Apparently the robin hid its tail numerous times so its tail wouldn’t get snowed on three times and let spring come. Hopefully the unexpected snow on Saturday fooled the robins and their tails got snowed on so winter can leave. The hummingbirds, orioles, grosbeaks and bluebirds would appreciate no more snow and so would I.
Snow on the Robin’s Tail
The birds are singing up a storm this morning especially this Brown Thrasher. I think they are happy the snow is melting and things are turning green again. Brown Thrashers are accomplished songsters that may sing more than 1,100 different song types and include imitations of other birds, including Chuck-will’s-widows, Tufted titmice, Northern Cardinals, Wood Thrushes, and Northern Flickers. Some sources state that it has up to 3,000 song chants. All I know is that he can get very loud but at least he doesn’t get off key too often.
Singing Brown Thrasher
The bluebirds are probably wondering why they came north when it keeps snowing in May but at least the snow has melted off the branches so they have a dry place to perch. Most years they would have their nest built and sitting on eggs by now but it has been rather chilly for that. I did see a pair of bluebirds checking out the birdhouses before the last snow.
The male Eastern Bluebird ‘shows off’ at his nest cavity to attract a female. He brings nest material to the hole, goes in and out, and waves his wings while perched above it. That is pretty much his contribution to nest building; only the female Eastern Bluebird builds the nest and incubates the eggs. But at least he does bring food to the babies so that the female doesn’t have to do all the work.
Chilly Bluebird
This weather is not even for the birds, not with this much snow in May! The robins have had their tails snowed on more than three times already so where in the heck is spring!
Where is Spring?
The robins have had their tails snowed on more than three times already so it is time for spring to come. On the news last night, there was a question wondering if all the robins were finding food since there are no worms for them to find. A local bird expert said the robins were on a Ramen noodle diet right now and not a Filet Mignon meal plan as they were eating spider eggs and any remaining berries.
The birds that eat flying insects, like the tree swallows and purple martins, are in trouble since it is too cold for flying bugs. So the wrens better stay south as they won’t be finding caterpillars to eat right now like this wren.
Hungry Wren
I saw the first robin back yesterday but farmers in rural Wisconsin always say that it is not officially ‘Spring’ until it has snowed on the Robins’ tail three times.
Now that the robins are back, I wished it would hurry up and snow the three times on their tails so spring can arrive. I don’t know why the robins came back since there are no worms, no leaves on the trees, and very few patches of ground showing.
And it snowed later in the day, so two more times left!
This Eastern Screech Owl didn’t appreciated the cold, snowy Easter either as it was trying to nap in the bouncing tree branch. I would have been seasick the way the branch was swaying but the owl seemed to manage to nap and would only open its eyes if I hooted loud enough.
But this owl normally sleeps in the day and emerges from its roost at dusk to hunt insects and other small prey. The Eastern Screech-Owl’s color ranges from gray to brown to reddish. The chicks in a nest may be different colors.
Screech Owl
There are not too many red wildflowers and red is not too common in the winter either, unless you catch a glimpse of the Northern Cardinal. Although some people might chew out the cardinal out for bringing the snow, I think the cardinal is just smarter than some people and will stock up on food before the snow flies. And the snow has started to fall today so I wonder if the cardinal stocked up enough.
During courtship, the male feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak, but I bet he wants to be waited on once the honeymoon is over!
Red & White
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are. The 16th annual GBBC is Friday, February 15, through Monday, February 18, 2013.
The visitors to my yard the last two days have been Mourning Doves, Chickadees, Red Polls, Pileated Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Purple Finch, Downing Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Crows, Red Bellied Woodpecker and the Gold Finches but the Gold Finches aren’t so “gold” right now with the male displaying its dull olive winter plumage.
The Gold Finch molts its body feathers twice a year, once in late winter and again in late summer. The brightening yellow of male goldfinches each spring is one welcome mark of approaching warm months so I’m looking forward to the ‘gold’ color again.
‘Golden’ Gold Finch
I don’t think these Mourning Doves like the new snow either as now their perches in the trees are snow covered again.
Mourning Doves is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds with population estimated at 350 million. They are the most frequently hunted species in North America with more 20 million shot each year. But I only shoot the doves with my camera and not with a gun. But since the Mourning Doves feed on the ground, approximately 1 in 20 will ingest lead shot in the heavily hunted areas and lead poisoning is another threat to the doves.
The nesting pair will have one to six broods a year with normally two eggs in each brood. Mourning Doves eat almost exclusively seeds, but the young are fed crop milk by their parents which is a secretion from the lining of the crop (enlargement of the esophagus) of parent birds that is regurgitated to young birds. It resembles and smells like cottage cheese.
Its plaintive woo-OO-oo-oo-oo call gives the bird its name and the wings can make an unusual whistling sound upon take-off and landing. The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 55 mph.
Primarily a bird of open country, scattered trees, and woodland edges, the Mourning Dove can survive in the desert as they can drink brackish water that is almost half the salinity of sea water without becoming dehydrated the way humans would.
The Mourning Dove was named Wisconsin’s symbol of peace in 1971.
Chilly Doves
