April 1, 2007

April 1st is an appropriate day to begin a fool’s endeavor. Yet foolish things can also provide amusement and enjoyment.

It is a rainy morning with temperature barely over 50. The sort of day that makes it hard to go outside. Best to look though the ample windows at the world around my house,

The Sugar Maples have budded in just the last two days. No leaves obscure the line of the higher elevation to the northwest. As the rain let up a Tufted Titmouse came buy to let me know the feeders were almost empty. A shake brings some seed to the front but I will have to get out and buy more today. The bin in the garage is empty.

It is interesting how the birds let me know the feeders are in need of tending. What they will do to get my attention. I guess it would be useful to declare at the outset my belief that intelligence evolved with other traits. Did not spontaneously spring into being with the evolution of our species. So the ability to understand cause and effect is something I take for granted in the animals around me. “The Guys” as I call them may not understand my motives for putting seed and suet out, but they seem to have a fine understanding of the fact that I do it. And that I am the one who needs to know when the supply in the feeders gets low.

My feeders are close to the windows. Three in all. Two hung under the eaves in back and one on a post in front. So birds are just 4 feet away or closer to my eyeballs as they come in for something to eat.

I don’t understand the notion of putting a feeder farther out in the yard. To my mind close to the windows offers several advantages and few disadvantages. First in gets the birds close where you can really see them. Where you can interact. When the Sharpie (Sharp-shinned Hawk) is hanging around, the passerines can let you know. While their own harassment of the predator will have little effect,. Merely going out and getting a look at the little hawk is enough to get him or her to move along. Second is that it makes it easier to maintain the feeders. Then there is the issue of the windows themselves. Feeders close to the windows reduce the velocity of bird strikes. This results in fewer injuries and deaths. Windows are the number one cause of human induced bird fatalities. From my observation just a few feet can make a difference. In a former residence I could not get the feeders as close and the number of strikes that resulted in a stunned or dead bird was far greater. Every time I hear a heavy hit I investigate. Hoping to not find a dead or stunned bird below. With the feeders 1 to 3 feet from the windows I can say that in 5 years I have yet to find a stunned or dead bird. With the feeders 4 to 5 feet away the number increased from zero. When going from zero to something it is hard to define the effect as anything other than dramatic. The probability goes from zero to certain or 100%. The one disadvantage of close feeders is dirty windows. Or at least dirtier windows. But this has the beneficial effect of making the windows even more obvious to the birds.

As the morning progresses the rain has past and the weather warms. Chores around the house consume some time and I was able to do some jewelry repairs for a neighbor while doing laundry. Heading out the front door down the walk and driveway to make my delivery I kick up some of the scores of Dark-eyed Juncos that inhabit my yard year round. They flash their white outer tail feathers as they move from the ground into the shrubs. Singing their soft “theu theu” call. Not a sharp call of alarm or the tinker bell breeding song. Just their contact call. They don’t go far and if I keep moving they will sit a few feet away to await my passage then fly back down to the ground behind me.


This afternoon my walk around the summit of Gildersleeve Mountain, revealed more green than yesterday. Trout lily, or dog tooth violets, a are poking their accumulate tipped elliptical leaves out from under the debris on the forest floor. They were not there yesterday. The vernal pools are overflowing from the rain this morning. Looking out toward the lake I could see rain coming from the west and got soaked in my loop. The rain and air were warm, so it was not an unpleasant walk in spite of the rain. The weather forecast was for 40% chance of showers.

In the woods Robins are working the forest floor. I am waiting for Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers to make their appearance. The are already back along the lake shore, but as is often the case, back fill on the higher elevations.

Coming home the rain had stopped but the creek that runs in back of the house was running pretty full. I really need to build a new bridge this year. Having put it off last year, the large timber that has been there for the past 10 years or so is getting very shaky. A bridge will be a fun and quick project. More a matter of money than time...