Naturally
Cricket chirps slowed with the cold before coming to a standstill after a killing frost. The silence is "Taps" for crickets, but creatures are still lurking.
A skein of geese was stirring. I saw gulls — ring-billed and Franklin's. It was a Franklin’s gull, not Ben Franklin, that said “Kek, kek!" Birding is a phenomenal pandemic pastime for people. All I need do is to watch them and my spirits are lifted. A cedar waxwing enjoyed a hawthorn apple in the yard. I enjoyed watching a cedar waxwing enjoying a haw in the yard. In the same hawthorn tree was a northern flicker, which after consuming some of the berries, appeared to be contemplating the migration ahead. Being your own GPS has to be stressful.
White-throated sparrows kicked back. They forage in the leaves on the ground, using both feet at once to scratch backward, then pounce forward on seeds or insects they’ve uncovered. The fox sparrows in the yard also use that distinctive double-scratch ground moves. With a forward and backward hop, their feet move aside leaf litter in their search for insects and seeds for dinner. An eastern phoebe was in my yard on Oct. 25, looking up in 27° weather for flying insects in the falling snow.
The starlings moved in like Cousin Eddie's family in the National Lampoon's Vacation film series. They were numerous, loud and argumentative creatures with prodigious appetites. Even the house sparrows scattered at the invasion. The house sparrow isn't a true sparrow. It's a weaver finch native to Eurasia and northern Africa that has succeeded in urban and farming areas worldwide -- including North America, where birds shipped from England were released in New York in 1851. People built nest boxes for them. The bird known as the English sparrow was brought here to combat cankerworms. By 1900 the sparrows had spread to the Rocky Mountains. By 1910, they were established in California. They're found on every continent except Antarctica.
My father once shared a hospital room with a Sparrow. No, not a house sparrow. It was a man named Sparrow. A Batt and a Sparrow in hospital beds. My father was uncomplaining, but the Sparrow chirped a lot. Just as house sparrows do.
Q&A
"I heard you mention whiffling Canada geese on your radio show. What does that mean?" Whiffling is a term used to describe the behavior whereby a bird rapidly descends with a zig-zagging, side slipping motion. It's as if they're spilling air from their wings. A goose occasionally flies briefly upside down with its head in a normal position. The aerodynamics giving lift during flying are extinguished and the goose plummets toward the ground before returning to a normal flying orientation. This erratic motion resembling a falling leaf is used to avoid a long, slow descent.
"What states are grizzly bears found?" Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming. All grizzly bears are brown bears, but not all brown bears are grizzly bears. Brown bears are generally considered to be those of the species having access to coastal food resources like salmon. Grizzly bears live inland and typically don't have access to marine-derived food resources. How does a bear stay cool in summer? It has bear conditioning.
"Should I rake the leaves or leave the leaves?" If you leave them on the lawn they give shelter for beneficial insects and the nutrients in the leaves break down and fertilize the lawn. It's a good idea to use a mower or mulcher to shred them so they break down faster and don’t smother the grass. You should clean up the leaves in areas close to open water and areas near streets and storm drains. If you don't, it could lead to water quality issues in lakes, rivers and streams because of an exacerbation of algae blooms in the spring. Some of our deciduous trees keep their leaves for much or all of winter — ironwood, buckthorn and some oaks.
"Do crows stash food?" Crows will bury food in a yard and cover it with leaves or grass. They cache food in trees, rain gutters, niches, nooks and crannies. They retrieve the stored food when it's needed. The hidden food is an insurance policy against lean times and offers convenience foods without the brick and mortar store.
Thanks for stopping by
"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter." — Rachel Carson in her book "Silent Spring"
"A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." — Luke 6:45
Do good.
© Al Batt 2020
Don’t call it an English sparrow because this house sparrow won’t answer. Some people call it a spatzie. It doesn’t respond to that name either. Photo by Al Batt