Naturally

Savoring the day, my wife and I were awed by the Venus-Jupiter conjunction (they appear close together) in the western sky early in March. Both were bright but Venus was brighter.
March can be moody. It was snowing. Winter doesn’t meet its demise on March 1 or March 20. Snow brought a concert of silence broken by the honking of Canada geese flying overhead. I saw pairs of that species battling over nest sites.
Spring comes early to the southern side of buildings. I watched a chickadee and a downy woodpecker peck holes into goldenrod galls on a prairie and extract the insect larvae from within. Prairie comes from the French word for meadow. Among the noble citizens of the backyard, the squirrels have been stripping bark from maple trees. They use the bark and buds as food and may use the bark in their nests. Red-osier dogwood looks a bright red, giving it the nickname of the veins of spring. Weeping willows have a golden-yellow glow that seems to grow brighter by the day. Short-tailed weasels are turning from the white winter coats of ermines to the brown summer ones of weasels. Woodchucks are walking around. I’ve seen quite a few kestrels in March. The tiny falcon is about the size of a blue jay.
There was a bald eagle perched on a snowbank along a thin dredge ditch. The young eagle, hoping to be bald one day, might have been looking to feed on carrion partially buried under the snow.
I was dashing through the slush and on a 50-mile drive, I saw three red-tailed hawks on different large green signs showing mileage to cities. Another sign hosted an American kestrel and two crows perched on another. Crows like to keep track of things and they had likely found a menu item to their liking at the Roadkill Cafe.

Q&A

“How can I tell a male red-tailed hawk from a female?” If you see a hawk laying an egg, that’s a female. The plumage color and pattern of this hawk are highly variable, but male and female red-tailed hawks are similar in appearance. As with most birds of prey, the females are larger. It’s called reversed sexual dimorphism. There are several theories. The females' larger size protects them from aggressive males. Another hypothesis proposes that the size difference allows the two sexes to hunt different prey and thus reduce competition for food. A third plausible reason is that females need to be larger because they must accumulate reserves to produce eggs. A female usually spends more time incubating eggs and rearing chicks than her partner, and if she’s bigger she might be able to protect her young more effectively. Not all red-tailed hawks have red tails. Adults typically have red feathers on their tails, while juveniles’ tails are a darker brown. The younger birds molt into adult plumage (including a red tail) at the beginning of their second year. The red-tailed hawk has a loud, high-pitched raspy scream often heard in film, TV shows and commercials as the call of eagles and other raptors because it sounds more majestic than that of other raptors.
“How does the success rate for hawks that hunt birds compare to those hawks that prey on mammals?” Some data indicates the hunting success of bird-chasing raptors is about half that of the raptors preying on mammals and one-sixth of the raptors eating insects.
“I found a deer shed that had been chewed by something? What does that?” Antlers are a rich source of calcium and other minerals and nutrients. The antlers are recycled to build strong bones and teeth for many mammals. Mice, squirrels, voles, raccoons, chipmunks, porcupines, dogs, opossums, foxes, rabbits, coyotes, otters, beavers, bears and wolves have been observed gnawing on deer sheds. Some animals might also gnaw on sheds to wear down their continuously growing teeth. I suspect groundhogs gnaw on deer sheds as I’ve had them chew on the shed where I store the lawn mower.
“Why are domestic turkeys white?” Those white turkeys didn’t become common until the late 1930s and early 1940s. Farmers bred white turkeys because the white feathers are less visible on dressed carcasses and those birds have a lighter skin color, which appeals to consumers.
“How can I attract cardinals?” Plant berry bushes and evergreens. Put black oil sunflower seeds and safflower seeds into bird feeders.
“Do hibernating animals age?” Hibernation doesn't stop aging, but scientists have learned it may delay the effects of aging slightly and thereby slow aging.

Thanks for stopping by

“I dressed and went for a walk—determined not to return until I took in what Nature had to offer.”—Raymond Carver.
“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.”—E. B. White.
Do good.

©️Al Batt 2023

If you want to be different, make the common grackle your favorite bird. The grackle looks like a blackbird that has been stretched on the rack. Its song has been described as “kree del eeeek.“ It’s seldom played on Contemporary Hits Radio. Photo by Al Batt.

BIRDING WITH BATT
 If you missed the “Birding With Batt” on the airwaves this week, you can hear it any time you like via the free KMSU radio streaming app. The app is available for Apple and Android devices, allowing you to livestream 89.7 the Maverick, find playlists and listen to shows on-demand.

Some of the photos in this lovely book caused me to smile. Others made me to feel as if I were looking in a mirror. Every image was awe-producing.