I daren't invite the birds to eat as I have two active indoor/outdoor Norwegian Forest cats that would regard the whole enterprise as a smorgasbord. But our neighbor's back yard is filled with trees and birds, and I enjoy their music.
Instead, I feed the ducks in the creek by the house. Every day there are more of them, and they're noisier. And very grateful for the breakfast.
30
@Zeca Put bells on our cats' collars. If you think they are not going to your neighbors' yards, you are wrong.
19
@poslug I know they're not going across the creek where the birds are in the neighbor's yard. And they don't wear collars.
2
This article is very timely, because now the Christmas Bird Count is upon us, Here in Maine, groups of people are spending a whole day trekking around their assigned route and counting all the birds they see. Others, like myself, will spend a particular day counting all the birds at the feeders and in the yard. The CBC is celebrating it's 117th season and takes place all over the country. I am always amazed at the many different birds these counters find, and am grateful that these little winged creatures winter in my back yard.
60
@Linda Actually the CBC has been going on since 1900, so I was a little off on the number of seasons!
8
Wow! Thank you. Out here on the prairie south of Oklahoma City, 20 miles west of the Cross Timbers, hawks and other predators are easy to see year round but they don’t make much noise. Yesterday a roadrunner silently ran up on to our back porch. I’m now inspired to find the rest of the crowd hiding from me in dots of woodland and homestead sanctuaries. Where have the sparrows, cardinals and mockingbirds from my own springtime garden gone? Who has visited that I haven’t even attended to? What have I been missing? Thanks everyone for the chorus of joy and the wake-up calls.
41
Margaret, you and your readers might be interested to know that the reason birds stop or decrease the complexity of their songs is: melatonin. All warm blooded creatures produce melatonin only when it is dark and even low levels of light suppress production. As fall turns into winter, the longer dark periods of the day increase the duration of melatonin production shrinks the gonads which causes shrinkage of the song nucleus in bird's brains. The nerve cells in the nucleus actually die and are replaced with new ones each spring. Reduction of sex hormones also stops interest in reproducing, which re-emerges as the nights get shorter in the spring. The linchpins in this process are the males, the sex that does most of the singing. This process is also why fawns are born in the spring and the fall and not during the winter. Also, chicken hens are housed in summertime light to conditions which maintains high levels of egg production and is also why we have year round 'spring lamb' because ewe herds are housed in summer-like light-dark cycles.
Hope this is of interest. As Darwin wrote at the end of "The Origin of Species": “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.”
27
Thank you, Ms. Renki. That was--encouraging.
May I commend to your attention what must be the finest poem on a winter bird ever written? By Thomas Hardy--in January, 1900. It begins:
I leant upon a coppice gate
When frost was spectre-gray
And winter's dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of tidal lyres
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.
My oh my! The "day" compared to a toper slouched at a bar. "Winter's dregs" indeed! The poet's attention is caught--by the song of a thrush. Why? What (in this incomparably bleak winter landscape) was there to sing about? He wonders. He wonders. And concludes:
So little cause for carollings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or close around
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed hope whereof he knew
And I was unaware.
But hey! We've wandered far afield from birds--even winter birds! Hardy's imagination (like Housman's) was haunted by the specter of the Christian faith he had once held--and abandoned. That is--
--was it true? Might there--after all--be something in it? Despite the revolutionary claims of Darwin--and Huxley--and Spencer. Might there still--
--be "some blessed hope"? Somewhere? Somehow?
Well, so it goes. But in the meantime--
--let me remember to stay warm--
--and listen to some winter birdsong.
45
It appears that the planting of small crab apple trees in urban gardens has persuaded a flock of Robin's to overwinter here in downtown St. Paul. It's a joy to see and hear them in the depths of winter.
6
" ... to the natural world in the age of climate change"
A sparrow clings to a branch in a storm; birds are equipped to sense and shelter from climate -- even as it changes. Such provision, also has control of the environment.
Enjoy coal.
2
Nobody mentions the white-breasted nuthatch. Let's hear it for the white-breasted nuthatch!
21
https://vimeo.com/303877073
This video was shot in Hartford CT.
1
Thanks For your CLARITY & In-Spiration:
Dimension Less, Sky
Motion, Migration on Wing
Above we, ERTH ~ BounD
W i S~DOM of W i N~TER
Winter’s, Wisdom
Cold, Clear, Bright .
L i G h T !
s h o r t,
to the Point !
Bare, Branched, Truth ,
Pair ~ Ed - P U R E !
Opposites ~ United !
Janus ~ Reflected
B r i G H T !
Fore & Aft
Tw ~ eeN
Falling & Emerging
Persephone ~ Pomegranates
Cranberry ~ RedNess
Their Circular ~ Whole Holiness
DuALITY ~ UN - i TED
Gracing,
Holiday Homes
of
Win ~ Ter Solstice, Singing ~
Silence !
Bare Tree, Long snow, shadowed
Decisions, Brac~Hial, Bran~Ching
Fore ~ Ward
from
Past .
With,
Per ~ Haps
a little more ,
Wis ~ Dome
on
OUR ~ PART ~
2
As Shakespeare wrote, "There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow."
3
That's beautiful. Thanks. I think I will go buy some birdseed.
5
This world of dew
is a world of dew,
and yet, and yet.
--Issa
3
Thank you!
2
Thanks, I am going to go check my bird feeder.
4
Your essays are little gifts.
16
“Consider the sparrow.”
My mother fretted about city birds each winter. She regularly halved and carved out grapefruits, punched holes in the sides and ran string in the holes, filled the grapefruit halves with suet and smeared that with peanut butter, then sprinkled bird seed over that before hanging her feeders on our New Yok City fire escape in the dead of winter. We watched the birds arrive each day and feast. Despite few resources, she found a way to allative suffering wherever she encountered it, even among the sparrows.
173
I’m sort of like your Mom in that I love the Sparrows. I find their little hops adorable.
Last year, I started feeding a flock of about 10 birds after seeing them perched on NYC corner trash receptacles looking for edibles.
I nourish them with organic raw sunflower seeds, millet, crushed peanut hearts and cracked corn, but now the flock is about 60-70 birds. It’s getting expensive because I also feed a few different Sparrow flocks in Central Park; there, my feedings also attract Bluejays, Cardinals, Brown Doves and a few other birds I haven’t identified.
