March of the Seasons

It’s been such a busy spring for us that we hardly noticed the Barn Swallow nest atop a less used outdoor light at the back of the house. Yes, I heard the adult chatter now and then, and I noticed a bit of nest material one day. But, all of a sudden I saw the mess on the deck—a large enough mess to confirm that there was both a nest, and young. And, sure enough, a few days later I looked up and saw the gaping mouths of 3 youngsters as they begged mom (or pop) to feed them, “now!” I love a baby bird’s wide gape, marked by the soft yellow corners, serving as definite “runway” markings to guide the parents as they fill these hungry mouths. Many birds also have markings on the tongue and the roof of the mouth that serve the same function. It certainly seems to work.

Yesterday was the day that the Barn Swallow children fledged. Swallows need to be fully ready to fly when they leave the nest. There’s really not much branching for them. And so, they ended up on the other side of our house, in the joists and rafters of our roofed, unenclosed porch. I’m glad they did. I had the privilege of watching them as they eyed anything that moved as potential food. They are quite attuned to any movement, since they catch their food on the wing. And, they haven’t had flight and food catching simulation practice on mini bird computers. Their eye/wing/beak coordination has to work well almost immediately. As I set with my laptop, I had the privilege of watching them beg from their parents a few more times. And then, finally one, then the other (there were only two within my view) took off for the wild blue. These little guys are likely catching their own mosquitoes and other flying insects already.

I do love to watch baby birds, and I’m sorry that I missed out on so much of these swallows’ first days. It always amazes me how fast they grow, how much food they demand (and require), and how rapidly they move out into the real world. Not all can be taught. Much of it is not learned behavior, but instinctive and, once they leave the nest, that instinctive behavior becomes the lifeline that keeps them alive as they learn. I frequently think of how remarkable it all is: this hatching egg, new life, gaping mouth, many feedings, new feathers, wing stretches, and, suddenly, first flights!

Amazing world we live in! May you marvel at the continuation of life as you watch young birds out and about for their first time, and as you enjoy the march of the seasons.

I’ve got Trillium envy! I never knew what Trilliums were in my early years. We never had them on our property. But later, when visiting neighbor friends and taking a walk in their woods the Trilliums were like a carpet of white tri-petal lily-like flowers. Trilliums are protected, and for good reason. It takes many years for the plant to recover if the flower is picked. Picking removes the 3 leaf-like bracts that the plant relies on to replenish its food for the winter. I didn’t know that as a child, but we do get wiser as time goes on.

I’ve never fully understood why we do not have trilliums on our property. They grow within a couple of miles of our property, in great profusion. But, I’ve never seen the large trillium on our land, only the smaller nodding trillium. Apparently something is missing from our property that the trillium needs. The trillium season seems longer than usual this year, perhaps extended by the cooler days and rainy weather we have been having.

So, enjoy the march of the seasons as you enjoy the Trillium blossoms, knowing that those of us who don’t have trilliums on our property suffer from a temporary Trillium envy as we pass the huge patches of these lovely flowers.

I always have to smile when I hear the gentle bang of a June Beetle on our window screen. We’ve always called them June Beetles, but they always arrive in May. These beetles are rather robust for Minnesota insects. The largest beetle, the tropical Goliath Beetle reaches 4.5 inches long and weighs up to 3.5 ounces. Clearly it takes the prize in terms of insect mass. Our June Beetles, from the same family as the Goliath Beetle, are more the size of my thumb. But, they do draw our attention as they hit our window screens. They are attracted to the light, so the banging stops once the lights are off. Dogs and cats alike are attracted to the sound and once they learn that these large insects are a bit clumsy they may learn to catch them for a quick lunch. Our year old puppy must have caught nearly a dozen the other night, going for mid-air knock downs and using her feet and teeth to catch and dispatch the snack.

