Who says you can’t go bird watching in the deep, cold, wintertime? Alright, it’s a little bit more challenging, but that just makes it all the more fun.
As fall 2010 was wrapping up and quickly morphing into winter 2010, I heaved a heavy sigh. I figured that marked the end of any real bird watching for a few months. And, sure enough, there were a few scattered magpies, pigeons and the very occasional sparrow or chickadee, but nothing to holler about for a long time. There were even spans of days and weeks where it was so cold and dreary that there was neither a peep nor a feather to be seen.
Ah well, I consoled myself. It’s to be expected. And I tried to satisfy myself with books, websites and recordings.
What did I know? Right around this past Valentine’s Day, we got in the car and headed out to do some shopping. As we drove down the back lane, I saw something large land, vertically, on a telephone wire. I squinted at it, expecting to see yet another magpie or something, but much to my shock, there was a crest! As we got closer, my jaw dropped. Not only a bird sighting in winter, but one I’ve never seen before!
Pileated Woodpecker! Right here in my own back yard! Tell-tale bright red cap and everything! Oh how I wished I had my camera at that moment, but he was gone in a moment and I haven’t seen him again.
Then, yesterday, as we pulled up to the house, my Mother mentioned, off-handedly, that a flock of birds had taken residence in the yard, largely around an old crab apple tree. Sparrows, I thought, or perhaps Chickadees. I’ve just got to get out of the habit of trying to guess like that. I’m always wrong.
Cedar Waxwings! Hundreds of them, chirruping and chee-cheeing (Click here to hear it for yourself) as they fluttered around picking at the shrivelled old crab apples hanging there. I’ve seen one or two of these before, but very rarely. And never in my own yard or by the hundreds like that.
Of course, my internet research says they usually travel in huge flocks. I read something else really interesting, too. One article said that when there are some berries on the end of a branch only big enough for one bird to stand on, sometimes the waxwings will line up on it single-file and pass the berries down the line beak-to-beak to make sure everyone gets a share! Now how many lessons can we humans take from the wildlife?
I tried to take some pictures, but the sun was in the wrong place and there was no way for me to get a better angle without trespassing in the neighbour’s yard. The photo below was taken on a hot summer day in a rural garden.
But take a lesson from me. Don’t put your binoculars away and close your curtains. Bird watching season is never over.
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