Little, friendly creature. Doesn’t come to the feeders, but loves the birdbath. An irruptive species that only migrates this way when food supplies dictate. Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis).
During the summer the Red-breasted Nuthatch is found in the northern parts of Canada, where like woodpeckers, a nesting pair will excavate a hole in a favorite tree. Aspen, their tree of choice.
Captured here, in its classic pose. A White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis). It often will start at the top of a tree, going down head first, looking for insects, nuts and seeds, and invertebrates. Sometimes it will stash away what it finds, in a crack or crevice in the tree bark, carefully covering it with moss, snow, or a piece of bark.
And these Nuthatches are frequent visitors at the suet feeder.
There are many rock walls up here in the mountains, including some that are around my cabin. This one, above, is a tenth of a mile long, reflecting an enormous amount of hard labor to create.
These walls are reminders of how intensely farmed this land was. A remarkable thought considering how rocky and how steep it is up here. Certainly an acknowledgement of the determination of residents of these mountains decades ago.
Many of the rocks in these walls are a bright yellow color. That color is Sulphur Dust Lichen (Chrysothrix chlorina).
One of many lichens that can easily be found up here, growing on rocks, trees, buildings, soil, and tombstones.
My first thought when I think of the color of woodpeckers is black, white, and red. Though that is not always the case. This woodpecker, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), is a good example. Look at it and, “Well, almost,” comes to mind. The breast of the bird, in a herringbone pattern, black and pale tannish-gray. Other places where one might expect to see white, a soft butter-yellow has been inserted instead.
This woodpecker is only in my woods during the nonbreeding/winter season. I enjoy having them around because of their habit of creating sapwells on some of the trees. Certainly not for the purpose of decoration, though I like to think of the sapwells that way. Small holes tapped into the bark of trees, leaving beautiful patterns. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker’s calling card.
So much to get one’s brain around in this world of nature and how it works. In this post I’m trying to understand Lichens.
They’re not plants, nor animals. They are an alga and a fungus living in an association which benefits both of them, or a symbiotic relationship. The fungus has a root that will acquire water and minerals. The algae uses the process of photosynthesis to produce food.
The two images in this post are British Soldier Lichen (Cladonia cristatella). Lichens that I’ve discovered here at my cabin, and also further up, climbing Hightop Mountain to its summit, where British Soldier Lichen also lives.
Two organisms, so different, working together becoming a symbiotic association.
The American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) molts twice during the year. In the autumn they exchange all their feathers, one by one, for new feathers. A slow process, so that they can continue their lives as they normally do. Eating seeds, flying about, and staying comfy warm.
During this autumn molt the female goes through the same feather exchange, but her appearance changes very little. The male though, makes a dramatic change from a brilliant yellow with a striking black cap to the colors of the female, soft grayish tan.
Now, they enjoy their winter garb. Females and males, looking quite similar. Easily blending in with their surroundings.
Picking up suggestions from changes of the amount of light during the day, Goldfinch begin their second molt near the end of January or beginning of February.
Again, one by one, the new feathers emerge. This time it is only the body feathers. The tail and wing feathers that came in, in autumn remain.
But for now, for the winter, in my gardens, there are many little grayish tan birds enjoying the seed heads I left for them. Seeds waiting to be gobbled up.
A Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), with marcescent leaves of White Oak (Quercus alba). The winter landscape (Feb 21, 2015) with its perfect accent color, scarlet.
Holding their tan leaves through the winter until spring, American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), is one of a few trees around here that are marcescent. Others include Oak, American Beech, Hornbeam, Eastern Hophornbeam, and Witchhazel.
Marcescence is a name that scientists have given to the process which they have described in detail, explaining what happens. But they haven’t come up with an answer to the question, “Why?”
Normally, in a tree that will lose its leaves in the autumn, the leaf will fall when a layer of cells between the end of the stem of the leaf, and the tree branch is formed. This is the abscission layer, and happens in the autumn. This whole process, in trees that are marcescent, happens in the spring. Those marcescent leaves do not have the abscission layer until the spring, and therefore will not drop until spring.
Through the winter, with its marcescent leaves hanging on, the American Beech makes me think of shave ice as its leaves collect snow as it falls.
And until I hear that scientists have come up with an answer, I will be wondering, “Why?”
