For the second time in a week the ground was covered with snow and ice. The first storm left mounds of snow covering outbuildings, vehicles and piling right up to the lake water’s edge. The pristine snow made the white ducks look dingy.
Sam and I took a walk around the lake, and over near the woods we ran into Billy Buxton and his daughter, Addy. Addy, a young photographer, was busy snapping artistic shots of winter scenes. I talked her into taking one of Sam and me and, in exchange, I snapped a few of Addy and her dad with my automatic pocket camera.
We parted as the Buxtons trudged on through the woods and we returned to the lake, trying as best we could not to mar the beauty with muddy boot prints. The snow melts from the Prairie long after it disappears from city streets and sidewalks.
A week later, we awoke to ice pellets slamming into the window pane. Again the ground was covered with white but only enough to soften the slipperiness of the ice. Wishing I had shoes with cleats, I tipped down the steps to the rabbit pens, checked their water bottles and fed them carrots, apple slivers, lettuce and kale along with their rabbit pellets and dry hay. Sam says they’re spoiled. I say they’re lovely.
From the sunroom window I witnessed a bluebird standing on the corner of a wooden birdhouse. It caused me to wonder if birds’ feet freeze. I tapped the question into my magic answer box.
It seems birds’ feet are covered by scales which are not living tissue, and their feet have limited blood flow, nerve structure and muscle. There are no sweat glands so they don’t create moisture that could freeze. They do, however, have the ability to squat on their legs or raise one leg at a time and tuck it into their feathers; so while the legs and feet don’t freeze, they certainly must be uncomfortable in frigid temperatures or while standing on ice. The report said mourning doves have been known to lose toes to frostbite.
The little bluebird was all puffed up, creating air pockets around his body for insulation. Many birds put on extra feathers for winter while the oil on the feathers provides waterproofing. Nature provides survival techniques besides tucking and puffing; there’s roosting, sunning and “torpor.” Torpor is what hummingbirds, chickadees and swifts do to instinctively reduce their metabolism at night. However, the slowed state can increase the risks of predator attacks. We can provide shelter by planting evergreens and leaving brush piles.
Shivering can help a bird stay warm by raising its metabolic rate and creating more body heat for the short term, but it requires more calories which, in turn, requires more food.
And that’s where one can “spoil” their birds — by providing good quality food, high in fat and calories, and keeping birdfeeders full all winter, for the birds are lovely.
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