Winter adds to joy of bird feeding, watching

The only saving grace of this horrid, nasty constricting and restricting winter has been the joy of feeding and watching the antics of the bird population at my feeders and in the surrounding areas.

Not being a skier and unable to get out of the small road (Hackney Lane) that connects with Schweitzer Road, I’ve been trapped — no mail, no groceries, no visitors — for days on end with only phone access to family and friends. Great friend and hero snow-mover Larry Book has kept my personal driveway beautifully plowed during the long weeks, but to no avail, since Hackney Lane is for the most part unusable, even after a rare plowing, due to the huge berm left at the end by the big Schweitzer Road plows.

But — as I said, there has been compensation in my enforced hermitage with the precious presence of the winter birds. Who could stay sulky with the constant flutter and swoop of nuthatches, chickadees, Downy and Hairy woodpeckers, and other feathered visitors at the suet and seed feeders on my front deck? The Blue spruce treetop still stands on the porch, Christmas ornaments removed but still a comforting beacon for the birds during stormy weather. And while it seems as though Spring is still far off, surprises are often in store, as witness the following account.

On the 24th of January, I received a welcome phone call from Chris Kraisler, who lives pretty much in the mid-town area of Sandpoint in a home with lots of lawn space. She called to tell me excitedly that fifty (50)!!! Robins had swooped into her yard out of nowhere and set about scratching where the snow had melted in her yard. Apparently there were worms to be had for they stayed some time, also finishing off some Mt. Ash berries remaining on her trees. They all left in a group just as they came and disappeared.

This is an exciting and fun (plus hope-creating) thing that seems to happen every year here, and while no one can figure out where they went, it seems obvious that the flock of migrators was made up of several smaller flocks or simply pairs of birds that would return in smaller numbers in due time. I’m wondering if the big flock was comprised of mostly males, to be joined later by their mates — which seems possible, since ”my” long-time two pairs of robin residents seemed to always be preceded by the males who “batched it” for a few days (or weeks) until their mates joined them.

Chris’s call not only delighted me, but put me on watch for my own resident birds. I got to thinking about one of my favorites, the Brown Creeper — a small, perky, Chickadee-sized bird — which has always been a part of my winter visitors. I had looked for them a few times and had no luck. They’re hard to find, since they live in and on their trees, nesting high in the uppermost branches. They live on the food they find under the bark, which they locate in the most cunning way. They flutter down to the bottom of the tree and begin a circular search of the bark, probing with their curved, sharp little beaks. They work their way upward — never sideways or downward (as per the nuthatches) — then fly to the bottom and start over again. Their mottled brown/grey feathers match the bark of their tree, so when they’re moving upward they are very difficult to see.

After a binocular check of the big front and side yard trees where I’d spotted them before, I came into the back-room “office” and sat down at the computer. Deep in thought, I looked vacantly out of the large window behind the desk and noting some movement in the big Ponderosa , took a closer look. Five or six birds were fluttering around the base of it, and one glommed onto the tree and began an upward circular ascent: Brown Creepers! I don’t know when they arrived or if they’ve been here all along, but what a gift! Gone was the resentment of the snow and rain — I’d found my darling Creepers.

I became enamored of these sweet birds when I first moved here. Standing close to the big side-yard Ponderosa, I was looking at a pitch-pocket on it when a Brown Creeper, working its way up the tree, circled right up to my face! Enchanted, I carefully lifted my hand and with my forefinger gently petted it! It kept right on with its job, unafraid and continued on up the tree. You can imagine why I am so fond of these little creatures!

The nations’ bird population remains in critical danger with thousands of songbirds dying due to man — crop poisoning is one of them, bright night lights (that confuse night-migrators), great sheets of glass office windows that can kill a whole migration via collision — and at home — cats. Since I love cats as much as the wildlife and nature that surround us, I keep mine in. It’s better for them anyway since there are dangers outside — owls, hawks, bobcats, coyotes ; but as they say — that’s a “whole nuther subject.”

So keep your eyes peeled for robins and brown creepers — and if you want, give me a call and tell me about it! Love to you all!

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com. or by phone at 208-265-4688 between the hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.