I’m trying to ration the food, but the birds seem ravenous. This Tuesday, a Hawk, I didn’t see right away, dived down and tried to catch one of the Doves feeding. It came scarily close to me.
I contacted Cornell’s Orinthology Lab to get advice because I never intended to get in this deep and don’t want to abandon the birds during Winter, but I don’t have that much money to keep this level of feeding up.
19
@ReggieM Your mother sounds like she was a kind & caring woman who modeled those traits for you. How lucky you are.
11
Remember: "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag?" Not any more. Have my hands full with the doves, chickadees and sparrows. Especially when the doves engage in shoving matches.
8
Wonderful! It's so gray and dreary in the northeast here now, but I hear them.
Cornell's Ornithology Lab and Birds Canada's winter feederwatch:
https://feederwatch.org/
Fun! Free!
12
Such a beautiful story of nature. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.
4
As much as I loathe the lack of a "real winter" where I now live (Oregon), I do get to to watch - and hear - my Anna's Hummingbirds all year round. When the rare sub-freezing day comes around, I'll bring the feeder in at night to thaw.
Then there are the Flickers, two of which were at my suet this morning. Shy and wary, I still skulk around with my camera to try for that elusive full frame photo. Their cousins, the downys, are not around as often, but let me share in their presence. Only rarely do I see Pileateds visit, but they do come around
The chickadees, and juncos, rufous towhees, and others continually pecking around the feeder. (Just keep your outdoor cats away!)
The neighborhood crows, who know me and my dog, (and even know my cars as I return from work) and follow us around for a kibble snack are my year-round companions. They're always perched nearby watching to see when I will emerge.
The starlings on the other hand, I can do without their constant messy chattering.
3
I share other commentators joy at Margaret's opinion piece. The birds we have in the Pacific Northwest, of course, vary, so we don't have many of the brightly colored birds in winter. My enjoyment of winter birds is primarily our owls which are magnificent. I am so grateful that the owl population on our island appears to be healthy. Many islanders do what they can to provide environments where owls and all birds thrive. So in one small corner of the US (as I suspect occurs in other small corners of the US), there is a concerted effort to honor and protect our bird population.
7
Thank you for a much needed and well penned interlude.
6
Thank you...
Look onto this
Frigid desolate
Valley
Barron branch chasing
Sun's ghost South
Still the Frosted
Light of early
Morning Winter
Rising on keeper's
Wings
Of memories,
Hope for
Spring
9
Thanks for your article . "Solace" is the right word.
We just had a death in the family and the sight of a retail hawk
that returned to our neighbor's tree over and over for a few
weeks felt like some kind of wordless anchor in a bigger world.
11
@Kay Johnson
Red Tail hawk not retail. lol.
2
Add some thistle seed to your birdseed treats and the juncos will love it.
Glad to see you are taking such good care of our feathered friends.
8
If you get tired of hearing crows where you live, you can visit Western Australia, where they sound like Jerry Lewis imitators calling to each other. The sound they make is so humorously different, I downloaded it to my phone for a ring tone - - it would be unmistakably my phone ringing!
The trouble occurred, though, when I returned to Western Australia a second time recently. As I got out of the rental car and heard the ubiquitous crows there cawing away, I reached in my pocket and took out my phone, wondering who could be calling!
11
It's rare I read anything in the Times that lightens my heart. This article was a pleasure to read, and evoked my own backyard bird watchings and the quiet joy I get every time I see that quick flash of wing. Thank you for making my dreary, wet December day brighter and filled with echoes of birdsong.
15
Wonderfully written. I will read again and again. We feed birds all winter and I only know a few---the cardinals and the woodpeckers and tolerate the less colorful birds. A bright spot on our grey Pennsylvania skies.
4
I did enjoy this, especially on agrey Michigan day where the fog and clouds obscure the meteor shower, again.
2
I too derive solace from watching the birds who flock to my backyard feeder. One of the first things I do upon waking is check out the bird activity there. Several juncos are always foraging for the seed I scatter under my spruce trees; mingling with them are song sparrows, white-throated sparrows, house sparrows, and the occasional mourning dove or goldfinch. The inquisitive black-capped chickadee will feed from your hand if you are still and patient enough. Occasionally I toss out scraps of gristle and fat for the crows. A couple of weeks ago I was visited by a solitary sharp-shinned hawk, who perched on one foot in my bare maple tree for about 15 minutes, observing the scene with steady, crystalline yellow eyes.
5
I needed this piece today when the rest of what I see on the pages of the paper of record continue with the horrors of what Trump and his crew have brought to this country. My husband and I, after over two decades living in South Florida, are living in "South" Pennsylvania where we are hoping that our birdfeeder will be found soon. The spring, summer and fall were so active. We have a huge oak tree that is home to dozens of squirrels. And there were so many birds coming to that feeder until about three weeks ago. So this essay gives me hope that we'll see a return of cardinals or whatever birds have decided to stay although why they would is beyond me. Thank you, Margaret Renkl. You should be put in charge of the Department of Interior. I note that, fortunately, that role will be vacated by the inhuman human who has been there (ironically the article on the same page as this one).
22
I would agree with you except for my local population of sparrows. I used to get many more wild birds all year until some sparrows decided that I ran the best restaurant in town. They are greedy and gang up on the wild birds (black capped chickadees are the exception as they fight back) and drive them away. The only saving grace is that the are lazy and wimpy so if it is very cold they won't feed as often and when I moved the feeders further away from their hedge, the wild birds have a fighting chance.
The only other negative are the hawks. They see the feeders as a buffet and we've had the unfortunate incidents of having beautiful woodpeckers and doves being preyed upon. Circle of life and all that but there are plenty of bunnies, squirrels, and chipmunks (seasonally) that they could target but the hawks are lazy, just like the sparrows.
3
Amen to that. It's interesting that many of the the same species at your feeders also frequent mine in the winter, blue jays, both downy and the the larger hairy woodpeckers, and of course the juncos, lots and lots of juncos. We also still have the evening grosbeaks hanging around, and of course the usually raucous starlings... I suppose the starlings and their feathered brethren are trying to refrain from expending excess energy during these cold winter days by remaining mostly quiet.
