Take Me with You When You Go!

Snowbirds are abundant in the winter here on the grounds of MasterWorksStudios where John does his bronze sculpture restoration. I have been meaning to write about them since November when they first appeared but have not gotten around to it. On Sunday as I looked out my back door near our thistle feeder where John always "accidently" spills some seed on the deck so the birds have a little "extra" treat", there was one sitting there staring back at me. He waited patiently while I went and got my camera and held his frontal pose so I could explain how he got his name.

Actually the scientific name of the bird is "Northern Junco" and there are actually a couple fun theories how they got dubbed the "snow" bird. My favorite one takes into account that the birds are mostly ground feeders and that the lower part of their chest and body is white. Put this together with the fact that they come here only in the winter and you get the conclusion that the snow "stained" those feathers white"! Another popular theory is based on the fact that they come here from the north where there is lots of snow. Even though they do sometimes winter as far south as the Gulf states their breeding range is much farther north in the cooler climates of Canada and higher elevations of our northeast US.

Anyway, the thing the bird reminds me of the most is that old Anne Murray song that goes somethingn like "Oh little snowbird take me with you when you go....to that land of gentle breezes blah blah blah they warmly blow..." Sounds nice doesn't it? "Yes, if I could you know that I would fly y y yy...away with you!!!!!"
Don't worry, spring is almost here!

Robin Office Party

One reltively warm February day the pond between John's bronze restoration studio and our house, which had been frozen solid for days, started to melt down in an unusual way. There must have been some particles on the ice that absorbed the warm sun rays that in turn melted small little holes into the ice. Of course we would not have noticed this subtle little act of nature, if it had not been for this gathering of robins that discovered it around 2pm that afternoon and decided to have a party! This little flock brought a new meaning to the old saying "gathering around the watering hole!" They hung out for hours around each little melted patch taking drinks and just "hanging out". They really looked like they were having discussions - what would robins talk about...topics of the day and the season - where the best dried berries were in the neighborhood, how far out of the neighborhood each one had wandered, who was seen hanging out with who that might be nesting up together this spring and where some of the best cat-free real estate deals were for safe, dry nest building? Whatever it was, a good time was had by all. Including us humans up on dry ground who got to experience this sweet little party.

Eagle Watching

In Illinois and Missouri Eagle Watching is a popular winter activity. When the temperatures are very cold and the rivers farther up north freeze, then American Bald Eagles keep moving farther and farther south until rivers are open enough for them to fish. One of my favorite memories is of a cold but sunny day in mid-January when John and I had taken a day off from our work in the bronze repair studio and were driving down the Great River Road up near Marquette State Park. We had just been hiking and were on our way home when we noticed at least 30 cars parked along both sides of the road. We had no idea what was going on but knew it was some kind of spectacle. As we got closer we saw people looking up and little did I know I was about to witness a scene that I would remember with excitement for the rest of my life. The sky was full of large birds that I learned from someone in the crowd were Bald Eagles. As I looked through my binoculars I could see the white heads and tails - but only on some of them. It takes several years for the birds to develop this characteristic trait - before that they are all gray-brown.
There were birds soaring alone and birds in small groups. A few of the groups were the younger birds and they were exhibiting behaviors that I describe as "playing". They would start off together all going the same direction then one would intentionally bump into one of the others, that one would veer around in an arc and bump one of the other ones. This would be followed by more bumping, circling and soaring....eagle dancing!

The action in the sky was only half of the show. Out on the partially frozen river, a dozen or so large eagles stood on the ice near the breaks. Several were feasting on large fish that they had retrieved from the icy waters. This was quite a party!

No wonder people love to watch the eagles. We have been back many times and although we do not always see that much activity we usually at least see a few, even if at a distance it is always exciting to discover them perched in their high spots keeping a keen eye on the river. Oh, by the way, here at MasterWorks we have our own eagles....the ones you see in the pictures were made by our friend Lyle, the Neighborhood WoodWorker/Fisherman from Northern Minnesota. He does quite a fine job on his wood creations (he made the birdhouse in the background too) and I am proud to have some of his work. I wonder when he is working on the eagles, if he is thinking about the same thing they are...fishing, fishing and fishing! Oh yah shure! Yu betcha!

Underrated Bird

There have been a lot of Blue Jay's on the grounds of John's bronze restoration and repair studio lately. Is it true that West Nile Disease killed off so many crows a few years ago that there is more territory for the jays and they have taken advantage of the available real estate? Whatever the case may be, I have been enjoying these colorful beauties. Sure, they are not as cuddly looking as the little chicadees or snowbirds or titmice. And some people think they are just plain mean. They are loud sometimes when they are threatened, but hey, if you are going to hold that against them, then you must also mention how territorial and aggressive western bluebirds can be and what about the constant fighting of the "sweet" little hummingbirds that everyone loves?!! After all it is a tough world out there and maybe there is something to learn from this bird. Speak up! Tell people what you think! Don't just sit back and be bullied by another creature just because it is five times your size!
This quiet moment for Mr. Blue was taken just before Christmas at our electric warmed bird bath. It was one of those frigid single-digit days and birds were flocking to our feeders and this water. Those prickly branches from the surrounding barberry did not deter one bird - in fact some of them waited their turns directly on the plant!

