Rambling through winter
Before all the snow disappeared I had a chance to strap on my snowshoes and take a hike in the woods behind my house. It was a beautiful day and it was a real pleasure to be outside. The snowshoes made it fairly easy to travel on the snow so I had the opportunity to cover quite a bit of territory.
Judging by all the rabbit tracks I saw the population must be at a fairly high level which is a good thing for all the animals that depend on them for food, including coyotes. I saw one set of coyote tracks along with several sets of deer tracks. The deep snow must have been tough on the deer so the fact it melted quickly was good news for them.
One of the things I enjoy about being in the woods when the leaves are off the trees is the opportunity to see birds’ nests, which are usually hidden. I saw several nests on my walk. They were all small and made of grass and leaves. I wasn’t sure which species made them but it was probably some type of sparrow.
I find birds’ nests to be a fascinating part of their life’s cycle. The variety of building materials, styles and where they build them is amazing. Some birds create a nest by digging into the earth or trees. There is a pool on the Margaree River known as the Swallow’s Bank where the swallows have dug their nests into the soft earth of the river bank. If the fish aren’t biting I enjoy watching the bank swallows as they fly over the river.
Some birds do not build a nest. The murres found on Newfoundland lay their eggs on the rocky cliffs of the Island. Nesting material is scarce so the murres lay their eggs on their ground and cover them with their bodies. Having an egg roll away could be a big problem but murre eggs have a pointed end which makes them roll in a circle, providing some measure of protection from rolling off the cliff.
Perhaps one of the more interesting nesting materials used by birds in our area is spider webs. Many species, including hummingbirds use this fine, but strong material in the nests. Other species, such as barn swallows, combine mud with their saliva to fashion nests which attach to the side of buildings. The nests I saw were built in the alders and I noticed that the catkins were growing despite the cool temperature. Each alder has both male and female catkins, which are actually flowers, even though they appear long before the alder leafs out. The male catkins are string-like while the female catkins are smaller and budlike.
Sometimes birds take advantage of our attempts to help them out by nesting in bird houses. Usually they attract smaller birds but many conservation groups have helped wood duck populations in the province by setting out nesting boxes for this species. Wood ducks normally nest in natural cavities in trees but when these sites are scarce they will take advantage of artificial boxes and successfully produce broods.
I am building a couple of nesting boxes for barred owls this winter with the hope I can attract them to our woodlot.
I returned home pleased with my time outdoors and with renewed hope that the seasons were progressing, and that spring is on the way.