That these creatures are just as at home during the long, snowy winters of eastern Canada as they are during the short, mild winters of Tennessee speaks volumes to the breadth of their amazing adaptive abilities. It gives me hope.
I would encourage one and all to put out a bird feeder where you can view it from your window during winter. It works wonders for the soul.
18
Such a lovely piece. Makes me wish I had a house instead of an apartment, outside of which would be trees where I would place bird feeders with suet and seed, and on the patio a little bird bath, and from my sunroom I'd enjoy the comings and goings of the birds and squirrels and such.
7
I loved this article. It has inspired me to learn more about the birds in my yard and what their songs sound like. I see a lot of tufted titmice this time of year, cardinals, woodpeckers and wrens. I just love observing them. Thanks for the break from articles about investigations of people connected to the White House! I’m sick of reading about fraud, lies and corruption every day! My cat also loved the sound of the crows in the link in your article. I didn’t realize how different their calls could be.
14
Is there anything more beautiful than seeing the flash of a cardinal against a snowy background? “and birds the color of red-flannel petticoats whisked past the harp-shaped hills” Dylan Thomas
23
Thank you, Margaret and NYTimes for the welcome respite from our normal noise and preoccupations. It’s so welcome to hear news from someone who turns her eyes to the nature that surrounds human bustlings, who walks in the woods and puts out peanuts for squirrels and bluejays to haggle over. It’s so good to be reminded that if I dared to whisper the word “Trump” to one of the cheeky chickadees in the evergreen outside my kitchen window, the chickadee would flip me off with a flick of its tail and fly on to deal with much more important things.
15
It is indeed very calming to look at birds and other animals "gimble and gyre in the wabe" of one's loan. When I look from the porch at their hopping and jumping around each other, I imagine myself the creator of life, like the One in Tintoretto's painting "Creation of the Animals".
3
Another excellent, necessary paean to the natural world from Ms. Renkl. Her calming and thoughtful words of comfort have become an indispensable source of relief for navigating the horrors of the daily news.
21
"I don’t know what the crows are saying to the other crows, but I like to listen in anyway. It’s a gift to watch them living their intricate lives so visibly now that the trees are bare again. This is their world, though it overlaps with mine, and I have no trouble understanding what they are saying to the red-tailed hawk: “Away! Go away!” It may be their message for me as well."
THREE CROWS
Three crows on three branches.
Three crows identical in everything except the branches.
They call identically and then fall into three identical silences.
The crow on the lowest branch flies off first.
The crow on the highest branch flies off next.
The crow on the middle branch flies off last.
The three thoughts they leave behind are identical.
12
@Joel Solonche Touché.
Such lovely, vivid, tender, welcome writing for those of us who find joy and comfort in nature during these dark days. I felt as if I were right beside Margaret in my own back yard woods. Thank you.
15
I love your writing. Practicing appreciation for the natural world and all its creatures is the very best way to live. I have received much comfort and pleasure from the little beings living near me. I know that greatly offsets the cost of feeding them.
I too leave my garden untouched in winter for their benefit.
20
It’s always nice to take time out, withdraw from all the noisy clatter that surrounds us, and enjoy this elegiac musing on the seasons, nature, and life. Does the heart good.
9
I love Margaret's writings. As a New Englander, it is such a comfort to know that a woman way down in middle Tennessee sees what I see, hears what I hear, thinks my own thoughts, and loves what I love.
21
in Chicago, rarely-seen, nocturnal Southern Flying Squirrels are beginning to show up skittering around tree trunks in the light of street lamps, possibly confused out of hibernation by the sudden warm days in the midst of winter. It's a pleasure to spot one, but kind of worrisome; another sign of nature out of balance?
2
What a wonderful and refreshing observation of the beauty of life, even in winter.
11
Thanks for this wonderful respite from new of the human flock. It's still a tough world out there. I rushed outside to take a photo the other day when I heard a huge commotion of crows coming from my neighbor's cottonwood tree ( near Albuquerque). The crows scattered just as I stepped out. Scattered not because of me, but because a coyote had just jumped the neighbor's fence and attacked their small dog. The dog survived, though he now sports a huge frankenstein scar. So I've been getting my 'news' not just from the Times, but also the crows.
15
As always, a beautiful piece.
9
Day before yesterday a female Baltimore Oriole showed up in a crowd of other species at our feeders. Very unusual at this time of year when the Orioles are supposed to have migrated to Florida and the Caribbean. I got several good photos of her despite low light conditions.
7
@Steve M
The solace of birds includes a fair dose of stimulus. It's a grey, foggy December morning here but from time to time a few dozen birds of various species show up and animate the landscape.
First, there's their amazing ability to move rapidly through the tenuous medium of oxygen and nitrogen that support their lives and ours.
Second, there's their appetite that proves and displays their warm blooded metabolism.
Third, there's their blustering aggression in claiming their rights to the free food.
Fourth, there's the peaceful settlement of their priority disputes. In the end, they all get to eat although generally by rank of size and length of bill.
Fifth, there are the moving splashes of color. Bright reds, yellows, blues, oranges contrast with the greys and browns of an overcast December day.
Monthly expenditures for sunflower chips, niger seed and suet are richly compensated by the sensory stimulation and the mental galvanization provide by the realization that these are direct descendents of dinosaurs.
8
What a wonderful article. Here in western Massachusetts this winter I've noticed far more sparrows at my feeder, and fewer juncos. No chickadees visible. No doves. No nuthatches. Rarely a cardinal. Once in a while a blue jay. This seems atypical even for our cold winters, or maybe I'm just in a bad location? I read lots of articles discussing how we're wiping out insects, amphibians, and birds all over the place--in preparation for our own extinction?
13
@Michael Engel Let me offer just a bit of reassurance, Michael--not that I don't share your extinction concerns. But here in southeast Michigan, I have juncos, a pair of nuthatches, a pair of cardinals, and lots of chickadees at my feeders--along with some woodpeckers and blue jays. Many sparrows too, of course--they have amazing survival instincts, don't they? Maybe try a new kind of seed mix?