June beetles spend the greater part of their lives underground. The ones we see and hear at our windows are the mating adults. They lay their eggs on turf foliage and the larvae hatch out and primarily feed on grass roots. The adults feed on foliage a variety of trees and plants. Larvae develop over the course of 3 years. At populations of 4 or more per square foot, the larvae can cause damage in lawns and fields where they restrict root growth and thereby water uptake. But I’ve never known these beetles to be a real problem. They don’t tend to damage our plants since they feed on dense turf grasses. They serve more as an indication of the advancing summer.

Enjoy the march of the seasons as you are hear the “bang” of the June Beetle on your window screens and remember that it is only May, all-be-it the very last of May this year. Then, start watching for the Mayflies that emerge in June.

I learned something new on Wednesday. I was driving on a gravel road around 7:00 PM. It was a beautiful drive with hills and curves, each providing a new view of fresh spring green on the trees. As I crested one hill I suddenly found 3 deer in the middle of the road: a doe and two yearlings. They had their heads to the roadway and were slow to move. It seemed a little interesting. I slowed and watched them and eventually they moved on, and I continued on my way. Further on I encountered 2 more deer behaving the same way. Later there was another. On a 10 mile stretch I saw a total of 7 deer that were in the middle of the road, heads to the roadway.

Finally it dawned on me that this road had been treated with calcium chloride. Calcium chloride is used to stabilize the gravel and keep down dust, and from what I have seen, it does a nice job. The calcium chloride on this roadway was limited to patches, perhaps a result of the winter wear and tear and the spring thaw and run-off. Those areas with the calcium chloride were still smooth and stable. All of the deer I saw were on these stretches, and it appeared they may have been licking salt from the smooth surface.

I had been familiar with calcium chloride use on roadways for a few years now, but I had never thought of this unusual side effect. I have to wonder, in the long-run, if this is a benefit or a hazard for the deer. I do know it was an interesting addition to my evening drive.

Enjoy the march of the seasons as you are out and about, and consider the various ways that we affect our world, some of them a bit surprising.

Chimney Swifts are sometimes called the flying cigars of the bird world. I saw a couple over Bemidji today, which reminded me of their unusual flight. They have an erratic flight pattern, using narrow wings that beat rapidly. It almost appears that they alternate wing beats, but their wings beat in unison as they do for other birds. Swifts are cylindrical: similarly shaped front and back. Their wings appear almost centrally located and they look like they could fly either direction. Simply put, they look a little like flying cigars. Swifts have tiny legs and don’t really perch. Rather, they roost clinging to the inside of the chimneys. They roost in groups, but they nest singly. When we see them they are on the fly, on the move to catch tiny flying insects for food.

I’m always glad to see Chimney Swifts return in the spring. Our newer heating methods often don’t involve substantial chimneys, and as chimneys become less common, so do the swifts. These little birds use their saliva to glue twigs to the side of the chimney for a rather flattened half saucer shaped nest. No chimney, no nest sites. People are actually constructing artificial chimneys in some areas to encourage these birds. Of course, before the arrival of European culture in America, Swifts nested in hollow trees, and their numbers were very low.

As an interesting side note: Swiftlets in China build their nests primarily from saliva, over the course of about 35 days. Birds Nest Soup, a very expensive delicacy in China, is made from Swiftlet nests. It is rumored to have many health benefits. A bowl of this soup can cost the equivalent of $30 to $100. Nesting structures have been built nearer suppliers to facilitate nest collecting. Apparently the birds are allowed to raise their young before the nests are harvested, thus this delicacy may actually be beneficial to these birds.

Enjoy the march of the seasons as you watch the aerobatics of the highly aerial Chimney Swift and consider how they will survive in a world without chimneys.

As I was walking over to mom’s house next door this afternoon I noticed a tiny light bluish “lump” on the path. It’s a path I walk every day, and though I don’t always look down, I suspect that this was a very recent addition. It was half of a songbird eggshell: the broader end. It is a very pale turquoise bluish color with a few fine brownish specks. It came from an egg that couldn’t have been much more than ¾ inch in length. I don’t know what species yet, but I suspect it is from a small sparrow, perhaps a chipping or a tree sparrow. My bird nest and egg identification book is in my office at Bemidji State University so I will check on it tomorrow.

