Today in the orchard

At 6 AM this morning it was a balmy +10F. It creeped its way up into the teens by late morning. The gusty, cold wind, however, was impressive, and it never felt all that warm while we were cleaning up the trail out beyond the orchard we call the BRC.

We have plenty of visitors outside the kitchen window these days. The birds are “flocking” to the feeder. So many birds. They love the free food. We look out, and they’re everywhere in the sky, in the trees and across the snow. Sometimes they even make the ground itself look as though it’s alive.

The Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata), in particular, love it here. They swoop in from the hemlocks, grab a mouthful of black oil sunflower seeds and zip back off into the trees. I bet we have three dozen Jays who show up regularly, sometimes all at once. Most days it’s also Chickadees, Titmice, Mourning Doves, Harry the Hairy Woodpecker and the Cardinal couple from away.

Today we also had a flock of Evening Grosbeaks (Hesperiphona vespertina) stop by. Cammy thinks they look like clowns. Maybe it’s that wide yellow forehead band. It would have been easy to miss them. I happened to gaze out the window at the perfect moment when the whole bunch of them scattered en masse into the woods. “Had it been another day, I might have looked the other way…” I didn’t get a good look, but I was pretty sure it was the Grosbeaks. I figured they’d return. A few minutes later they were back. Presumably they’re passing through en route from somewhere to somewhere. Stopping in for a pitstop. I don’t think they’re planning to spend the winter here.

When I was about seven, I discovered a dead Evening Grosbeak on the flat roof above our porch. I don’t think I told anyone. As I recall I took the Grosbeak out back and gave it a proper burial. I assume now that it must have flown into a window, but back then I didn’t know birds did that. I just knew it was dead. Some images you don’t forget.