Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Victim of the Cold?
What effects of the recent extreme cold have you seen where you are? Since we emerged from the bitter cold snap of the week before last (though we're now in another, not quite as severe, wave of the same), I am sad to note that we haven't seen any red-breasted nuthatches, which are among my favorite small birds and which we previously saw frequently at our peanut feeder. I'm not sure if it was a single individual or a pair that visited us so regularly, but whichever it was, I fear it, or they, did not survive the arctic cold. I salute and remember them. And I'll let you know if, happily, we see them again.
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5 comments:
This is about the time of year that I start listening for Great Horned Owls that like to call in the dead of night.
I've noticed the same thing with my Goldfinches after the last cold spell. Normally have 10 or more in the winter but have only seen a couple lately.
Chautauqua - Yes! I don't often get to hear them, but my husband does more often.
Richard - I have been worried about goldfinches too - I think we have usually seen just one recently after usually seeing a little group of three before the cold snap - but one day more recently we had a flock of about 10 of them.
Goldfinches are abundant at our Dundas feeding station and fairly common here in Northfield. As for Red-breasted Nuthatches, this cold really does not bother them much. I suspect a bumper crop of conifer seeds this year has kept them in the Canadian woods. I did hear a couple of Great Horned Owls Monday morning near Dundas.
Hi Dan - Our red-breasted nuthatch friend(a) was/were here virtually daily all season until the cold snap. I know individual birds can disappear for a variety of reasons, so I may have jumped to an unwarranted conclusion. Thanks for weighing in.
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