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The Problem with the Holidays, is that everything is put off until time allows & time dost-not-often allow.
Trying to Remember November is like waking from a night’s sleep, stiff from dreaming too much, with only vague images indicating that you were dreaming at all. Good thing I took pictures. That puts some of it together again. Not too far afield from Humpty Dumpty.
 Finn Hanging with our Turkey Family There were Turkeys. 5 in all. They got pretty comfortable with Finn. Allowing him to passively crouch down under the feeders, while they pecked & scratched around him. He could have touched them, if he dared. Instead he tossed sunflower seeds, lots of sunflower seeds.
While working on the computer, I saw something interesting. The turkeys were in the neighbors yard taking turns trying to push each other’s heads down. They would entangle their necks, walk around in circles & wrestle the other’s neck/head as far to the ground as possible, until they disengaged. Finally 1 would dominate all the others. I saw that 2 didn’t play this game. Everyone moved to our yard to feed. Then they started the game again. Luckily the drivers were cautious & caring for these birds, for the turkeys wound on & off the road amongst the trees & bushes. I grabbed my camera & burst out the door.
 Head-Honcho Turkey courts the Babe I followed them a ways up the road. That is when I caught the most dominant male fanned out, courting the largest of the females. The other female, who I named Gray-Head was happily scratching at the ground & finding food. I let them go about their business. I have not seen them since.
Who I have seen is Abe. Abe is the only crow who came back from the Corvid-Thing. He/She has claimed out little spot on the mountain as His/Her territory. He/She is taken care of by us & our neighbor. He/She hangs around through-out the day. Sometimes He/She chases Ravens away & other times He/She announces the presence of the cats. The cats are at quite a disadvantage because of the snow. Until recently it has been soft & high enough that they fall through with each step. Starting today (12/16) the weather will remain below 32F … 20F’s in the day & 0F-ish at night. Still with the height of the snow, I don’t suspect that they will be able to sneak up on anything.
 Abe Crowfoot I will be writing about Abe as a stand alone/regular piece. Abe is special. Abe is Handy-Capable. Crows grow so rapidly, that it is not easy to tell how old they are, except by their learning-curve. Abe is a large, healthy, beautiful crow … with a bum leg. I don’t k now if Abe hurt himself or if he was born that way. It doesn’t appear to bother him much, except when he tries to perch. He hops. He hobbles when he tries to apply weight to his leg. Thus the name Abe & I will always wonder about the Great White Whale that did this to him. Was it a windy day, a bad landing, a predator, another crow during a battle, perhaps mom sat on him too long when he hatched.
Ahh well .. look for the Adventures of Abe. I will post whenever I have something to write about.
Have a Happy Yule & Solstice !!!
Food Consumption: Sunflower Seeds is the big winner this month, with the cold weather & the Blue-Jays. This should be pretty consistent going forward. Next is Mixed-Seed., due to a large flock of Mourning Doves. Suet is at a steady pace, with only woodpeckers & the smaller birds (chickadees, titmice, etc.).
In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …
Nov.:
Birds: Turkeys (well, 5 that are here all the time), Black-Capped Chickadees, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Female American Goldfinches, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Crows, Pileated Woodpeckers
Animals: Red & Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks
 One can tell by the lack of critter activity & the sound of the Muzzle Loaders that it is hunting season in NH. Luckily we have our “no hunting” signs up in our yard. Not that we have a problem with our neighbors hunting behind our property, on government land. We just want to protect our turkeys & neighborhood cats.
It is hard to show excitement about our friends visiting so often. The wistful glances of would be hunters, from the vehicles that drive by are enough of a deterrent for that. The Bear have until the 24th. The turkeys & deer until Dec. 15th. And the crows, pheasant, many waterfowl & much of the small game until Dec. 31st.
I understand hunting from a population control perspective & the need to put food on the family’s table. NH is pretty good about their guide-lines. Though I don’t agree with some of the critters that are ON the lists & I really don’t GET hunting for sport. People who Enjoy killing, honestly, lack respect for life .. (In My Humble Opinion).