It amazes me how delicate the eggshells are for the sparrows and warblers and other small birds. I wonder how delicate a hummingbird eggshell would be. Hummingbird eggs are only about the size of a bean seed. It is hard to imagine that the parent bird, whether male or female, can incubate such tiny tender eggs without breaking them. Anyway, if I can figure out what species it might have been I’ll let you know in my next blog.

Meanwhile, enjoy the march of spring across your piece of earth, and take a moment or two to observe the tiny evidence of life at your feet – anything from a new blade of grass, a tiny woodland flower, or a bit of evidence of new life in a nearby nest can remind us of the march of spring.

I took off the storm on our bedroom window last night. It was warm enough to warrant it. I opened the window and we slept with fresh air and frog music all night. The chorus frogs began singing two weeks ago (April 12) at our house. It seemed a bit later than usual, but I have to admit that I haven’t kept records. But, frog music is our favorite, so we both slept marvelously.

Something always amazes me about spring. The same 35 degrees that we shiver to in the fall, we bask in come springtime. I had to turn the thermostat way down to assure that the furnace wouldn’t kick in, yet we were cozy all night. For some reason, fresh air is more comfortable to us. Maybe it is the more or less steady temperature – without the furnace going on and off. Maybe it is simply because it is fresh, not stale and recycled. That’s something I haven’t figured out, but we certainly appreciate spring and the open-window nights. Going to sleep with the frogs and awakening with the birds is simply the way to go.

Enjoy the march of spring across your piece of the earth, and enjoy the fresh air that you can finally let into your house after the long cold winter.

Evan Hazard did some checking and shared information with me. It turns out that House Finches were originally residents of Mexico and southwestern states. They were sold as captive birds in the eastern states in 1940 or so. Some were released to the wild to avoid prosecution under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and these birds established a wild population. Since then they have been extending their range westward and, in our case, northward. These birds have adapted well to people and visit our bird feeders in winter, so we can watch for them year round.

At the same time as the eastern population has been advancing westward, the western population has extended their range northward and eastward, and these two populations are already merging in the Great Plains states. As their populations merge, it is hard to consider them to be an introduced species. But, then, we never really have. Perhaps it is their beautiful song that kept them off of the intrusive list. Perhaps it is that they share the development of their young by building neat nests within our view. Time will tell how they will interact with Purple Finch and Goldfinch in our area. Hopefully they will find a niche that will not displace these more native species.

To learn more, here are 2 sites you may wish to visit:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/house_finch/id

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/Birdscope/Spring1999/hofipop99132.html

Enjoy the march of the seasons across your little piece of earth as you listen to the house finch’s song.

Friday morning as I lounged in my recliner, facing the cloudy outdoors before really getting going for the day, I saw a pleasant sight in the drab grey day. The House Finches are back!
House Finches are one of my favorite songsters. And they tend to nest on our unenclosed, roofed porch, so we can just look out the window and see them each morning throughout the summer. It’s both a pleasant sight and sound.
House finches were not found in northern Minnesota until 10 or so years ago. More common were the Purple Finches, which are equally wonderful songsters. But, the house finch is a bit smaller, is more scarlet than the purple finch’s raspberry color, and the house finch has a bit of a brownish cheek that the purple finch lacks.
Like the purple finch, the house finch likes to sit atop our tall spruce and sing to the world to announce its territory. Yes, we like to think it is “happy”, and the song can certainly make ME happy, but for the birds, the spring songs are a fancy way of saying, “Here I am”, and “This is my territory; this is my home”.
Maybe the house finches are one of the species that are indicators of the global warming – I know, it doesn’t feel so warm out there just yet you say. But, nature’s creatures can be amazingly good indicators of trends of which we humans are only peripherally aware. The hardest part is for us to fully understand what they are indicating. We’ll encounter species that are extending their ranges northward as time goes on.

Meanwhile, enjoy the March of the Seasons, and watch for the lovely house finch and listen for its beautiful song.