Feathers and Fuzz

one woman's cure for the empty-nester blues

Flying Squirrel Glides Through the Nighttime Sky

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Most of us never get to see a Flying Squirrel.  They are small — about the size of a chipmunk.  They are nocturnal.  They tend to move about deep in forests where they can more-safely travel from tree-to-tree, high off the forest floor.  I didn’t even know Flying Squirrels (Flyers, as I call them) existed until I put infrared cameras on the property.  One night, one of the camera’s recorded motion at the bird feeder in the middle of the night.  Interesting.  Birds don’t visit the feeders after dark.  Playing back the camera’s footage, here is what I found — shown here in slow motion.

Watch for the light spot to appear near the top (right-of-center) of the video; that’s the Flyer taking off from a tree in the distant forest.  (The only reason the camera picks up his launch is because of  his very large eyes reflecting the camera’s IR light.)  As he nears the bird feeder, you can see the outstretched skin flaps that keep him airborne — and how he uses his tail as a rudder to slow down.  The truly amazing thing is how precisely a Flying Squirrel can hit its target!

And, yes, he went on to enjoy a delightful mid-night snack.

Baby Bluebird’s First Bath

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Watch this recently-fledged baby bluebird discover the birdbath.  He doesn’t quite know what to think as his mom splashes him with water droplets.  I wonder … is he thinking … “ooooh”, or “owwww”?  Soon he braves the deep and tries to mimic mom’s bathing technique … only he just can’t figure out where his wings are supposed to go!

About the Birdbath

The birdbath camera’s video feed is by far my favorite.  There is rejoicing all day long!  It’s funny to watch the habits of different birds … the toe-dippers, the all-inners, the spectators, the it’s-all-mine’rs and the let’s-bathe-together-crowd.  Future posts will feature the Summer Tanager pair — each one stunningly beautiful in their unique shades of yellow (her) and red (him).  She would generally show up around noon for her daily bath … he preferred to bath at about 5:00 pm.  Each day I’d check … and they’d be there like clockwork.

Providing fresh, clean water for birds will attract a wide array of birds to your property.  If not for the birdbath, I would rarely see the Tanagers.  Providing a birdbath is also important to the birds … not only as a “drinking hole”, but as a place for birds to free themselves of dust and mites.

Birdbath Location/Maintenance

The birdbath pictured here gets morning sun and afternoon shade.  The shrubs around it provide places for birds to make a quick escape as well as a place to preen their feathers after a bath.  (If you have outdoor cats in your area, be careful about placing a birdbath in a location which would allow a cat to surprise the birds.  I am NOT knocking cats — just trusting them to be the impeccable hunters they are!)  I try to hose the bath out once every day to remove any debris/algae.  Water is added, in the summer, with the aid of a micro-sprinkler timer and tube leading from the timer to the bath.  (You can see the water-feeding tube on the right side of the pictured bath.)  The timer turns the water on for 1 minute every 4 hours.  It keeps the bath full and the water fresh/cool while allowing me to watch-and-forget.  During winter months, I add a birdbath heater to keep the water from freezing (and hand-fill with water … bummer).

One last note:  The pictured birdbath is made of granite.  I tried a concrete birdbath — it pitted and was impossible to clean.  I tried a pretty, glass bath (also a ceramic one) — they broke in freezing temperatures.