Silent Nights

For some time now, we have had cold nights. Other than the sounds of cars driving by, silence. When we get out of my car in front of our house and look southeast when the sky is clear, bright stars stand out against the dark and twinkle. The moon has gone through its phases since we missed the 2010 lunar eclipse around Christmas while we were in Oregon. Also missing at night this winter are the sounds of bird songs. We always notice how noisy the nights are here during the summer, especially when we climb out of our car when arriving home.

Range map for the Hermit Thrush. 

I haven't thought about how quiet the evenings are void of bird songs until this morning. I woke up after 8:00 AM and heard a bird singing outside. I am not very adept at identifying bird songs as I learned I should be over a year ago from a seasoned life-long birder. So I peaked out the shades trying to spot what I heard. Off to the left, and looking through a series of branches across to the neighbors' yard there was possibly a blue jay or northern mocking bird - that seemed to be the shape, but I knew what I heard wasn't them. So, I started listening to birdsong recordings on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Website and looked at range maps that showed which species could be wintering in Maryland - I figured out what I heard was likely a hermit thrush.

Very few birds seem to be visiting our bird feeder this time of the year either. A squirrel has figured out how to take a running start down a small branch I should have trimmed this autumn that is perpendicular to the rest of the limbs that have begun to form the espalier along the fence, and then leap across the divide to the suet feeder that hangs from our "squirrel-proof pole." From there he can climb over to the seed feeder, where the sounds of bird sightings and songs in winter are rarities. (1)
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(1) My records show that last year there were waves of birds that came feeding in winter - even with the snow on the ground.