The future for birds, birders and life seems to renew each January. The allure of birds to birders, with their amazing physical adaptations, feathers, mastery of the air and stunning migrations to the ends of the earth are at once fascinating and mysterious.
I find that this time of year lends itself to waxing philosophic as the natural world is resting and all current inhabitants are just trying to survive. It is a good time to keep the feeders stocked and free of snow and ice as well as read all those things - a small mountain of books, papers, a few magazines, and more put aside to be read later, meaning now. It is time to catch up on the endless volumes being produced about birds, bird life and a myriad of other topics.
Winter on the Cape and Islands is better for birders than most people appreciate. With increased cold temperatures and frozen freshwater and tidal estuaries many ducks are much more easily seen than at other times of the year. On a cold sunny day the photography opportunities abound with close range loons, grebes, ducks, gulls and a variety of fruit eating landbirds, collectively called Frugivores.
Frugivores are birds that eat fruits and berries, and include: American robins, cedar waxwings, eastern bluebirds, hermit thrush, northern mockingbirds, gray catbirds and some other species that often associate with these flocks. There is a rare in the eastern U.S. Townsend’s solitaire feasting on cedar berries in a cemetery in Marion that has been present for over 2 months.
Frugivores are being seen all over the region and reported, some like eastern bluebirds, in record numbers. Flocks, often mixed with three main species, American robins, cedar waxwings and eastern bluebirds forage together as there is safety in numbers. Many eyes to keep a watch for fast-flying avian predators primarily in the form of Cooper’s hawks, but also the occasional merlin or sharp-shinned hawk, give substance to the saying that there is safety in numbers.
The birds find a source of food, a berry-laden American holly, a grove of red cedar loaded with berries, or other food source, and continue to feed in this area until the food is all gone. Then they move. The mixed flock composition allows them to find and exploit a wide variety of food sources. The group wandering, flying about, winged vagabonds, making use of the Cape and Islands bounty of fruits and berries. To encounter these flocks on a winter day is something special.
A remarkable roost of primarily American robins but including much smaller numbers of other species can be observed on Rt. 6A in West Barnstable. Recently a lone observer counted over 20 thousand robins coming in to roost in red cedars just before dusk near the West Barnstable Post Office. He was only counting the birds coming from the east and there are many more birds here. It is conceivable that untold thousands of American robins come in to spend the night here during the winter months. It is an impressive display of life in the natural world in January on Cape Cod.
Lastly, comes many reports of the sighting of small to large flocks of eastern bluebirds. These birds are amazing, stunning actually, in many different lights. No matter how many times one gazes upon them, from the unforgettable first glimpse to prolonged encounters following a flock, it strikes home that bluebirds are shockingly colored. Add to this their pleasing melodious notes and it is hard to find a more attractive species.
