by Gary Lee
So far it’s been a very mild fall with above normal temperatures. It did get down to twenty one morning and it was quite frosty as I was putting up the bird feeders.
The reason for this is a bear has decided that bird seed will get him through the winter.
I’ve get a few pictures on my trail camera as he strolls through.
I also heard he had been in a few camps. So far he hasn’t tried to get into the garage, but when that happens he may have to go down the road.
He took down a couple apple trees that I’ve been growing for several years. He took the top out of one and pulled the other out of the ground and left it in the driveway.
I replanted it and tied it up so I won’t know until spring if it makes it or not.
I trimmed back the top branches because there wasn’t much root system left. After I put it back up he came along and pulled off another branch just because he could. That almost meant war.
I have a pileated woodpecker that has taken up residence for the winter. He comes in every night just before dark and makes a few calls before going into his hole. They usually use the same hole all winter, then use it as a nesting spot in spring. I have had a pair using the same hole down by the pond for two years. They had three young this year.
I guess they like the woodpecker trees that I leave up for them to nest in. They are in a live tree this year.
I got a note from Bea Foley saying there was a big butternut tree behind Brooker’s Hardware in Old Forge and the house behind it where she lived years ago. I went looking there last night but couldn’t tell which tree it was.
I know there is a big one hanging over Route 12 and 28 just south of Forestport.
I saw nuts in the road and along the shoulder on my many trips to Utica. I stopped one day to get some nuts but someone had already picked them up.
If anyone wants to get some milkweeds growing in their side yard now is the time to pick the seeds before they all blow away.
It’s nearly impossible to transplant the adult plants as the roots go very deep and you can’t seem to get enough to make them grow.
Scatter some seeds where you want them to grow and you can usually get a few started.
You might try some butterfly weed seeds which is a type of milkweed but much prettier.
I’ve gotten seeds from the wild but you can get them from a seed store.
I knew where some grew wild down along Hudson River Ice Meadows just north of Warrensburg.
They also grew along the Northway south of Lake George but DOT now mows them so you can see the garbage along the roadway.
With all this nice weather the bird migration has been slower than normal. Just this week I saw two hermit thrush and a phoebe out by the feeder.
Many of these birds might be first year birds that haven’t made that big trip south or older birds that may also linger into the fall.
When the first winter blast comes some of these birds will flock to feeders to get a quick fill up before going south.
Some of these birds get stuck and hang around a feeder for the rest of the winter if they can make it.
Most of these birds don’t have the insulation that some of our winter birds have so they don’t do as well eating seeds as they do with bugs so they usually don’t get through the winter.
The ducks are doing the same thing, which is just hanging out until the winter blast comes.
They can feed in small ponds which are normally frozen this time of year and they may hang around until the first of the year if the big lakes stay open.
I’ve had a pair of hooded mergansers and a common merganser on my pond this week.
They chased around the small minnows for a while until I walked down to the pond.
Karen is doing much better and got a good CAT scan report from the doctors.
She still has some pain and going to PT three times week which seems to be helping.
It’s good that you can get that locally because the car ride is usually the worst part of the trip.
Bucks are starting to chase the does so be careful on the highways… but that’s another story. See ya.