Weather Predictors in My Trees: Birding is Fun Year Around

Are you hot? Have a seat in the shade with a cool glass of lemonade or iced tea and watch the activity around you.

Bird watching can be as informative as it is fun. In my area of South West Missouri, I can count on these excellent weather predictors. Better than the weatherman, I can trust the busy Nuthatch to warn me of inclement weather. It doesn't matter if it's spring tornadoes, summer drought or heavy winter snows. The little Nuthatch never lets me down.

When inclement weather is on the way, the Nuthatch works at a fast, steady pace gathering seeds. He will fly to the feeder, grab a seed and fly to the nearest tree. He quickly buries the seed into the bark and flies back to the feeder as fast as he can, then back to do it all over again. He never has been wrong in the near twenty years, I've been watching him. I still remember the first time he showed me he knew more than our newscaster. As our local broadcaster announced we would have only a few flurries of snow, I watched the Nuthatch hard at work. That night we had two foot of over-night 'flurries'.

The Nuthatch has other fun qualities too. He often lands on the trunk of the tree and races downward. He is a small bird, only 5-6 inches in length. His shoulders and back are blue-gray. He wears a black cap that comes to a point between his beady black eyes reminiscent of a widows-peak. If he feels brave enough when he's threatened, he will raise his wings outward, scrunch his forehead giving himself the look of a tiny Dracula and rock side to side at his enemy.

Another bird I look forward to year after year is the Junco. My little ones call him the snowbird. I look forward to both his appearance and his departure. On the arrival of the Junco, within days you can plan to dig out your snow boots. When he leaves, he takes the snow with him.

The Junco is another small bird only 5-6 inches in length. Our version is the Slate Junco. True to his name, he is slate colored on his back and his underside is purest white. When he flits away, his tail shows two striking white feathers that give an appearance of scissors slicing. The female Junco is less distinctive and looks more like a sparrow.

Of course, no article about birds is complete without the mention of the Hummingbird. Here we have only one variety, the Ruby-Throat. The male arrives like the taxman, around April 15^th in our area. The Hummingbird is our smallest bird and the only bird that can fly in every direction. Mine are very territorial forcing me to hide feeders out of sight of each other. Within six weeks of the Hummers arrival, we can count of winter to be over.

Spring brings our State Bird, the Bluebirds back to their box. We often have two clutches of Bluebirds per season. The need to add more and more houses continue as these close-knit families return to familiar ground.
I can think of no greater pleasure than opening the door to the bluebird house to have a chat with a mommy sitting on her eggs. I think she knows me well and often tells me all about her five babies she plans to bring to my garden.

For me, it is officially summer with the arrival of two other birds, the Indigo Bunting and the Summer Tanager.

I always spot the tiny Bunting first. His iridescent color is so striking one can't miss it, even if he is hiding in the brush. His chittering voice is similar to a finch as is his tiny 5-inch frame. Though he has stripes on his wings, he is so blue; the markings are merely darker in color. He will visit a feeder of pure sunflower seeds.

As blue as the Indigo Bunting is, the Summer Tanager is red. He is bigger than other birds discussed here, 7-8 inches. He has a heavy, long beak. His song is distinct among the other birds; indescribable by me. He is similar to a Cardinal, but does not have a top-knot or wear a mask. The female is less descript, though still beautiful in her own right, olive above and yellow below. I usually notice a yellow bird flitting about in the tops of the trees days or even weeks before I finally see the striking red male.

The summer heat brings Goldfinches by the dozens to my pond and feeders. I have two ponds joined by a small river. The Goldfinches are often found bathing in the river or a waterfall pool during the summer months.

The Goldfinch is also a small bird, only 5 inches. The male is colored in the brightest yellow. He wears a contrasting black cap, black wings with white wing bars and a white upper rump. The female and the young, like the female Summer Tanager are olive in color.

As summer brings more beauty to my garden, I can look forward to more birds joining me under the shade of my redbud tree.

After all, if I need to batten down the hatches for bad weather. They'll let me know!