Winter survival
On Thursday, December 5, 2013, a strong winter storm named "Cleon" moved into Arkansas, bringing with it rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. Luckily, here in Hagarville, the temperature stayed above freezing until around 9 PM, so Thursday was primarily just a rain event for us.
However, we awoke Friday morning to a world encased in solid ice. Every twig, every blade of grass, everything that wasn't protected underneath a shelter of some sort was coated in a hard ice shell up to 1/2" thick. And as the thicker layer of cold air sagged south, the freezing rain changed over to snow, eventually dropping about 3 or 4 inches over the ice. When the precipitation ended, and the clouds moved out, the temperatures plunged into the single digits.
There were extensive power outages in the area - at one point, the electric utilities providing service to the region reported around 36,000+ customers without power. It was a cold, miserable, dangerous Friday, for man and wild animal alike.
I felt very sorry for all the people how lost power during the storm. We have been very fortunate, and have not had to do without. But for the wildlife, it seems that it might be more than just a matter of inconvenience - for them, could weather like this be a matter of life and death?
Anticipating the winter storm, I had spent an hour or so the previous weekend putting together a simple platform feeder for the birds. I didn't have any seed to put out, so I put out some crushed pecans that I had picked up from the yard earlier in the fall. It had taken the birds only a couple of days to find the feeder, so by the time the ice and snow arrived, they knew it was there.
As I watched the birds come and go at the feeder, I couldn't help but wonder how such tiny delicate creatures could survive the cold temperatures. I watched them perched on the tree limbs, feathers fluffed out to keep warm. "Do birds shiver?" I wondered to myself. "How do they keep their tiny little legs from freezing off?" Where would they find food, with everything coated in ice?
But watching them, I suppose they are tougher than they look. The little Carolina Wren that came to the feeder appeared to have a broken leg (it stuck out to the left at an odd angle and I never saw him use it or even move it). But that didn't slow him down. He hopped in to the feeder, grabbed a piece of pecan, then flew up into a gap in the porch roof to eat it. The tiny Carolina Chickadees, so small that I could completely hide them in my closed hand, darted in and out from the trees to the feeder, snatching bits of food before darting off again.
They didn't see one bit perturbed by the weather, and I am sure that they didn't need my help. After all, the forecast is for warmer temperatures in the coming week, with sunshine to melt the snow and ice. So their normal source of food will be easy to find again.
But it was still nice to see them take advantage of the opportunity when it was given. I hope the feeder makes this cold snap just a bit easier on them.
