Solace at Cripple Creek

Here at the end of the so-called Snowpocalypse, we have once again finished shoveling out our driveway.  It looks like we got close to a foot of snow total, plus some rain, sleet, and ice pellets.  Basically, it’s about a foot of snowy slush right now, and we’re glad to be done shoveling it.  But the day before the fabled storm arrived, I got our bird houses cleaned out in preparation for Spring nesting.  It was interesting to see the differences in the nests in the boxes.  In our titmouse / nuthatch box, which is invariably used by starlings, the nest was made of grasses mixed with some chicken feathers, and completely lined with downy chicken feathers.  In the bluebird box, which the bluebirds actually use, the nest was strictly pine needles.  And in the chickadee box, which the chickadees used last year despite threats from house sparrows, the nest was entirely moss, lined with hair (mostly looks like hair from the neighbor’s goat).  Our other box, a generalized nest box, didn’t get cleaned out yet, but it was used by house sparrows last year, so it’ll be interesting to see what we find in it.  I’m fascinated that different birds seem to have such different preferences for nesting materials.  Hopefully that fascination will carry me through until we get past this lousy weather and start seeing some warm, sunny days.

a dark-eyed junco has been grateful for regular feed scatterings during the Snowbomination