5
@Michael Engel My Junco count is down for the first time in memory, and down by a substantial number. Normally I have around 25-30 but this year I have 8. Excellent habitat and a feeder with quality seed as well as ground seed for the ground feeders. The locals numbers remain so Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Chickadees and sparrow count average.
1
An increase in sparrows can indicate a decrease in natural habitat of other birds. Sparrows come with urbanization, with acres of grass replacing the unmanicured jumble of “unimproved” land. They drive away everything but grackles and they destroy songbird nestlings to take over the nests for their own.
2
Thank you for your upbeat stories. To attune oneself to the natural world is so necessary to the soul in trying times. We tend to forget. Thanks for the reminder.
18
Ms. Renkel, your columns are a solace to me in this endless “winter of our discontent.”
Thank you.
26
Loved this article - my friend's yard is crammed with birdlife this year - early snow and cold brought them plus glorious red splashes of up to 8 cardinals.
So why is the photo of pigeons in Turkey?
11
Laid up with a torn meniscus, I enlisted the help of my 13-year-old to fill the bird feeders. A week later, after a snowfall, she wondered if the birds needed a refill and ran out to them. "I never really noticed them before," she said later. I couldn't have wished for a better gift!
23
Merlin is a bird identification app from the Cornell Lab that is a joy to use. It starts by asking you for your location and then when you open the app it shows birds most likely to be in your area at that time. Or you can look for the name of a bird by color, size, etc., along with lots of extra info about habits, habitats, migrations, etc.
Unlike a bird book, the app is on my phone and has made it easier to identify birds wherever I choose to look them up. I even recently used it on a trip to the SF Bay Area.
The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology is a member supported part of Cornell University that promotes conservation of the Earth’s biodiversity, focused on birds. It is a treasure trove of info about birds.
42
@r2d2 Thanks for the tip on Merlin! Didn't know about it, but just downloaded. Early Christmas present.
3
@r2d2 Internet users who think the Internet should be cost-free may not comprehend that Cornell University Lab of Ornithology does not pay for itself from a boundless treasury. My sole interest in Cornell is its eminence. Cornell uses donations wonderfully for, among other things, a splendid web site, a cast of eminent scholars and a contradiction to pathetic wasting unbelievers in Washington, D.C. My view, not Cornell's. Mr. M’s comment moved me to hope he enjoys Cornell’s scintillating webcams. Cornell and Audubon serve earth’s interests. Bird seed and rigorous education cost less than destroying our only earth.
2
I too had forgotten about Verlyn Klinkenborg’s wonderful columns. Thank you for the reminder!
8
Beautiful article,
Having moved to Virginia only 3 years ago, I am still learning about the local birds around our property. We have Carolina Wrens that live near the house and are almost always talking to each other (?).
I do have an issue with the accompanying photo, though. Pigeons? Really? From Turkey? Surely a more appropriate photo could have been found!
5
THANKS for this! What a gift to warm the heart! And right before the longest day of the year!
11
@Carolyn Haar, say hi to Santa at the north pole lol
1
I continue to be gobsmacked by nature and by the skill of writers like Ms. Renkl to chronicle it.
I remember as a much younger version of myself scrambling among the scree atop Mt. Washington near the tree line and wondering at the site of one inch tall pine trees struggling for life. As I looked down, I saw one tiny caterpillar scrambling up stone by stone in search of food and warmth. That was perseverance! How many days had that caterpillar from the lower slopes of the mountain spent in its ascent? Would it succeed it becoming a butterfly to return to lay its eggs in more hospitable lands? I wondered if my journey in life would be viewed in just such a way by an unseen observer from another dimension. Are we really all just that caterpillar in search of food and warmth? Maybe so.
20
Magnificent in thought and word. thank you
13
I've always enjoyed winter birdwatching almost more than spring. There's something about the scarcity of the birds here in the North that makes each one special. I'd barely look at a robin in spring. In winter, the same robin is a rare treat, whose warmth and colour provides a welcome reminder that life persists beneath the blanket of snow and cold grey sky.
11
Such a moving piece, your "Solace of Birds in Winter", Margaret Renkl, thank you! One of the plusses about living in Florida all year round is the blessing of tropical birds within sound and sight during daylight hours. The birds here along lakesides are beautiful -- herds of busy bug-hunting red-legged Ibises, Wood Storks flying above like pterodactyls, the flocks of ducks, moorhens, and even Egyptian Geese and the occasional roseate spoonbill or flamingo or even pelicans off course. Even the local markets' tree-filled parking lots are noisy with birds in winter. We find solace in birds, and their songs, and are filled with gratitude this winter.
13
@Nan Socolow I loved my backyard on Pembroke Lake in Florida. The clumsy "ugly ducks," (Muscovies) bossy Mockers and the occasional gabby flock of wild green parrots were a few of my many bird visitors.
1
Thank you, Ms. Renkl. You always sooth my heart when you write about your natural world and it's amazing beauty.
13
Wonderfully said. I have spent more time this early winter in the woods and fields in Connecticut participating in a multi-year project called CT Bird Atlas, where birders are helping to collect data on birds in the state. I too was struck by the relative emptiness of the open spaces that I track. Without leaves on the trees it's much easier to see father into the forests, but it was surprising how empty of birds they are this time of year. We, too have the usual suspects - jays, cardinals, sparrows, chickadees, juncos and titmice, but it is still awfully quiet.
However nature sometimes throws the unexpected at one. I saw what I thought were 2 crows flying by, but came to realize that they were ravens by the look of their tails against the sky and the fact that they sometimes soared rather than constantly beating their wings Had the trees been full of leaves, it would have been much more difficult to see these indicators.
10
Each year at this time a pair of cardinals shows up to eat from what we put out for the birds. What is so intriguing about them is when the male, from time to time, offers a sunflower seed to his mate, beak to beak.
15
Thank you, Ms. Renkl, for a most welcome reminder of the natural truth and wisdom of birds and other species. You provide a pivotal perspective of enriched relief for readers beleaguered by this prolonged winter of our national discontent.
For me, you have also offered a subtle flash of the Divine Sense of Humor:
"Homo Sapiens" is an oxymoron.