Is it Spring Yet?

Last July I wrote about concerns for our bluebird family that always nested in the barnacle house in the corner of our vegetable garden because they chose an alternate location for their third nesting. I finally got around to checking inside this house over the weekend and can report good news. I did NOT find any mites or wasp nests or any broken eggs! What I found was LOTS of nice clean nesting material (mostly dried grass) which consisted of at least two 4-inch nests piled on top of each other. If the birds would have made their third nest on top of this collection the newly hatched babies would have been dangerously close to the entrance hole and may have made their first exit into the world too early!

It was always my theory that one reason it is an advantage for birds to build in a “deep” cavity (and the reason bluebird boxes are designed with the entrance hole approx 8” above the bottom) is because it gives the babies a chance to flutter around and play before they can even think about leaving the nest. This activity helps develop and strengthen their wings so when they do leave the nest the very first time they are more likely to be able to fly UP and get into a relatively safer place vs DOWN where they are much more vulnerable to danger.

At any rate I was glad to see everything in the box looking healthy. I did not mention that what prompted me to check the nest was that Mr. and Mrs. Blue have been hanging out at the box lately. When they are not joyfully fluttering in and out of the box, one sits on top of the house while the other (pictured above) sits on the dried mammoth sunflower stalk next to the house. They sing and chatter to each other the entire time and since the weather had been very cold, then warmed up, I’ve got to wonder if they think it is spring? Maybe. But perhaps, they, like me, are just enjoying the coming of the new season, reflecting back on the past growing season, contemplating their successes and failures and how we can do it all better next year. While I realize they deal with the elements of weather every minute of their lives I will do my best to look after them this winter by providing cozy nesting places and fresh water. At the same time I am glad to be indoors a little more, have the time for more inward reflection from my little window here at MasterWorks Studios, and just sit back and appreciate the awesome power and beauty of nature.

A Wise Visitor

A couple years ago we had some big problems with water weeds in the fishing pond on the property here at John's marble base studio. Long story short, this past summer there weren't many fish in the pond but there were LOTS of frogs - big frogs, little frogs, tadpoles and every size in between. One day as John was headed to the studio he felt a presence of something but he wasn't sure what it was. As he gazed around the property, there on the south side of the pond, in the branch of an old dogwood tree that had been damaged in the ice storm of 2007, was a large barred owl. When I say the bird was large, barred owls can get up to two feet in length and weigh 1 to 2 pounds and this one was on the up side of these statistics! As you can see in the picture, the owl had focused it's sharp eyesight and keen hearing downward into the water. It had discovered the frog smorgasbord! Before he knew it John witnessed the owl drop from the overhanging perch into the water, snatch a frog with its massive yellow toes, bring it to shore for the feast, then return to the branch to position itself for the next catch. The process went on for hours.

This owl visited periodically for the feast until the frog population corrected itself and it moved on into the surrounding woods for its normal diet of small mammals, bats, birds reptiles, amphibians, insects and earthworms. Last evening after I fed our 3 dogs we were taking a leisurely stroll and my Springer Spaniel suddenly stopped and gazed into a tree. I saw a quick movement but could not hear a thing. After a few seconds I saw our owl lift off, spread its wings and glide out of the tree and around the corner of our shed without the slightest sound. They are such lovely creatures. Can we learn a lesson from the owl? Some people say the term "Wise Old Owl" is not really true - that the owl is really not an extremely intelligent creature. But I disagree. This owl is a reminder to me of some of the most important things in life today: stay focused, supplement your diet with local, seasonal foods whenever possible and fly quietly to leave a small footprint on the earth.

Other Flying Creatures

Now that the hummingbirds have left us my attention turns to other things that fly the skies at MasterWorks Studios. For the last three years I have planted old fashioned heirloom zinnia seeds given to me from my St. Genevieve friends Charlotte and her mother Florence and each one of those years the beautiful yellow and black butterflies (shown in the image) visit the flowers in late summer. Various other species visit but it is not until mid to late September that the famous Monarchs fly through on their way to Mexico. How lucky we are to get to flag them on their way and what an amazing feat for these almost-weightless creatures to travel thousands of miles to overwinter and reproduce every year.

Before I sign off today I'd also like to honor another one of my new favorite flying things, the honey bee. Now I am NOT talking about the nasty little bees I call "sweat bees" that have given me the only two stings I've gotten in my life! The "sweat" bees are about the same size as the honey bee but are more of a yellow color vs the honey bee's golden tone. No, a honey bee is a very sweet creature that merely tries to make a living moseying from flower to flower gathering pollen to take back to the hive to make honey. As I was cutting back some perennials the other day I got one of those zoomed in views through some branches of one of these little fellows buzzing around a trumpet shaped flower, landing then tiptoeing around and all the way inside the flower until he disappeard. A few seconds later he emerged, covered with pollen. It almost weighted him down as he took off into the blue fall sky! The whole episode was almost as sweet as I know the honey he creates will be in my tea tomorrow morning!