the old fence row

In gardening season,
I found buried several
pieces of the old barbed
wire that used to be the
fence row when this was
farmed land. 
The pieces stand by,
relieved of duty.

critter tracks

Now that some snow blankets the ground, we can easily see tracks in the woods.  Rabbits, grey squirrels, red squirrels, mice, chipmunks, various birds, and white-tailed deer left tracks -- visible today as the sun lowered in the west.  Even the neighborhood cat made her mark while searching around the brush pile.

winter blooms

This winter is slow to chill Minnesota.  The "trumpet vine" Lonicera 'Major Wheeler' is still blooming!  Not just hanging-on old blossoms, but fresh blooms.  Usually, the entire vine has dropped leaves and spent blossoms by now.  This autumn, El Niño has brought consistent warm mid-40's weather instead of several hard freezes.

photo taken December 6, 2015

bird feeder garden

The veggie plot converts to a bird feeder garden in winter.  The edible crops have been harvested.  The perennials reach down to overwinter, and the herbs offer up their stems and seed heads for the birds. The feeders beckon the birds; we deter the squirrels from the bird food with a toy "slinky" hung on each slippery pole. 

first snow

The first snow this season was just a dusting to make things look a bit like winter in Minnesota.  It placed little white caps on the black chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa fruits still hanging on the shrubs, and on all the various seedheads we left standing for the birds to enjoy all winter.

Southwest USA study trip III

 

While studying wildflowers among cactus in the Southwest, I spotted birds we probably won't see around here . . . .

Gambel's Quail  (nests on the ground, eats grasses and cactus fruits)

Cactus Wren  (nests in woodpecker holes, loud and boisterous)

Gila Woodpecker (makes nest holes in palms and saguaros)

Greater Roadrunner (hides nest in center of cactus thorns, here taking a lizard to the nest)

Southwest USA study trip II

Also spotted at the wetlands preserve, these birds that winter in the south and migrate north in the western USA for nesting season.



top: Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera

middle: American Widgeon Anas americanus



bottom: Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria

Southwest USA study trip

Just returned from studying wildflowers in the Southwest USA. 

At a wetland preserve area, we saw some of the birds that are wintering there but will return to Minnesota for nesting season.


top: Northern Shoveler male Anas clypeata

middle: Common Moorhen Gallinula galeata
bottom: Mallard female Anas platyrhynchos

January - winter buds

Bayberry Myrica pensylvanica

On winter days like these . . .  

cold and windy . . .  

it may look like the trees in the 

wild wild woods are bare, 

but when I take a closer look . . . 

Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa

Viburnum (left), Forsythia (above), Lilac (below)

These deciduous trees and shrubs actually formed buds last summer during their active growing season.  To survive the cold of winter they have gone dormant.

But next spring's burgeoning leaves and flowers are already in place, so the trees won't need to use energy now to grow those complex leaf and flower structures. 

 
 

hawk watch

The Cooper's Hawk we often see in the wild wild woods was back again today.  First, we saw it sitting for several minutes in the sun on a branch of the maple tree.  With yellow feet tucked under feathers, it tried to fluff the down underlayer and stay warm on this 10F cold day.  After a failed attempt to catch a Junco in the understory, the hawk sat for a minute in the willow tree, then wandered off to another location.

fat food

The Pileated Woodpeckers come out of the wild wild woods occasionally to take suet at the feeder station.  Especially on a cold winter day, the extra fat is good warming nutrition for them.

winter water

At the edge of the wild wild woods, I keep a bowl with open water for the birds.  Many species use it to drink and to preen their feathers even in cold weather.  Feathers do their job of insulating for warmth better when they are clean.  The Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus often drums on the ground to find ant larvae to eat.  That may make him thirsty.  The Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata occasionally dives in for a full bath.

last winter's snack

These galls are the "packages" left after winter birds pecked through to get at the treats inside.
Last summer, an insect laid eggs at the tip of the plant stem.  Each hatched egg became a larva that burrowed into the stem.  The larva chewing and its saliva caused the plant to build a gall.  This became shelter for the larva as it expected to survive winter and emerge in Spring.  However, winter birds often peck the gall to extract the larva.  This is one way birds find food in winter.

critters at the woods' edge

This Eastern Cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) has a thick fur coat in cold weather, but does not turn white like the native hares do.  This may be the rabbit that saunters around the fenced veggie garden all spring, looking for new lettuce to enjoy. They live in the brush pile at the edge of the woods, and like to munch on corn and other seeds that blow out of the tray feeders on windy days.  There seemed to be some accumulated in the sheltered depths of the toad haven, half buried by snow.

still sub-zero

Watching the feeders and counting birds today for Cornell FeederWatch http://feederwatch.org/.

All the birds are fluffed up as they hunt frantically for food today; it was near 20F below zero overnight.  The wind makes it feel colder.

A pair of House Finches tried to outdo the colorful beauty of the male Northern Cardinal as they flitted to and fro between the seed tray and the Ninebark bush.

Sub-zero

Sub-zero!  Really sub-zero.  Thanks to Winter Storm Hercules, a polar vortex is invading most of the nation with record-setting low temperatures.  Tonight's forecast low: minus 24F.  Tomorrow's high temperature: minus 13F.  All with high winds.

Today, with the sun shining and only 3 degrees below zero, all the critters were stocking up on food.  I put extra suet and nuts out in the bird trays, and corn on the ground. This Bluejay was trying to fluff up his down underlayer for maximum effect.

winter berries

At the edge of the woods, I found some raspberries that did not ripen before frost.  These berries are evidently too dessicated for the birds to enjoy, but the fruits on nearby black chokeberry and dogwood are nearly gone.

snow and rose

Now that snow cover is complete, the House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus are more visible . . . rosey red against the white of winter.  They are hardy little finches that nest early in the Spring here.  Their bright color is a joy on the sunny winter landscape.

November Jays

Cold winds of November have all the birds hanging on with clenched feet and fluffed feathers.
They are beginning to look like holiday tree ornaments: feathers stuck onto foam balls.

January woodpecker

This female Hairy Woodpecker is finding insects or larvae in the folds of bark on the elm tree.  She can probe into the crevices with her long bill, and her strong tail helps her balance against the force of her pecking.