ICE

Two days ago, I showed you what is happening in my garden - buds are popping!  If you missed it, click  HERE. Today I will take you back in time. 

Remember that Spirea that was ready to bloom? Well, here is what it looked like last week.

The Rhododendren is well ensconced.

An iced down Christmas tree didn't seem to bother this Red-bellied woodpecker. (Melanerpes carolinus)

It may have been harder had he tried to perch on the fence wire.

Our local family of White-tailed deer crunch away at their icy lunch.

No Doctor Needed for This Red-bellied Woodpecker

The video that I spent the entire day uploading yesterday was never uploaded, So I apologize for teasing you.  I couldn't even get it uploaded to facebook.  There is something I don't know either about my Apple notebook or my Canon camera.  I'll keep trying, but am not optimistic. 

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So on to a new subject.  I had some Pink Lady apples that weren't up to par.  I quartered them and placed them at the end of my sidewalk to see who would eat them.

Looks like I have a taker.

Maybe the Red-bellied just liked the way the apple skin complimented its red head and neck.

After eating a big hole in the apple section, the woodpecker finally had enough and moved on.

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  Yes, I keep putting up the same books.  I have met this woman and her watercolor paintings are wonderful.

The Giving Tree

I mixed some suet with blue berries, peanut butter, a few thawed raspberries and quick oatmeal, 

 Then squished it into the V's of the bark of the walnut tree outside my kitchen window. 

( I hope you notice the woodpecker in the upper, right-hand corner.)

  I found a place nearby to sit and watch.   Though I had expected to see the woodpeckers enjoying the suet . . . 

. . .  I was delighted to see blue jays turn into clinging birds in an effort to get their share of the goodies.

 This Red-bellied woodpecker, below won the prize for the biggest mouthful.

It quickly took its dinner and disappeared deeper into the woods.

Word must have gotten out about this new feeding spot.  Even the Dark-eyed junco became impatient, no longer content with waiting on the ground for pieces of the greasy mixture to fall.

The prize for persistence goes to the White-breasted nuthatch. There were at least three different ones, constantly coming and going. One must have claimed the tree as its own, for every morsel was haltingly carried up the tree to be re-deposited in a special nuthatch pantry.

And one more thing, for all you readers from the northern 2/3 of the United States, that shiny thing you see in the background is sunshine.  (Even some of you Europeans might be wondering.)

    

Woodpecker Tree

Yellow-bellied sapsucker.
The name alone makes me smile.  For years, like many non birders, for me, the yellow-bellied sapsucker was a fictitional bird with a funny name.  Now I know better but the name is still great.

We have a walnut tree in the back yard visible out my kitchen window.  In winter, the tree serves the neighborhood birds a buffet of peanuts or other little treats.  Many mornings I wedge peanuts in the deep grooves of its bark then watch as the birds come to steal the nuts for themselves.  The most common peanut pilferer has been the red-bellied woodpecker but nuthatches are strong competitors.  The birds perch on a low branch then fly down grab a peanut, fly off to a more distant branch and begin the work of breaking through the shell to get the oil rich nut. 

Lately, I've discovered a new way to get peanuts to the birds.  I've begun mixing peanut butter with crumbs, bird seed and bacon grease to form a glob that I smooth onto the bark of the tree.  The mixture seems to be a favorite of the yellow-bellied sapsucker who may remain around the mixture all morning.

Usually this woodpecker is known for its holes drilled deep into a tree in order to draw out sap.  The bird licks the sap, sometimes eating the cambium layer of the tree.

I had never seen a yellow-bellied until a few years ago and looking at the habitat map, I can see why.  According to the map at aboutbirds.org there are no yellow-bellied sapsuckers in this area of the Ohio Valley. We seem to be between winter and summer ranges.  I would guess that the gradual warming of our area perhaps along with the bird naturally widening range has made sightings more frequent. Maybe some of you more knwledgeable birders out there can give me some information on this.

Whatever the reason, the past three winters have brought the yellow-bellied into our back yard.
I'm glad to see it so I'll go now and fix a batch of greasy glob for this welcome woodland visitor.

The Struggle

Vanity, like money is the root of many problems.  It causes stress as we struggle to look a certain way or buy stuff we don't need. Vanity might even cause us and/or our leaders to think we have all the answers and therefore have the right or even responsibility to control the government of another country.  For a red-bellied woodpecker in my back yard, its vanity is linked to its survival.

Territory is important to the black and white speckled bird. They are larger than most song birds and need an area large enough to provide them with enough food.  They don't need more competition for food, mates or nesting sites. 

One barred back tough-guy was having alot of problems in my back yard. Staring out of my library window was another, identical red-bellied woodpecker. This intruder even mimicked everything our bird did.  While our fellow must have thought the new guy was beautiful, he could not stay! Our woodpecker spend day after day attacking fighting his reflection in that window.  It took me awhile to realize what was going on.  For several days I had seen the woodpecker resting on the gabled roof just below the window but it wasn't until I looked through the window from inside that I noticed the small downie feathers stuck to the window along with all the marks left from the constant attacks. 

Luckily the new bird only showed up on sunny days. Hour by hour the home bird fought the intruder, propelling himself from the roof to the window. Still, the intruder never tired. I tried lowering the blinds which only made a better reflection and the fight continued.  I would stand at the window in an effort to discourage the bird but he always came back.

    Finally I stacked books on each other to block out large parts of the glass.  Hopefully when the angle of the sun changes with the season the books won't be needed.  My delicate plants are stored in that room over the winter and need the sun that comes from that window.  I have bought some colored markers made to draw on glass.  I will try that and let you know how it works out.

Last night the sky above Parkersburg burst into flame as sundown approached.  The sky looked like the set from one of those end-of-the-world movies.This, though, was no apacolypse, rather it was a struggle repeated through the eons as day fights to hold on to the light.  Amid all the electric wires, cars and gaudy signs was a beauty that lasts only a moment. But what a grand moment it was. Each second brought a change to the burning sky. I was rooted to my spot, torn between savoring the view and clicking away with my camera in hopes of saving the moment and sharing it here.