Column: Nature’s World

My neighbor Crandall stops by.

“How are you doing?” I ask.

“Everything is nearly copacetic. My Uncle CC is staying with me for a few days. CC was a professional boxer for many years. He ran five miles every day but eventually, his opponent would catch up with him and knock CC out. I forget how many years he fought. I can’t remember things like I used to be able to.”

“How do you know?” I say.

“I know you are always lost in thought. That’s because it’s unfamiliar territory for you. Gertrude with the Attitude, the chief waitress at the Burp N Belch, is mad at me. She used to be the hostess at Wormy’s Live Bait Shop. Gertrude has had a bee in her bonnet ever since her brother went off to mime school and she never heard a word from him again.”

“Was she angered because of your constant comment that fingers were made before forks,” I interject.

“Nope.”

“Did you put the ‘Hostess will seat you’ sign on the restroom door again?” I ask.

“No, but it was a sign that caused all the trouble. It read, ‘Senior citizens. Buy one, get one free.’ I have one of them mowing my lawn and the other one is washing my windows.”

Timberdoodles and pelicans

I love spring. Some winter days become so bleak that I measure distance traveled by the number of dead deer I see on roadsides. It’s not a proper way to measure anything, but it’s what I do. Spring brings life.

On a short trip, I spotted American woodcock and American white pelicans. The woodcock, also known as a timberdoodle or skydancer, has a bill that is half the length of its body. Sensitive nerve endings in the lower third of the bill help the woodcock locate its preferred food source, earthworms. The Seneca Indians believed that the Creator made the woodcock from the leftover parts of every other bird.

The pelicans caused me to recall Edward Lear’s words, “King and Queen of the Pelicans we; no other birds so grand we see! None but we have feet like fins! With lovely leathery throats and chins! Ploffskin, Pluffskin, Pelican jee! We think no Birds so happy as we! Plumpskin, Ploshkin, Pelican jill! We think so then, and we thought so still!” It will be nice to count live pelicans instead of dead deer.

Q and A

“There are small mounds of dirt on my lawn. Are they made by gophers or moles?” Mounds of soil that cover burrows with no entrances visible are usually the work of one of those two. Mole mounds are conical, circular and small — 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Pocket gopher mounds tend to be round, kidney or teardrop shaped, and are 10 to 15 inches in diameter.

“What are the lilies in ditches?” They are Hemerocallis fulva, also known as tiger lily, ditch lily, common orange daylily, tawny daylily and roadside ditch lily. They came to the United States from Asia in the 19th century. They spread invasively via underground rhizomes from established plantings or home sites.

“Do earthworms come to the surface after heavy rains to avoid drowning?” No, they come to the surface during rains (especially in the spring) so they can travel overland. The wet conditions give worms an opportunity to move to new places. Since worms breathe through their skin, that skin must stay wet in order for the oxygen to pass through it. Rain and high humidity allow earthworms to move without dehydrating. Earthworms can survive for several weeks under water, providing there is sufficient oxygen in the water.

“How high do crows typically nest?” The American crow builds its stick nest in a tree at an average height of 24 feet. The eggs are incubated for approximately 18 days and the babies fledge at about 35 days of age. Great horned owls, red-tailed hawks and raccoons prey upon crows. The oldest recorded wild American crow lived 16 years. Crows are vocal in the morning because that is when they drink their caw-fee.

“How much can an eagle carry?” A bald eagle can carry about half its weight. A gallon of milk weighs around eight pounds — about the same as a male bald eagle. A female is larger.

“What can I do to keep grackles from dominating my feeders?” Common grackles are common in yards. They eat like a bird — voraciously. They prefer seed offered on platform feeders or scattered on the ground. They find tube feeders, especially those with short perches, less to their liking. Perches can be trimmed so that only small birds can find footing. A tube feeder could be enclosed by a wire cage that allows smaller birds entry while excluding grackles. This could be a do-it-yourself project or a commercial feeder. A thistle feeder attracts goldfinches instead of grackles. Some feeders are equipped with mechanisms that close feeding ports when larger birds or squirrels get on them. Safflower is not a grackle’s favorite food. Cheap seed mixes attract grackles.

“Why do I see tiny white balls in wren nests?” Those are spider egg sacs. House wrens are cavity nesters. Their nests can become infested with mites and parasites that feed upon nestlings. Wrens often add spider egg sacs to their nests. Lab studies have shown that the spiders hatch and devour parasites. A house wren weighs about as much as two quarters.

Nature lessons

Congratulations to Larry Dolphin, of Austin, the new president of Minnesota’s Izaak Walton League.

Farmers’ Almanac predicts a very warm summer with average rainfall.

Some scientists believe that Minnesota has as many great horned owls as it has red-tailed hawks.

Tom Jessen of Madelia writes, “The grackles are eating so much seed at the feeder, I can barely keep it filled. I’m thinking of just hanging up one dollar bills on the clothesline and letting them buy their own food!”

Thanks for stopping by

“The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.” — Joseph Joubert

“The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won’t wait while you finish the work.” — Pat Clifford

DO GOOD.

Al Batt of Hartland is a member of the Albert Lea Audubon Society. Email him at SnoEowl@aol.com.