Birds In Winter

From a Painting by Henry Bright

FROM YOUNG OBSERVERS: The Bird Story

 (From Bird Lore Magazine, 1913)

     

     My mother and I take great interest in the birds. There have been a number of doves that have lived in our barn, and Mr. G.'s this winter. I have fed them bread crumbs many times, and they are such pretty birds one can not help but like them.
     Auntie and I have had a piece of meat hanging on a tree, so that the birds could help themselves to it. The birds will come and peck away at it, and they seem to enjoy it so much, and I have spent lots of time watching them. We had cups of water for them to drink out of until it got to be such cold weather.

     

     One Sunday morning I saw a little Nuthatch go into a bird house and get its breakfast, and then it came out again. They are such nice birds, I think. I have seen a Woodpecker several times. They like to pick up the crumbs, too. I have seen just one Robin this winter. There have been so many Sparrows that I think they have kept the other birds away, but I have fed them, for I didn't like to see them hungry. Lots of them pick away at the meat every day.
     I have so much enjoyed feeding the birds and watching them eat, this winter, that I shall try and see how much I can do for them after this.

--by Gertrude M. Young (aged 9). Third grade.

***

It's just as much fun to watch the birds today as it was in 1913!

Although many birds fly south to warmer climates for the winter, a number of our feathered friends remain here throughout the coldest months of the year. Songbirds that spend the winter in the Northern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. include cardinals, blue jays, black-capped and Carolina chickadees, and downy woodpeckers. Canada geese, turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks, and many varieties of ducks, can also be seen at this time of year.

Cardinal -Photo by Henry Doerksen (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

     
To survive the cold, many birds have developed remarkable adaptations. The feathers which cover a bird's body help to protect it from the elements. The outer contour feathers provide protection from wind, rain and snow, while the fluffy under layer of down feathers acts as insulation against the cold. 

Birds are often seen preening. In preening, oil that is secreted by a special gland at the base of a bird's tail is spread by the beak or bill over the outer feathers, helping to protect them from wind and water. Some birds also puff themselves up, which acts as a warming mechanism. By using muscular movements to control the position of their feathers, birds create pockets of warm air near the skin, which act as insulation.

Chickadees have an interesting adaptation which helps them to conserve energy. Their body temperature drops about 12-15 degrees overnight, which reduces their rate of fat consumption by about 25%
    
Since a bird's legs have no feathers, the arteries and veins in the legs of many birds work in a way that provides protection from the cold. In these birds, the arteries and veins of the legs remain in contact with each other, and the warm arterial blood from the heart conducts heat to the cool blood of the veins. 

 

Chickadee- Photo by Donna Dewhurst (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

There is less food available to birds in the winter, but birds that can switch from a diet of insects to a diet of seeds are able to find food. Feeding birds in the winter helps them to survive this harsh time of year, and putting up bird feeders is an excellent way to attract beautiful birds to your yard. Just a word of caution: unwanted guests such as squirrels, mice and raccoons may also come looking for food. 

In the above passage from 1913, a piece of meat was hung out for the birds. Giving birds leftover food is not recommended today, as it can breed bacteria and even cause the birds to become sick. Also, preservatives and artificial ingredients in foods such as bacon can be harmful to birds as well. Very salty foods, such as salted peanuts, are also not recommended for birds. 

 ***

The following is a traditional recipe for Scandinavian Seed Cakes, adapted from Sunshine Magazine, December 1964. The original called for bacon fat, but lard or suet is a better choice. 

The people in the Scandinavian Countries have a custom of giving gifts to the animals and birds at Christmas time. These people have been making a special bird treat for hundreds of years. It is easy to make and will delight the birds. To make:

1. Melt fat, about 1 cup
2. Cool, and stir in a cup of wild birdseed, or some nuts and corn.
3. Scoop into muffin tins, and allow the cakes to harden.
4. Remove from the tins and tie on tree branches, or on a long pole.
5. Place the pole in a clear area where the birds will feel safe.