7
Having been a birder for the past 30 years, I,of course, always had bird feeders in our backyard. Aside from the typical resident birds occasionally a bird of distinction would hone in on the black sunflower seed. But no more. Two bears ambled through our back yard destroying the feeders and mauling the shepherd hook which held the feeders aloft. Then wood rats appeared gladly taking part in the feast, too close to our house. Are the birds starving with no feeders in our backyard? No. They are professional birds and can take care of themselves. Do I miss them? Of course.
6
Wonderful, thank you so much!
4
Thank you for this beautiful column.
4
Goodness! Only one comment about winter and birds?!? Let me sing the virtues of the Bewick’s wren I heard this week near my urban workplace. What of the house finches (our “flying piglets”) that raid our feeder in noisy groups? And the chestnut-backed chickadees that dart fearlessly among them to eat take-out? The bands of cedar waxwings have begun to stick around, peeping coyly high in the trees along our street. These are just a few of the friends we see now in the South Bay, as temperatures drop and the December solstice approaches. Yes, we’re fouling our own nest, physically and morally, but can we yet see with grace the loveliness nearby?
14
Thank you, what a beautiful column.
1
Every year, huge murders of crows migrate to Pittsburgh to live for the winter. There’s something beautiful about a late day winter sky with long streaks of crows flying from neighborhood to neighborhood.
39
@SWD
The crows in the Chicago area have just started to recover from the West Nile virus that spread their carcasses around my yard and neighborhood. So have the Blue Jays.
But the Tufted Titmouse and the Blackcapped Chickadee have not been so fortunate. I miss them.
West Nile virus came to America via quarantine at the Bronx Zoo. Humans in Illinois have been particularly vulnerable.
7
@SWD - I can't believe you mentioned this! I lived in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh for 25 years, and would always watch and be delighted as huge groups of crows would fly over late every winter afternoon. I always wondered if I was the only one who paid attention to them, and what they were up to. I didn't know they actually migrated to the area. Thanks for sharing this.
3
What a lovely and beautifully written article! The NYT should publish much more columns by this wonderful author (or others in this vein). On a Sunday morning this is the most wonderful antidote to all the ugliness and you-know-who. Thank you.
57
I think we lost our titmice and chickadees when the city sprayed for West Nile virus years ago.
But we still have a big family of enormous blue jays. Every morning they scream for peanuts, and they get them. They swoop and speed back and forth and race off with their bundle.
Occasionally Cardinal and Mrs. Spellman pay a visit, the male a bright red, and the missus orange-beaked. Pretty. And of course sparrows.
But best to stop feeding everyone by mid-April. Plenty of bugs for them after that.
8
@B. But not all birds eat insects. Read up on those non-insect-eatingbirds — the seed eaters, etc.
5
@B.
But WILL there be plenty of bugs? I hope so but am not so sure.
1
Not many things are prettier in this world than a male cardinal pecking at seeds on the roof of our woodshed in the setting December Sun surrounded by chickadees and juncos.
I feel the same about blue jays as you do about crows.
Thanks.
11
I too am a bird person. Years ago while on my fantastic over one year trip around the world, I happened to be very near Papua New Guinea and having heard about the Birds of Paradise, I stopped in PNG to see them. Knowing about where a person could manage to see those beautiful birds, I was in Mount Hagan with my bags of luggage trying to figure out where to go next. I happened to see a group of white men in the back of a pickup truck with lots of luggage and groceries. PNG people are out of Africa - where I also happened to spend time in Tanzania on safari and we spent one night in the Rift Valley in Louis Leaky camp where Lucy was discovered.
I soon found out these men were on a bird collecting trip and asked if I could join the group. The group was lead by - "My name is Art Risser, rimes with pisser - who was to become leader of the San Diego Zoo. If wild critters are to be put in a zoo - San Diego Zoo is IMHO the best in the world. Now talk about being lucky. Those bird men were in Mount Hagen for a few minutes collecting themselves and their supplies and to think I was so fortunate to encounter them.
While at the big living room at the camp, I saw an Audubon magazine that had the names of the people that were members of the Christmas Bird Count several years ago in Atlanta and one of my best friends at Coca-Cola was there - Al Sherrod. Here I was half way around the world and here was a friend from home. BTW I got a golden parachute - others bought things.
1
@Butch Burton
Birds of Paradise are members of the crow and jay family.
1
Lovely. Thanks.
2
I'm going to say something horrible, but it needs saying: my favorite winter birds (necessarily plural) are starlings. I know they are an invasive specials, and they make an awful racket when roosting in trees by the thousands, but when they're in in the air in a murmuration . . . wow!
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@JET III
I don’t think that was horrible. Starlings are intelligent and work together for the common good generally.
I wonder what they would think of us.
4
Now if only birds were a bit smarter about staying out of the reach of cats.
2
@A. Stanton And if only humans who let their cats out of their houses and the groups that catch, neuter and release feral cats would be smarter and stop doing these things.
7
I have tried and tried to keep my pussy cats in the house, but they usually escape me once or twice a day.
I sympathize with your position, but birds have wings to fly away and cats don't, so ....
3
Yes, my bird and squirrel visitors bring great peace. Keep feeding!
4
Lovel article; although in the Deep South now I remember the joy of watching the comings and goings of all the birds at my feeders. They did take the gloom out of the short, cold days.
Even in my now milder winters; watching the beautiful cardinal couples shyly dining in the back, the blue jays swooping about and the mockingbirds worrying the crows makes the day just that much better.
Birds just make everything better.
Thank you
15
We live on the Missouri River and have been in the throes of the migrations of a multitude of species, most notably Canada geese, snow geese, The Great White American Pelican and Sand Hill Crane. They come by the 1000’s in the evenings to feed on field corn remnants as they make their way south. We never cease to be in awe of their beauty, grace, and endurance.
15
Dear Margaret: What lovely musings. Charming and inspirational. Here in Chicago, we let our garden/ flower beds lie fallow, with shoots and stems for the rabbits to nimble on when the snows come (they haven’t yet because it has been abnormally dry), but, then again, those rabbits can be destructive and get up on their hind legs and stretch 18 inches above the snow line and in recent years have gnawed fatal rings around our magnolias, Korean spice bushes, and other soft barked trees. As for the crows, West Nile virus in one August month swiftly wiped out the crows about ten years ago, and the crows hereabouts are few.
