January16 2009
A most amazing day!
The last two days have been COLD! Yesterday a ground blizzard warning was posted for the southern tier. High winds, up to two feet of snow, and cold, predicted over a nearly 48 hour period lasting until tomorrow morning. At dawn today the temperature was minus 8 and the weather station reported -28 windchill. It is cold inside and out. The cats are cold, we are cold, the world is cold.
Late yesterday I filled up the feeders with a mixture of oil sunflower, niger thistle, safflower kernels, corn, and more. Filled the suet feeders. Filled them all, knowing what to expect. By dawn the feeders were very active. Snowing hard, almost a foot overnight, and the chickadees, junco’s, Downy woodpeckers, four separate cardinals (2 male, 2 female) white and red nuthatches, siskins, Tree sparrows, white throats, mourning doves, red bellied woodpecker all making early visits. Five red squirrels also visit and gorge. After about 20 minutes I shooed them away because, (1) their mouths were full, (2) there will plenty for them tomorrow, and (3) I want to make sure the birds have enough.
About 2 pm, jonna is on the couch under the picture window, and I am at the computer set up in the kitchen editing a slide show. There is a break in the storm, and the feeders are very active. Suddenly a big shadow comes across the feeders. All of the birds panic. They take off in different directions. 6 chickadees come toward the picture window. They don’t exactly collide, but rather come up against it, while flying, and try to push their little bodies through the window. They are desperately flapping their wings, and flattening their faces against the glass. I jump up and get a good look at their faces. They are in a panic. I assume that there is a hawk nearby, although I have not ever seen one make a run on these feeders. And then, there it is. A beautiful sharp shinned (I assume because of its forked tail). The sharpy flys through the yard and lands in the pine tree just next to the gazebo frame. After 10 seconds there are still birds flying against the window, but then they fall one by one onto the porch. (Not because of a collision, but because they just decided to drop. I rushed to get my boots and pants on, and by the time I get the door open the Sharpy has moved on. I am not sure if it got any food, but I don’t think that it did. I am thinking that it will return having found a treasure here. It is cold, and so I close the door, come back inside shivering after only afew seconds out.
After about 15 minutes the small birds begin to return to the feeders. I take a brief note, but am busy at the computer. And then the panic comes back. Birds fly, this time only three chickadees (and only chickadees) come to the window. Two hit halfway up and crawl/fly their way along the sheer glass to the sides, and fall under the porch. One poor bird is left dead center in the window trying to figure out what to do, and then the hawk is here. It comes across the yard and again lands in the pine tree beside the gazebo. The little chickadee stops flapping its wings and slowly slides down to the bottom of the window. It is an amazing sight. The little bird is pressed hard against, almost into the window. As it gets to the bottom of the window it has one eye pressed into it, and it has flattened its body. It is trying to sink into the little snow piled at the bottom window sill. It is still, but its one eye is facing me, and it sees me. I come to the window and it watches me, making sure that the exposed body part is motionless to the outside. I don’t think that the hawk sees it. Then the hawk flys from the pine to the pin cherrys next to the porch. Closer. There it perches facing away, flicking its tail. It may or may not be eating something, but it is definitely occupied by something. I cant tell if it is preening, or eating. I grab my camera and take a couple of shots. I make myself very obvious in the window as I do not have on my shoes, or pants, again and am not prepared to go outside to chase it down. I watch the window, watch the chickadee, it watches me, and I am sure that the hawk sees me as it keeps glancing over its shoulder back at me. It is probably 20 feet away. The chickadee, I notice, is half covered in snow at the bottom of the window. If it doesn’t move, it will be nearly impossible to see from the outside. The chickadee knows this. The hawk is not noticing. I find my pants and my boots, take a few more photos, and some video. The Hawk flys off before I can get the door open.
By the time I do get the door open, the chickadee still has not moved. It has been at least two full minutes since it originally came to the window. It is watching me, watching every move I make as I walk back and forth across the room. What a face. This one big eye pressed up against the glass. I cannot easily describe except to say a look of panic and fear fills the face of this little bird.
I go outside and go to the window and reach for the chickadee. As I come close it turns to face me. It lets out a screech and then flys away, under the porch. As it screeches six other birds, -four chickadees and two juncos emerge from inside a nearly snow covered bird feeder on the porch rail. this feeder is sort of a platform feeder with a roof, that is almost totally enclosed by snow except for a few tunnels made by the squirrel. They hid there, I do not know how long, and came out upon the signal of the chickadee. They also flew directly under the porch, and I came directly inside to the warmth, where, several hours later, I still sit and shiver.
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