Out and About: Round Lake Nature Notes: January, 2011

     I thought the birds in Round Lake had a “Secret Santa” when I discovered a suet feeder hanging from a branch of a tree on the Zim Smith trail south of the village.  Julie Galloway told me there was also a feeder on the trail north of Goldfoot Road.  They appeared one day in the middle of December.  Within a few days I spotted a chickadee enjoying the suet in the south feeder.  When I visited the north feeder, a downy woodpecker was busy chiseling away at the lard.  In a week’s time the south feeder was gone.  I did not check on the north feeder until the twenty-seventh and by then that one was also gone.  So who was the “Suet Santa”?  Or were the feeders put up for a science project, something to do with the Christmas Bird Count, or to take pictures of birds for a holiday gift?  If anyone has any information, I’d love to know.  I’ll even give you a suet cake!
    By the way, no worries if you’re thinking that the birds had extra food for a week and then they were deprived when it went away.  Studies have found that birds take only about twenty-five percent of their food from feeders when feeders are fully accessible to them.  The bulk of a bird’s diet comes from natural sources.  I have watched cedar waxwings, robins and juncos eating the purple privet berries off my neighbor’s hedge while ignoring the bird feeders.  Just today I watched White-breasted Nuthatches scouting up and down the trunks of the maple trees in front of my house.  I assume they were looking for insects or seeds tucked in the bark crevices.  They spent about twenty minutes doing this and then came to the feeders and grabbed a seed or two.  They are known for caching seeds under tree bark for later consumption.   So don’t worry if you can’t get out to fill your feeders due to bad weather or you’re away and they become empty.  The birds will eat elsewhere and after they forgive you they’ll come back when the feeders are full!
    This is the time of year Great Horned Owls can be heard hooting as they are seeking mates.  Pat, on Prospect Avenue, has heard them after midnight in the conifers on Albany Avenue.  Remember that the snow tells us what is around town.  I saw red fox, vole, deer, mouse, crow and of course, squirrel tracks in the woods and trail after the snowfall on the twenty-sixth. Lastly, my blog, Roundlakenaturenotes.blogspot.com has pictures of the suet feeders that were on the trail as well as updates on what I’m seeing out and about town.  Have a very Happy New Year.