Make a dozen or more of these cakes at a time. Store them in a tin can and at various intervals throughout the winter, especially when the snow is on the ground, treat your birds. This is a small compensation for the comfort and joys they bring to you all year long.

 

Postcard Image circa 1900 (Courtesy of tuckdb.org)

A wonderful basic guide to feeding birds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is available at the following link. It is a single page PDF file, and can be printed out for easy reference.

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/ea/images/pubbck3.pdf

Christmas Lights In January

Photo Courtesy of Ville Turkkinen www.pixabay.com

I’m not a fan of winter, so I didn’t mind the unusually warm temperatures we’ve been having lately. I didn’t mind our rainy Christmas, and I didn’t complain like so many others have that it just didn’t “feel like” the holiday season this year. It has been mostly above freezing during the day in Southeastern Pennsylvania, throughout December and the first few days of January. But yesterday, with a high temperature of 31 degrees and blustery winds, it seemed like winter had finally arrived.

This morning when I took my husband to work, it was 11 degrees. We let the car warm up before we got started, so we were cozy for the ride, but it felt like walking through a freezer on the way to the car. But, it’s January—and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

It was still almost dark when we left, with a thin sliver of moon and stars still visible. As we drove, we noticed that a few people still had their Christmas lights up, and we remarked that it was nice to see. It’s a shame that once Christmas is over, most of the lights and decorations come down, because January is such a cold and dark month. 

Photo Courtesy of Jill Wellington www.pixabay.com

In February and March, you start to see the days getting longer. Even when it’s cold, there is a little more natural light, and a sense that Spring, though still far away, will come. But in January, the lengthening of the days is barely noticeable, and there is a letdown after the holidays.

Photo Courtesy of Stefan Schweihofer  www.pixabay.com

It’s easy to understand how Christmas lights got started. In the darkest days of the year, when people lit their homes with candles and lanterns, extra light was needed for everyday living during the winter. And lanterns placed in windows and outside of homes would have guided friends and family who were visiting to share in the festivities. People started bringing evergreen trees inside, and placing lighted candles on them. It’s debatable how this custom got started, but by sometime in the 19th Century, Christmas trees were popular throughout North America and Europe.

Victorian Postcard

The history of electric Christmas lights is intricately tied to the dawn of the modern era, when houses began to be supplied with electricity. Thomas Edison invented the first functioning light bulb in 1879. In 1882, an associate of his, Edward Johnson, was the first person to electrically light his family’s Christmas tree in his New York home, located in one of the first sections of the city to be wired for electricity. He became known as “The Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights.”

Christmas Tree Circa 1900--Photo Courtesy of The National Library of Ireland

http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000522000/Holdings#tabnav

A visiting reporter wrote the following description of that magical, modern tree in “The Detroit Post and Tribune”: “Last evening I walked over beyond Fifth Avenue and called at the residence of Edward H. Johnson, vice-president of Edison’s electric company. There, at the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect. It was brilliantly lighted with many colored globes about as large as an English walnut and was turning some six times a minute on a little pine box. There were eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs, and about equally divided between white, red and blue. As the tree turned and the colors alternated, all the lamps going out and being relit at every revolution. The result was a continuous twinkling of dancing colors, red, white, blue, white, red, blue—all evening.”

 

Christmas Postcard, circa 1920

In 1890, Edison published a promotional brochure which may have been the first mention of commercially available electrically powered Christmas lights. It stated that “There are few forms of decoration more beautiful and pleasing than miniature incandescent lamps placed among flowers, or interwoven in garlands or festoons; for decorating Christmas trees or conservatories…”

From there, the popularity of Christmas lights exploded. People began placing electric candles in windows, and decorating staircases, lampposts and the insides and outsides of homes and businesses with strings of lights. They have become safer and easier to use over the years, and most recently, energy efficient LED lights have become popular. It’s hard to imagine Christmas without Christmas lights. And it’s nice to see that some of them stay up into January, to bring some comfort and joy to these long, cold nights!