Nature Files

I was looking out my window this morning and was suddenly delighted by a flurry of partridge scooting across the road and then into my shrubbery.  Naturally I wondered “partridge, or pheasant” so I had to dip into the bird book I gave my mother some years ago to verify what I was actually seeing.

During the winter it is really amazing to see how many birds stay in these northern parts and survive the cold.  There are rules for feeding birds; either you do not feed them at all or you must be consistent with the feed.  Logical enough, it simply requires keeping ahead of the game in the supply department.  I’ve been very pleased to discover bargain prices at Costco for wild bird seed as it is nearly 3 times less than at the bulk store.  Go figure.

We see a number of small brown or grey birds; sparrows, snow bunting or chickadees, we aren’t quite sure yet which they are.  When looking in the book it seems obvious yet flicking around in the branches of the pine tree it is very hard to get a good look at the colouring to really make an identification (I am terribly near sighted).  It is my ambition this winter to nail down my small birds so that I can honestly call myself a bird watcher.

It’s much easier to identify the bigger birds, the magpie, the crow, the starlings, owls and hawks.  My brother saw a huge bald eagle out at his place the other day.  He heard this incredible whirring sound as he got into his truck and looking around he saw the eagle swooping down by the truck as it went for the sparrows nearby.  The wing span was over 6 feet.  I’ve never seen one close but I have seen snowy owls, in fact for many years I have had a couple nesting in my yard.  They can be quite large, camouflage very well in the old poplar trees and can give you a start when they swoosh away as you approach unaware of their presence.

The magpies are incredibly friendly scavengers.  They watch the house diligently, waiting for either Mom or I to go out to the compost pile with pickings for them.  They seem to have discovered that I am not much of a giver while Mom goes out at least once a day with a special treat just for them.  No sooner has she gone back in the house than the swoop down on the bread and potato peelings she has left under the scotch pine.  Since I got my chickens, though, I have become more interesting to them.  They wait for me to return to the house and then they venture into the Henriettas domain to see if they can steal some of the wild seed strewn about.  At first the chickens took supreme exception to their presence and charged at them in outrage but gradually those impertinent magpies have made their way back into the pen to pick away at the far corners.  Then Hermione or Fredericka will spot them and away they go!

It might be winter but there is still plenty of natural entertainment outdoors.