No more parks that look like suburban lawns

BY JOHN KARRIGAN

The flying squirrel was the hit of my columns for the last several months, but my sighting (Dec. 12) was still my only one this winter.

I heard from someone a little bit south and others south and east of the neighborhood who have had from two to five flying squirrels coming on a regular basis for some time. A common thread seems to be quality feed and somehow keeping regular (gray) squirrels from taking all the feed. I got some ideas from their success that I will try, but in the past, my battles with gray squirrels and pigeons have not gone well. I don’t really battle the gray squirrels and pigeons, but they are so numerous and such gluttonous and messy eaters that I try to discourage them so there is some feed left for what we humans consider cuter or more beautiful birds or animals. Thank you to all those who relayed their flying squirrel experiences to me. Maybe I will have some more of my own soon.

Other creatures that have appeared in the yard are the usual Cardinals, Chickadees, English Sparrows, Goldfinches, one White-breasted Nuthatch, a House Finch and—one surprise—a White-throated Sparrow, on New Year’s Day. White-throated Sparrows often pass through the yard and park during spring and fall migration but according to records, should not be here from early December (very rarely) until the last third of March.

Now that there is some snow and serious cold, Juncos are in the yard regularly. Some people are seeing Goldfinches that are starting to molt to their bright yellow and black colors but all the ones I see are still in their drab winter shades.

The Park
I couldn’t count on seeing any birds in the park in January except Crows and those numbers varied a lot. I saw a Hawk several times, once being harassed by the Crows. The hawk, or hawks, might be Cooper’s or might be Goshawks, which have been in the area this year. They are closely related, quite similar and often I see it (or them?) in bad light.

Two Canada Geese flew over the lake early in the month, probably day-dreaming about getting an early nesting start, but they have probably given up that dream for now. I still see large goose flocks near the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, but the latest weather forecast don’t bode well for much open water remaining.

Now for the two most unusual birds in the park. A very observant regular park walker saw a Saw-whet Owl in the brush along the lakeshore near the athletic fields in late December. I have not seen it. This is very unusual but not unheard of. About eight or 10 years ago, a pair of Saw-whet Owls was in the southwest corner of the park, also in the winter. They are the smallest owls in the area, about 8 inches tall, and come from southern Canada and northern Minnesota to this region, but usually not to urban areas.

The next bird I actually saw on numerous occasions, in the same area as the owl, but it is a very small, secretive bird and was very hard to identify. One time, I got a fair view and it looked like a wren, but that didn’t seem possible. Finally I got a somewhat better view and it was a wren, a Winter Wren, which is not supposed to be here from early November through late March. Once again, not unheard of in the park, I saw one near the teahouse on the other side of the lake in late fall a few years ago, probably making its normal migration from southern Canada to Missouri, southern Illinois, or further south. But I don’t know what this one was doing. It seemed fine; however, I have not seen it since winter really arrived.

Park walkers will have noticed there has been extensive tree trimming all month. The trimmers seem to be very selective in what they trim, and I hope they know what they are doing. But when they cut off the western trunk of the three-trunked Cottonwood tree on the north side of the lake, I got upset, which of course doesn’t do any good because you can’t glue it back on. That is probably the biggest tree remaining in the park. I know that part of the trunk was broken off several years ago (by lightning, I think), but the remaining stub, around 25 feet high, was just right for birds that are cavity nesters (Woodpeckers, Nuthatches), those that nest behind a sheet of loose bark (Brown Creepers), and the many species that feed on the insects that live in decaying wood.

I have this irrational (or maybe not so irrational) fear that the park department wants all parks to look like suburban lawns. They also came in with a stump grinder and removed most or all stumps, including the large Cottonwood stump on the southeast shore. This was the biggest tree (when it was around a few years ago) and was peacefully and harmlessly deteriorating, with nice sunflowers planted in its center by someone. Of course they (the park department) don’t seem to have funds to replace lost trees any more.

That’s my rant for this month. I have another really big rant but I will give that situation another month to improve, or not.

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