4
Here in the Long Island countryside the sounds of winter are unfortunately leaf-blowers and aircraft - even a mile from the nearest road or house quiet is rare.
2
Very true, unfortunately—but further east on a street ending at a bay, with all the leaves already on the ground and most of the houses empty for the winter, it is peacefully quiet. A feeder hangs high above the ground in a tree and beautiful little birds I don’t know the names of alternate with the blue jays, cardinals, one woodpecker, and others for a space and food, while others pick up the seed that falls to the ground. Over the years I’ve seen some of these amazing creatures cling to that feeder in the middle of a snow storm. I feel closest to the birds in winter—they need me for the sustenance I provide, but I think I need them more, as they amaze me with their ability to survive the elements and remind me of the spring and summer yet to come.
7
I'm not a huge bird watcher, but it's lovely to read a soft, sweet story in an American press that has become more and more strident each year. Thank you Ms Renkl for a moment of cheer.
19
How beautiful, even comforting are your words as I sit here looking out on my own desolate gardens while watching the birds gather at my feeders, flitting from one to the other in search of the most perfect seed. I am always amazed at the sheer tenacity of these tiny creatures, particularly chickadees, to survive our frigid New England winter weather. My grandchildren have a favorite game they love to play with me called 'pick one'. I am given two choices of food, candy, toys, people, etc., but I can only pick one which would be my favorite. "Which do you love more, Grammie, birdies or flowers?" You can only choose one! That's their favorite question because they know I will always tell them I cannot make a choice between the two. How can I choose one life over the other? Their giggles at my ever constant reply echo in my mind and heart. In my 70's now, I'm still impressed by my rugged little bird friends but I'm equally impressed, maybe even more so, with my flowers, hunkered down for a long, cold winter and buried beneath the ice and snow. Hopefully, they will all survive, come back in all their glory offering a rainbow of color and reminiscent scents of promise and a life well spent. Like me.
38
This time of year I can see the birds, not just hear them.
In summer, I have no idea which tiny songbirds I am hearing in the canopy. They are the size of leaves and the same color.
But now? I can see the nuthatches, because they are the only birds who walk head first down the tree trunk. The woodpeckers have bright red streaks; the cardinals outdo them just being berry red. The jays shine. The bluebirds that pass through spending a day in my yard are a rare joy.
And the tiny flitty birds flock together - titmice, juncos, chickadees - all looking for seeds in the gardens.
In winter I hear the hawk more than see him - the pair abandons the summer nest in the woods. And the great horned owl is only evident by his call, and the way the crows harass it.
I once took stock and realized I have seen something like 40 different birds visit my yard; that is the glory of the edge environment. In winter, even in NY, you can see quite a few of them.
You only have to look.
21
What a wonderful respite from the scourge of our day to day national circus side show to read this lovely prose. I commend the NYT for featuring this article so prominently. I will be sharing it with friends and family alike.
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@EB: I totally agree
Observing the variety of birds flitting from tree, to shrub, to feeder is soothing. Like laughter it's the best medicine. Growing up in the Pine Barron's is where my love of nature began. Many thanks for your essay
6
What a delightful article -- and one we all need in this winter season, when gloom and bleakness not only fills the sky, but also fills our houses of government.
I've been watching the back yard for several weeks now, and most of the song birds are gone - south, I suppose -- and only the tiny sparrows take advantage of the seeds in their feeder. While it isn't as playful and interesting to watch as it is in the spring and summer, when perhaps 15-20 various species vie for the seeds in the feeder, and those which have fallen on the ground, it is comforting to know that these sweet sparrows are here, enjoying what they might make out of an unusually early cold this winter. Thank you for reminding me that our feathered friends endure the cold in ways that we never think of.
11
Thank-you so much for the lovely article...Here in Arizona the woodpeckers and juncos are with us but my walks in the woods are very quiet. At the top of the hill where I walk ravens congregate in their favorite perch and make their "clacking and cooing" music. The birds bring peace to my day.
8
So beautiful! I feel the same about our winter birds - we feed then all through the year but winter is when we especially enjoy their company. Thank you for putting this into words ❤️
8
Lovely. All of us who find solace, spirit and simple company in the birds around us can send use your words to explain to those who pay no attention to this world.
15
Thank you for expressing my feelings on this so eloquently.
A childhood fascination in dinosaurs evolved into a teen obsession with snakes then I took an ornithology course in college and I have been a birder ever since. I still have a passion for all of these animals. But the birds are the only ones that are readily available. And since my childhood it has been discovered that birds are raptor dinosaurs.
While the spring migration is the traditional climax of the birding year, I couldn't leave it at that. I started to try to see and identify the fall migration birds in their non-breeding colors.
Winter birding has it's own joys. From the winter migration of the likes of the Rough Legged Hawk, Arctic Owls, the Juncos and certain ducks. Without the foliage they are easier to see. Then the Great Horned Owls begin their hooting mating ritual calls in the depths of late winter.
15
Ms. Renkl, I have come to eagerly await and greatly enjoy your essays. Thank you for sharing your gift.
19
My grandparents bought a summer home on the northern edge of the NJ Pine Barrens in the 40s, and I still remember Papa, formerly a Brooklyn boy, sitting at the big kitchen window, leafing through his pocket-sized bird identification handbook, calling out the names of all the birds that would swarm his wooded backyard everyday to feast and socialize at the numerous feeders that he built from scratch and hung from the numerous branches in the yard.
These days we can't seem to attract anything to the feeders in our backyard in Point Pleasant except squirrels. Tons of squirrels.
But on those mild days in winter when the wind is down, I’ll take my SUP out for some exercise and paddle along the grassy shoreline of Beaver Creek and Barnegat Bay, where I see all manner of Jersey shore bird that I would never have a chance of seeing on land in the other three seasons. In fact my ability to observe nature this way – along with the almost complete absence of competing watercraft - has made winter, hands down, my favorite time to paddle at the Jersey shore.
Thank you for this inspiring, beautifully written article
18
What a lovely way to begin the day! You have put into words so many of my own thoughts as I observe the activity in my own backyard here in New England. Thank you for this sweet respite from the avalanche of human-centered reports that bury us every day.
