileated woodpecker was seen. The mockingbird and screech owl are seldom seen. The dark-eyed juncos are increasing in numbers, the white-throated sparrows are moving in and I’ve seen one song sparrow in the yard. Robins, grackles, and red-winged blackbirds are commonplace nowadays. At nearby Highland Park I’ve been viewing the large flocks of Canada geese winging northward. On March 14th a killdeer arrived, and the next day I spotted an Eastern phoebe. I think the pair of Coopers hawks are in the nest building stage, but have yet to confirm it. All these species sing loudly on nicer mornings which are still few and far between. How we all yearn for warmer days to further observe all of God’s creations.
Birders’ Watch is provided by members of the Naturalists’ Club of Broome County. This column was written by Joe Sedlacek. For information on the Naturalists Club, write P.O. Box 191, Vestal, N.Y. 13850.
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