December: A slow time for birding

This month my excuse for a mediocre column is that it is a short month because of Thanksgiving and early publication deadlines. That, and the usual (for this year) lack of birds.

I have not seen the Winter Wren since the two days at the end of October. I guess I was lucky to see it at all on its trip south.

The family of seven Canada Geese has been around most of November, sometimes joined by a few to 50 or more nonresident geese. Some of the Mallards remain, but now that winter has actually arrived, the Mallards and Canada Geese usually leave at night and return the next day. The last remaining Wood Duck, a male that hangs out with the Mallards, does not leave at night. This troubles me, as all the other Wood Ducks have been gone for quite a while. So now I am worried that the Wood Duck may not be able to fly, though it looks handsome and healthy.

Crows are up to their usual sunset socializing around the lake, sometimes right on the old cement wall on the north side, but usually in trees throughout the park. Crow numbers vary, usually 50 to a couple hundred, but they might be headed up to the thousands as they have some years. Small bird numbers are still low, sometimes none. Sometimes, a few Juncos, still no Nuthatches or Brown Creepers this fall.

Outside of the neighborhood, Eagle-watching is going well. I have firsthand reports of an Eagle by Lake Harriet and another by the Mississippi in North Minneapolis. I personally saw a lot of Bald Eagles above and around Reed’s Landing around mid-month. Reed’s Landing is on the Mississippi between Lake City and Wabasha. Most of the birds were circling on thermals over and near the river. I think there were at least 50, many quite far away, some above the bluffs on the Wisconsin side, but some were directly overhead at times. You could study them from below and pick out first year and second year birds, comparing with the illustrations in a good bird book. Of course, you don’t need a bird book to identify the majestic adult birds (4 years and older) with their distinctive white heads and tales and dark wings and bodies.

Close encounters of the third (squirrel) kind

After years of living in the same house, with people on the inside and squirrels on the outside, for the third year in a row, squirrels wanted to change that arrangement. The last two years, it was young squirrels coming through the furnace chimney in spring. This time, it was a fat full-grown squirrel coming in through the fireplace chimney in November. As in the past two years, I put my superior intellect and manly hunting skills up against the wily squirrel and, after four hours, successfully removed it, as I did the other four squirrels. Most of the four hours were spent letting the squirrel calm down between my attempts with various devices to get the squirrel out of the fireplace. The system that worked was using a skillfully wielded wastebasket, then sliding a cookie sheet under it, all in a small, sooty fireplace. Then I took him (or her) outside and said, “This house isn’t big enough for both of us,” and that was that.
In Memoriam

On a personal and serious note, the park lost a regular dog walker, bird and animal lover, and nice, easy-going guy, when my across-the-street neighbor, Tom Draeger, died in November at the age of 51. He always shared his bird observations with me and was fortunate to be able to travel and bird in Peru a couple of years ago, a trip that gave him great enjoyment. He will be missed.

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of the Southside Pride. Thank you.