The Warmest February 28th Ever

At Shelburne Farms on February 28th, I walked around for about two hours; first around the main visitors barnyard, through the sugarbush, around the back fields overlooking the lake, then to the dairy barns. Because this landscape is so varied the birds were truly a spectacle. For a February day the weather was unheard of. Actually, it really was. Today’s temperature broke the record high for this day in February it was 56˚F out. With only a few patches of icy sludge left on the roadways, there were few signs of winter. Although today was not a typical winter day, this hawk seemed to be conserving energy by perching in the warm sun and riding the thermals. The crows likewise were warming in the sun and pecking for insects and seeds in the hayfields that are now exposed from the warmth. The ground was soft, the fields a golden yellow, and even the Sugar maple buds looked ready to burst. First big sighting was a red tailed perched on a fence post out in a field. The bird remained far away and thus I could not identify age or sex, but it did have a redish-brown tail, a whitish underside, and a dark brown back. It flew off over the hedgerows and dove behind a hill as though hunting with a flock of crows mobbing in hot pursuit. Later on it appeared that the same bird flew over again in a farther away field, this creature sure was loving the warm air currents today!

Along the walk I discovered a few birds nests in a bush of brambles along the side of a dirt road. It was about chest height and from last season. The outside was thick and made of reeds, twigs, a little birch bark, and hollow shrub shoots. The middle was lined with more twigs and some leaf pieces and the lining was mostly rootlets. Could this be a Grey catbird? It might have been a little wider than the length of my hand all-in-all. Around us we heard brown creepers very loudly, Black-capped Chickadees, and of course, the loudest bluejays. I learned from a great book, Winter World, that these buddies survive the cold winter nights in small tree cavities; sometimes multiple birds and birds of different species will roost together for warmth. Often the woodpeckers are responsible for making these holes but sometimes even a chickadee will peck its own hole in soft wood. I can only imagine these birds have as much cabin fever as I do on this lovely day and are taking advantage of getting out a feasting on the remaining berries, cached seeds (especially the jays), and the eager insects!

At the dairy bard the birds were going nuts. This is a great habitat for large generalist flocks such as Rock doves and European Starlings. The Rock doves hung out atop the building structures perching and pecking at the ground. In the nearby pine tree seemed to be a noisy bunch of starlings cackling away. What I was unsure of was the slender black birds inside the tent-barns. They flew around rapidly and perched on the poles and seemed to be well adept at getting out. These birds flock up in the winter especially for warmth whereas in the summer they might disperse to breed. But for the starlings, a cold night roosting together in a sheltered pine tree, means life over death. The birds who are cleaver enough to roost in the barns befit from the added warmth of the sun on the building and the animals inside. If they are lucky they will also be well fed by the grain and seeds scattered around the pens. I’d suspect that since is was 3:00 when I saw the birds here, that they spend the nights around the barn for warmth. The more wild species of birds will hunker down for the night in a cavity or on a sheltered perch. To keep their talons warm they will cover their feet with their puffed up feathers and tuck their beaks back into their down to retain heat from being lost. Additionally, even after a warm day, the night will be cold and many birds have to drop their body temperature to conserve energy until morning when they will be up early to feed.

Posted on March 19, 2018 03:03 AM by jnorris2