So, what do I have to report?
The turkeys are around so often that the crows don’t stop by as much. The blue jays are everywhere & lots of them. The pileated woodpeckers are coming back from the deep woods, with the tourists & snowbirds leaving the area. The days are in the 40’s, the nights are in the upper 20’s to low 30’s. Indian Summer lasted a day with the temps. in the 70’s. The furnace is clean. Oil prices are rising because of the speculators & refineries. Our government is so focused on the health-care reform that they are forgetting the recession. And I am still wondering why this country deludes itself with the viability of day-light savings time (good idea, not practical).
Hoping everyone had a great Samhain, October Nights & a happy New Year
Food Consumption: Sunflower Seeds is the big winner this month, with the cold weather & the turkeys. This should be pretty consistent going forward. Next is Mixed-Seed, due to a large band of Blue-jays. Suet is at a steady pace, with only woodpeckers & the smaller birds (chickadees, titmice, etc.).
In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …
Oct.:
Birds: Turkeys (well, 5 that are here all the time), Black-Capped Chickadees, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, American Goldfinches, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Crows, Pileated Woodpeckers
Animals: Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks, Mice
Fall has come upon us like the holidays. We were expecting it. But, it happened too quick & too hard to enjoy. The leaves which bring our lovely state much needed tourist dollars are at 90% in some places. My home area is at 70%. So, if you are planning a trip to “Leaf-Peep” in New Hampshire … PLEASE hurry before you miss it. AND wear your favorite sweater. I was hoping to have more time to get photographs for this website’s header roatation. But that dream has been short lived. Most days were rainy & dull. It is October 6th & I am stuck inside with a cold … my first of the season.
September’s temperatures have been chilly. Average days are in the 50-60F & the nights in the upper 30’s & lower 40’s F … we DID see 26F & had several mornings of hard frost. There was no vegetable gardening to speak of this year. I picked the last of the tomatoes by the third week. That was all that grew, besides the herbs. And even the herbs were hard pressed. They are doing better on the plasticed-in front porch. It is the make-shift greenhouse for winterizing my fruit trees. (though, I never took the plastic down this year). It wont be too much longer until I bring my zone 6 trees into the house proper. They have received almost enough hours under 40F already. My zone 8-9 trees never left the house & are in a very comfortable room, where they will stay from now on.
As far as the birds are concerned, migration is fast paced. The Grackles that were blackening my trees are now far south of us. They left after the first week. Saw a couple Pine Grosbeaks stop by & move on pretty quick. The humming birds began to leave in August I think, because they were gone by the 2nd week. The tit-mice population has increased considerably. And the Flickers are going crazy after all the bugs on the gound. I usually see them in groups of 6.
The Crows are starting to gather for their Autumnal Corvid-Althing (mass meeting of crows from all families in the area). The 4th week of Sept. I saw something wonderful. I would estimate between 100 & 150 crows were flying together on a thermal, circling & calling while they enjoyed the draft. I believe it is at the Autumnal Althing they reconnect as a community, redefine family groups, steak-out territory and chat about where the food has been good, wholikes them & who doesnt. Crows have a VERY structured community & language. They are the smarted birds currently known to man. They are tool-makers and problem solvers. They care for their aging family members and mate for life. In many ways, humans can do better by emulating crows sence of family. For anyone who feels they are dirty & menesing, PLEASE research better. They are more humane then humans.
Food Consumption: Sunflower Seeds is the big winner this month, with the cold weather & the turkeys. This should be pretty consistant going forward. Next is Mixed-Seed, due to a large family of resident Crows and a large band of Blue-jays. Suet is going much slower now, with only woodpeckers & the smaller birds (chickadees, titmice, etc.). The hummingbird stations have been removed, for we have not seen any activity since the beginning of September. We would have taken down the thistle feedersby this time, if they were up.
In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …
Sept.:
Birds: Crows, Black-Capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Sharp-Shinned Hawks (our population supervisors), House Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Purple Finches, Common Grackles, Pine-Grosebeaks, Black & Turkey Vultures.
Animals: Red & Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks, Mice
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