This morning, when I looked out the window, I saw the first bird I have seen in months. The little nuthatch was simply devouring a piece of suet that Jim had placed in a suet feeder, hanging from a sturdy Lilac branch. In better weather, it sports flowers.
Always, I have wondered where the birds go in inclement weather. With up to an inch of ice, clinging to branches in some areas of New Hampshire, causing downed power lines, and bad traveling conditions, I think about the wildlife and the birds. Where does one go when one’s habitat is under attack?
Maybe the nuthatch will spread the news that the food source is in place. We used to supply bird seed, until we realized that four legged critters were accessing fallen bird seed under the snow. They were also entering our home in great numbers, seeking a warm place to stay, between feedings. Mice can scoot inside via the tiniest cracks or fissures in the granite foundation of this house. As much as we try to cement up known areas of access, they always find a way to come in.
With deer and other wildlife struggling in conditions such as this, it is even more important to keep your domestic dog under control. Only irresponsible pet owners allow their dogs to run wild. In most, if not all New Hampshire communities, there is a leash law. Groups of dogs injure and kill deer, or worse for themselves, tangle with a porcupine, the results of that being painful to the dog and expensive for the dog owner.
We love Nature in the winter. Feeding birds with only suet means that we see only the little birds like juncos, chickadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches; not the usual customers of Bluejays, Cardinals, mourning doves, and other birds. Everything in life involves a choice, and we choose not to issue a special invitation to the mice to enter our home. For now, I will enjoy the birds I see, as I await Spring and the chance to see Lilacs again, in their place.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
