Words about birds

[FinallyNow]

In light of the new year it seems appropriate to post something/ anything related to times of cleansing and renewal. Since going into a more isolated phase to continue with whatever it was that needed to happen inside and outside me I have paid close attention to our feathered friends. They have demanded attention in my world. They tell stories of turbulence, stories of carefree times and joy, stories of the present.

On January 1 as I sipped my morning coffee and looked out I thought it was significant to see a beautiful Southern Oriole for the first time ever in the yard. Then this morning it made another appearance only to be chased away by an unlikely pair of players.

Birds are perhaps one of the best physical signs I can think of at the moment of what the prevailing energies are around and perhaps inside of us. The primary antagonist has been the crow since relocating here. They are always there at the clash of duality surfing the explosions and waves and seemingly settling in during denser times.

When things calm down and one is centered the doves fly in generally. Then come the mockingbirds, blue jays and finally the woodpecker almost always comes in after the others have arrived. Then there are the assorted little songbirds that pulse from the treetops and dart around.

This morning a Mockingbird and a Blue Jay played as if they were a mating pair. I don't recall seeing them ever interact like this. The Jay chases most any bird away either directly or indirectly by it's apparent natural state of obnoxiousness. They darted in and out of the branches of the giant fig tree and danced as if being pushed upwards by invisible puffs of wind.

It's cold here in the Coastal Carolinas but like many other places patterns are bit off. The hummingbirds are still here this year. They are usually gone by November as the cool settles the fall.

If the winter finds our feathered friends so up even as life goes inward to conserve than I can only imagine the potential for the spring.

[AriG]

We are in Central Kentucky (slightly North of Lexington/Georgetown). Last week, we observed the Canada geese flying North. They have been lying in wait on Eagle Creek, a small creek that runs beneath our land. This afternoon we watched in shock and awe as a huge flock of Robins (not normally here in Winter) flew back and forth across our farm, not sure whether to fly North or South. Basically flying in circles. Incidentally, our chickens are molting out of season and our goats are shedding their winter coats that they only started to build in November. Not sure what this truly means. It is painful to watch the animals adjust to the changes. They are feeling a lot of stress. Interestingly, we are also tapping our Sugar Maples currently. Something that doesn't really present as an opportunity until early Spring. Is this part of a normal cycle or the commencement of some radical shift? Unfortunately, in the states, we only have about 400 years of data upon which to rely. This may be completely natural. Or not.

[lightwalker]

I live in Connecticut. Some of the robins now stay here and don't migrate as there is enough food for them to survive. I'm expecting one day they will go to my bird feeder and eat a seed. Canada geese stay all year too. Lot's of migrating ducks in the harbor and the winter juncos have been here for a while even tho it has been a mild December. I'd like to think that all of them are adjusting better than we are. Who knows what is "natural" any more. If there is a food source and shelter they survive. We also now have monk parakeets that were considered tropical, doing very well here and adapting. The days are getting longer and life goes on doesn't it!
I envy the variety that you have down south at this time of year.
lightwalker

[FinallyNow]

We are in Central Kentucky (slightly North of Lexington/Georgetown). Last week, we observed the Canada geese flying North. They have been lying in wait on Eagle Creek, a small creek that runs beneath our land. This afternoon we watched in shock and awe as a huge flock of Robins (not normally here in Winter) flew back and forth across our farm, not sure whether to fly North or South. Basically flying in circles. Incidentally, our chickens are molting out of season and our goats are shedding their winter coats that they only started to build in November. Not sure what this truly means. It is painful to watch the animals adjust to the changes. They are feeling a lot of stress. Interestingly, we are also tapping our Sugar Maples currently. Something that doesn't really present as an opportunity until early Spring. Is this part of a normal cycle or the commencement of some radical shift? Unfortunately, in the states, we only have about 400 years of data upon which to rely. This may be completely natural. Or not.

Thank you for sharing that. Very interesting. I like to think that it is a radical shift without radical disruption. I like to think that the suns activity is an indicator of a very radical shift but we really don't have much historical data there either. How accurate are historical models? Flying in circles, not something you see them do.

[FinallyNow]

I live in Connecticut. Some of the robins now stay here and don't migrate as there is enough food for them to survive. I'm expecting one day they will go to my bird feeder and eat a seed. Canada geese stay all year too. Lot's of migrating ducks in the harbor and the winter juncos have been here for a while even tho it has been a mild December. I'd like to think that all of them are adjusting better than we are. Who knows what is "natural" any more. If there is a food source and shelter they survive. We also now have monk parakeets that were considered tropical, doing very well here and adapting. The days are getting longer and life goes on doesn't it!
I envy the variety that you have down south at this time of year.
lightwalker

I guess we do have a decent variety, even in the winter. I'm used to Robins over the course of my life but we only had a few here in the summer even. Despite December being so warm I have seen no Robins. The whole thing with the parakeets seems odd. I guess they're carving or more like filling in a niche.

[AriG]

One thing that we do need to consider, when it comes to the behavior of birds is the avian influenza that decimated a lot of the wild bird population this year. Don't know why I didn't think about that earlier, but in Kentucky, you are warned to not export birds (chickens, turkeys, etc) into other states. Quarantine conditions. Thinking about that, imagine if you were a bird, trying to fly to your appropriate over wintering spot with the flu. You'd be flying in circles too. I had the real flu once. On my back for two weeks.

¤=[Post Update]=¤


I live in Connecticut. Some of the robins now stay here and don't migrate as there is enough food for them to survive. I'm expecting one day they will go to my bird feeder and eat a seed. Canada geese stay all year too. Lot's of migrating ducks in the harbor and the winter juncos have been here for a while even tho it has been a mild December. I'd like to think that all of them are adjusting better than we are. Who knows what is "natural" any more. If there is a food source and shelter they survive. We also now have monk parakeets that were considered tropical, doing very well here and adapting. The days are getting longer and life goes on doesn't it!
I envy the variety that you have down south at this time of year.
lightwalker

What part of CT? Costal? If so, isn't that a beneficiary of the Gulf Stream? My father lived in Branford. When I visited in November, I wore a t shirt on the beach (what little there is of it).

¤=[Post Update]=¤


I live in Connecticut. Some of the robins now stay here and don't migrate as there is enough food for them to survive. I'm expecting one day they will go to my bird feeder and eat a seed. Canada geese stay all year too. Lot's of migrating ducks in the harbor and the winter juncos have been here for a while even tho it has been a mild December. I'd like to think that all of them are adjusting better than we are. Who knows what is "natural" any more. If there is a food source and shelter they survive. We also now have monk parakeets that were considered tropical, doing very well here and adapting. The days are getting longer and life goes on doesn't it!
I envy the variety that you have down south at this time of year.
lightwalker

What part of CT? Costal? If so, isn't that a beneficiary of the Gulf Stream? My father lived in Branford. When I visited in November, I wore a t shirt on the beach (what little there is of it).