28
A verse about birds in Tennessee . . . reaches around the world as, one by one, fellow bird-watchers join the chorus. And so we raise our own melody to lift the darkness of winter.
34
Lovely; thank you. Reminds me of a horticulture professor. The lasting message from 35 years ago "plant your landscape for the cold season." Our scruffy winter garden remnants feed rabbits and other animals. The higher the snow pack the higher the nibbles on the vegetable and flower stalks.
19
Thanks for this warm, humorous and sharp observation piece!
> clacking and cooing and rattling and clicking
Can't agree more!
Birdie talks are perhaps the most fascinating about bird-watching. After several years of following the DC wild eagle cam (will be their 4th season in 2019), how the mom-eagle (TFL) expressed and communicated when the pop eagle (MrP) flew back with their daily meals never ceased to amaze!!
She is a very handsome or, should one say, majestic-looking bird. Yet when she talked to her life-partner, her voice was as gentle as a baby and her vocal patterns, hence contents, varied ten times or more within just the first few seconds of pop-eagle's return to the nest!
If only one could decipher what she was conveying to the pop-eagle : ).
13
Thank you for this lovely work. It gives me the same sense of peace I found for so many years in the work of Verlyn Klinkenborg. I'll print it out now to have at a moments notice when the darkness of winter closes my days.
24
@Lee Smith. Yes, thank you! I so loved his contributions to the NYT. You have reminded me that I want to buy his books.
5
@Lee Smith thank you for reminding me of Verlyn Klinkeborg. Boy do I miss his writings. I wonder if there is a collection of his NYT essays? (And if you are the author Lee Smith - I'm a great admirer of your work, as well.)
And thank you Margaret Renki for this lovely respite with your reminder to watch and listen to the world around us.
5
@CateS All his books are so peaceful, "The Rural Life" is particularly lovely. Ms. Renkl's work is wonderfully reminiscent.
1
Wonderful article! Capturing the essence of those feathered friends . Thanks for encouraging us to open our eyes & ears !
12
A stunning piece of writing! I immediately pulled up a chair at the back window, cued up Leon Russell and my indoor cats and I gazed upon a wonderland we often take for granted. Thank you!
27
Beautifully written; it captures my sentiments. Yesterday was a grey rainy day here in Toronto, the kind that makes you feel sad. Then, at a local shopping mall of all places, I heard birds singing. Loudly and joyfully. It was beautifully inspiring and my mood quickly changed.
21
Pay attention, gain perspective, watch and reflect upon that which is occurring right in front of our eyes. The mystery of life unfolding. Thanks.
24
My backyard birds are a joy to me all year. Although I feed them year-round, I am especially diligent during the snowy Michigan winters. As the weather gets colder, my cardinal population increases from two to 10 or more. My backyard hawk, whom I have named Houdini, perches in his tree, surveying the scene, on the lookout for doves, who are quick, but not always the smartest. If he is spotted, one of the blue jays will scream a warning to any bird within range. Still, the doves never listen. And the sparrows gather in and on the feeders. Sometimes there are so many, the ground is back. Nothing makes me happier than watching these small, winged friends gather for their meal. I watch, with my dog-eared bird book close by wishing them well and silently thanking them for the happiness they give me.
50
I live near a wildfowl refuge in Bavaria, and I always find it very rewarding to hike around it in the depths of winter The remaining ducks and geese and moor hens having their conversations and complaints... Not as dramatic as the end of Autumn migrations can be, but just a hopeful sign that nature endures... Thank you for this little piece!
19
I grew up in the 1930’s in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, New York City when times were pretty bad but the place was rather rural and it was filled with wild birds and fascinating insects and all manner of small wild animals and beautiful butterflies and moths. That is why, when I first arrived in Helsinki in 1961 where I now live, the huge wonderful park in this city called Keskuspuisto (Central Park) impressed me with its rabbits and squirrel sand foxes and pheasants and deer and hedgehogs and even a few moose. I am very impressed with and fond of Finland and its people who are extraordinarily polite and kind and helpful . That is why I am so puzzled and upset when many locals become furious and even aggressive when I offer a peanut to a squirrel or afew crumbs to a wild bird. Daily reports indicat that, due to global warming, about 30% of the world’s wild birds have vanished and likewise for up to 75% of vitally needed indects. This is only the first beginnings of the oncoming world catastrophe and I am quite worried.
37
Thanks a lot for this poetical and comforting view of wintertime. I read your article and looking out of my window in the same time I rejoice in seeing the different colorful chikkadees at the feeding ground together with a little robin and some nuthatches eagerly looking for the best seeds and enjoying the only watering place that's not frozen.
20
How different! What a delightful piece to read!
18
Thank you for your lovely observations about our feathered friends. It was such a pleasure to read. I also love all birds and weary my husband with my ongoing requests for ever more feeders and of course, all the winter treats of suet and peanuts, oranges and seeds. Even though they are quite majestic, I am never happy to see the hawks as I know they will be eating many of my little friends. One cannot fight the laws of nature and expect to win but I do what I can to protect them.
18
The squirrels in middle Tennessee seem really well-behaved. They barely get a mention. Peanuts would only encourage them further, I’m afraid. Still, we’ve put out a ground feeder tray to try and discourage them from the window feeder, to no avail. It is the rhythm of their coming and going, the birds. We have as many as ever it seems, but the murmurations of the starlings seem to have significantly decreased in size and number. We feed them, the titmice and nuthatches and chickadees. And five kinds of woodpeckers and all the other comers who nourish us in return. If only our squirrels were as well mannered.....
13
It was a pleasure reading your article, Margaret. My father feed and watched the winter birds on his property in Warwick, NY during his retirement. He has since passed, and I now have his binoculars and National Audubon book. Most mornings, I make a cup of coffee, sit in my bedroom chair and hold the binoculars on my lap while waiting for the winter visitors who fly to my feeder. I have also passed on my love of these beautiful, soothing creatures to my two year old granddaughter. We often sing the American children's song, "Blue Bird, Blue Bird", while watching the birds at the feeder. It's amazing how calm she becomes while singing our song and listening and watching these beautiful creatures.
