Editor’s note: The following column was originally published in the New Hampshire Union Leader on Nov. 26, 2005.
ONCE THE BEARS have settled down for their winter sleep, feeders can be filled with an assortment of seeds, large and small.
So began a letter from a North Woodstock reader who, recalling former bird experiences, wrote:
“Last winter at my house there were large flocks of American goldfinches constantly at the feeders. At first they were hard to recognize because it seems their yellow coloring was not so pronounced in the winter.
“Still, they gave a ray of color to the white landscape. Their bright yellow color reappeared almost overnight once spring arrived.
“I continue to have several grosbeaks, the rose-breasted and the evening. The latter wear a partial coat of yellow.
“Mixed in with these two groups were the red-breasted nuthatches who climb up and down the tree trunk, sometimes head up and then later, head down. They seem to enjoy my mixture of peanut butter, grease, cornmeal and seeds which I spread on the bark of the big maple tree near my kitchen window. The blue jays are here year-round and vie for their share of seeds and scraps.
“This summer there were flocks of robins around off and on. Much as we suppose they feed on worms alone, they too pick at seeds. This is the first year in 15 of living on my hill with blueberry bushes that I noticed the robins feasting on blueberries. Later my few grapes disappeared and I assumed they were including them in their diet before heading elsewhere for the winter months.
“So you could say that this summer my one acre supplied the robins with a smorgasbord.
“The two bluebird houses in the lower field were lived in this past summer. The parents seem more active in the morning and evening. This summer they flitted out of their houses and did a half-circle swoop to the garden nearby, and then another half swoop to return to their houses with bugs in beaks. I do not remember seeing them collecting bugs from the garden so often in previous summers.
“This past summer I visited the Adirondacks, in the small town of North River. My daughter-in-law’s parents live in a house across the road from the Hudson River. Beside their house was a good-sized flowering crab. The tree was very symmetrical with many branches. The porch and this tree were filled with hummingbird feeders that needed to be refilled at the end of each day.
“The constant back-and-forth flying and hovering from dawn to dusk was mesmerizing. Watching so many ruby-throated hummingbirds and their various antics was a delight.
“I wondered what the green-backed hummingbird was and a guidebook told me it was an immature ruby-throat. I could not understand how they fed from one feeder, but realized their long beaks can easily reach way inside a feeder. There was a regular seed-filled feeder hanging from one of the branches that attracted a variety of birds.
“All these birds were willing to share the same tree for their meals and I could not help but think this was indeed a true place of communion.”
The tongue of the ruby-throated hummingbird is a very special instrument. For years it was believed that hummingbirds had hollow tongues and used them as soda-straws to suck nectar from flowers.
Scientists studying hummingbird tongues concluded that they do not and cannot serve in this manner because the tongue is not hollow and the trough-like tubes of the forked part probably takes up the nectar by capillary action, not by suction.
In feeding, the bird retracts its tongue into its mouth, and swallows the nectar in a normal manner.
Both hummingbirds and woodpeckers have extraordinarily long tongues that extend a considerable distance beyond the end of their bills.
This is possible because their skulls are equipped with a hyoid apparatus, referred to as horns, that curve upwards along the skull, over the forehead and attach inside a nostril. This allows their tongues to remain coiled up when the bird is not feeding.
Our reader-friend, Dr. Bonnie Epstein of Belmont, wrote of a summer remembrance:
“The dog days of summer seemed to be especially hot this year. My birds crave water and keep me busy filling the many birdbaths we have placed about for them. I find it interesting how selective the different birds can be about birdbaths. The goldfinches seem to use only a shallow round bath attached to the deck. The bigger birds love the standing pedestal bath in the garden.
“After the hayfields were mowed, we were visited by a large number of wild turkeys. I love watching them. I also startled a fairly new fawn when outside dead-heading some flowers. What a treat to see it so close up.”
In winter, birds do need water for drinking and for bathing to keep their feathers in good condition. Although birds get much of their water from snow, they enjoy bird baths available the year round.
Adding boiling water several times a day to keep a birdbath free of ice can be quite time-consuming especially when the temperature remains below freezing all day.
A better method is the use of submersible electric water heaters specially designed to keep water from freezing. They are available at many stores where bird feeding supplies are sold.
Stacey Cole, Nature Talk columnist for more than 50 years, passed away in 2014. If readers have a favorite column written by Stacey that they would like to see reprinted, please drop a note to Jen Lord at jlord@unionleader.com.
November 28, 2020 at 05:00PM
https://www.unionleader.com/nh/outdoors/stacey-cole-nature-talks-dont-forget-that-birds-need-friends-in-winter/article_75f16707-68c9-57a2-859d-0714c4c534a6.html
Stacey Cole Nature Talks: Don't forget that birds need friends in winter - The Union Leader
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