November 5, 1999

     November Bird-Watching Remains Strong

The bark rubs and soil scrapes of white-tailed deer can be found -- signs that the rutting season has started.  Although the silver and green leaves of the Russian olive trees are dropping, common buckthorn trees continue to have green leaves, and in some spots the common witch hazel shrubs bloom nicely.

Some people regard November as a drab, uninteresting month, but there are always changes as the Earth moves in its charted course around the sun.  This is the month of clouds, so we often end up with some of the best sunsets of the year.  Flocks of American robins, dark-eyed juncos, tundra swans, and other waterfowl are being seen.  Alyssum, marigolds, petunias, chrysanthemums and a few other blooming plants are still showy in some gardens.

If you are looking for another way to step up activity at a back-yard feeding station, consider providing the resident and visiting birds with fresh water, which they like and need year round.  They are attracted to a yard that has water for them to drink and bathe in.

People sometimes ask why some birds bathe in freezing weather.  To keep warm, their feathers must be efficient, and to have efficient feathers, a bird must go through the preening ritual that often starts with a bath.  Immersion heaters designed to keep baths permanently ice free work well and are available commercially.