45
In the winter, hawks and other raptors migrate from northern sites to warmer climes in Southern California or Mexico. The Golden Gate offers the narrowest passage across the bay and thousands of hawks, ospreys and eagles catch the wind and soar over the spires of the Golden Gate and the ribbons of cars below.
27
I think I just figured out what to get for Christmas this year. A heated bird bath is a wonderful idea. Thank you for the lovely peaceful article.
53
Your columns are so calming and beautiful.
I also have a heated birdbath; one of my best investments ever. I consistently have cardinals, goldfinches, titmouses, and two kinds of woodpecker in the winter at my sunflower seed/suet feeders. Occasionally somebody else will show up. We have hawks and owls in our woods. The owls call out at night sometimes and it is thrilling to hear them. Without a doubt, wild birds are one of life's sweet pleasures.
88
So beautiful. Much thanks for this essay.
It’s bitterseeet in the Anthropocence era as our massive carbon footprints crush life into tiny extinctions. All will miss the birds one day...
68
When my husband and I moved into our house six years ago I was struck by the number of birds on the property that I could not identify. I promptly purchased an identification book and have been feeding, photographing, identifying, and conversing with my birds ever since. I love their company and enjoy observing their unique character. There is always something to look at when you look for birds. Thank you for your article.
60
Thank you for a lovely article. California has a somewhat different ecology - but we all have our neighborhood crows!
Mostly, in the California winter, I miss our little finches that feed in the trees outside my windows. It's the sound of silence now.
Looking forward to the Spring chirping.
21
In Concord, NH we are not allowed to put out bird feeders until Dec. 1st because we get bears even in town before it is cold enough to send them into hibernation. It took almost a week for the birds to find them and the first was a male cardinal.
27
This was lovely, Ms Renkl. I suppose I acquired my love for birds from my mother while growing up in Alaska. She has since moved to warmer environs - Florida - but I’m stll here, now with my own children, who hand-feed peanuts to Stellar Jays, that will peck at the window until this is done.
Despite the cold and dark of winter here, there are still a number of stoic feathered hangers-on, and we put out the birdseed and suet as soon as the bears hibernate. Haven’t done it yet this year, as its warmer, and a black bruin languidly lumbered through the yard the first week of December.
52
@jl We were befriended by Steller's Jays while camping in Colorado. After one day offering crackers, they would show up early in the morning, calling and lashing their crests and bouncing around our site until we gave them "breakfast." Clever devils.
1
This is beautiful, thank you. I have a small garden in the city, but still see all types of birds visit for seed, scraps from the walnuts I leave for the squirrels, and a quick visit to the birdbath. Like you, I have often seen 5-6 small birds sitting together around the circular edge, chattering away and, in warmer weather, taking turns dunking and splashing themselves, looking like a little avian pool party in the sunshine. I am always amazed by and grateful for the wildlife that we do see in the city, especially the red tails who nest atop the tall buildings and routinely soar by my office window.
54
I share your respect for crows.
We buy several different types of seeds in 40 lb. sacks, including both shelled and whole peanuts, and are visited by a huge array of regulars of various species. The crows recognize me even out of context, no matter what I'm wearing or who I'm with, and have greeted me far from home at a local park. One day I was filling my gas tank and they spotted me while flying overhead. All five landed in a tree close to the pumps, cawed at me vigorously, then flew away. They were waiting on my deck when I got home.
Now, can anyone out there tell two crows apart?
163
@KJ: It has been established that crows can recognize and remember individual people. And yeah, they'll bear a grudge. It seems to include dogs, as well. They torture our Labrador, who chases them, and ignore our Corgis, who ignore them back.
6
What can be more beautiful than a cardinal in the snow, or more audacious than a titmouse looking for food in the winter. Thanks for the lovely article.
120
I feed birds year round, but double up in Winter. I buy loaves and loaves of old bread/rolls at my Grocery twice a week. Then while watching TV, I tear the loaves into tiny pieces, in a large plastic bowl. The bowl is then dumped on the brick walkway, off the back deck. The Birds are waiting, and ravenous. I peek thru the windows and watch. I help them get thru the Kansas Winter, and they give me peace. Win-Win.
68
The best part about winter is the bare tree branches. It's much easier to see and hear the chickadees, the brown creepers, the juncos, the Eastern Bluebirds, and, best of all, we get to see loons on the Long Island Sound and other water fowl that call Canada or the Arctic their summer home. Despite being dressed in gray and white with splashes or hints of yellow, orange, red or a furtive green, all these little guys come into their own in winter. They dazzle the snow and ice with their brightness. It's a reminder that winter is not always gloomy. Sometimes it's chirped up, tweeted about, and majestic especially when the hawks and eagles fly in.
80
I love this ! Thank you Margaret for expressing some of the thoughts which I have but am much less capable of verbalizing. It is so enjoyable here in upstate New York to provide sustenance for the creatures on my property, a constant parade...and I am glad to be able to help in my own little way during these days of scarcity...now to Amazon for a heated bird bath !
62
My wife and I are determined to support our tiny NYC backyard habitat for wintering birds. This morning brought Blue jays, Cardinals, Tufted Titmouse, House Finches, starlings, assorted sparrows, Juncos, Eastern Towhee, as well. The rat appeared from under the shed and dined royally on ground seeds but the squirrels jumping from the crape myrtle to the birdhouse forced me to move the entire rig. I’m not pleased, but thrilled by my avian visitors, and we accept the challenge from the squirrels! Game On!
77
I love birds and have been feeding them in this location for eleven years. I can't help but notice that there are fewer birds this year. Usually the little juncos (I call them snow bottoms because of their white bellies) are grazing around in the grass by the dozens. This winter I have two juncos in the yard.
Something is going. If we don't figure out how to reverse course, it will be a lonely world without signing birds. It will be Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.
139
@Linda
Linda what's going on appears to be a dramatic decline in insect populations. Hardly an inch of media space is given to the findings of a few studies but in Germany, and, I think, Puerto Rico, counts are down by as much as 70%. Not all birds eat insects but many do. And insects pollinate the seed and berry plants the others eat. So unfortunately no surprise.
8
@Linda
There are no bugs to feed their babies.
6