natureswondersbyclyde

      I noticed on our computer screen, because of a live camera, that the 400 acre lake at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, which is owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, was mostly frozen shut and covered with snow on February 15, 2021.  However, a few "puddles" of open water on that impoundment attracted the wintering gatherings of Canada geese, tundra swans and black ducks that rested on the lake so far this winter.  Between their feeding forays in nearby corn fields to ingest corn kernels, those handsome species of waterfowl by the thousands rested on the ice and snow on the edges of the open water, shrouded by a light fog caused by the air being warmer than the ice and snow.       The fog became a bit thicker in the late afternoon and early evening, blocking the view of dark,  deciduous woods bordering the snow-covered lake in the background.  The gray sky, fog and snow together made a bleak scene, but also a scene of desolate beauty.  And the elegant waterfo

      Every winter, for many years, I have enjoyed seeing flocks of mourning doves hunched and dozing in tall, planted Norway spruce trees in our back lawn, sometimes during snow falls.  And I am thrilled to see gatherings of American robins flying in and out of planted crab apple trees where they consume the lovely, red fruits of those trees.  Both these kinds of attractive birds annually winter in suburban areas, close to home, in southeastern Pennsylvania.        Some doves and robins go south for the winter, but others of both species stay north, feeding and sheltering in suburbs, and adding their beauties and intrigues to those human-made habitats.  Groups of these adaptable, abundant birds are large enough and bold enough to be noticed feeding in the open almost everywhere in many suburbs through winter.  And, between feeding forays, groups of doves and robins perch in bare, deciduous trees, roadside wires and roof tops in suburbs, where those daily gatherings of handsome doves a

      A variety of larger birds have been wintering at Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River in northern Maryland for several years.  They are numerous, fish-eating birds, currently including bald eagles, ring-billed gulls, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons and black vultures, all of which procure their food in various ways.  And all of which are seen by video cameras and on computer screens.        Conowingo Dam backs up the Susquehanna into a long lake with little current.  River water tumbles through several turbines, which spin in the falling water, creating electricity.  The water then gushes into the river below the dam, creating turbulence that doesn't freeze.  Dead, injured or disoriented fish of smaller sizes also tumble through the turbines and into the river below the dam, where they are vulnerable to fish-eating birds already mentioned.        Up to 250 magnificent bald eagles of all ages winter at Conowingo Dam.  They roost on trees, boulders and power towe

      About a foot of snow fell on southeastern Pennsylvania on January 31 and February 1 and 2 of 2021 and local birds adjusted to that snowfall.  I made it a point to see how those birds adapted at home, in fields around New Holland, Pennsylvania and the main impoundment at Middle Creek Wildlife Refuge.          Birds in our suburban lawn, including northern cardinals, house sparrows, mourning doves, white-throated sparrows, dark-eyed juncos and other species, seemed panicky and fed on seeds at bird feeders more than usual.  Swarms of birds were at those feeders at once, instinctively filling up for possible hard times ahead.      I drove to familiar locations in cropland near home for over an hour during the early afternoon of February third to see what field birds were doing since the fields and their seeds were buried under snow.  From past experience , I should be seeing flocks of horned larks feeding on seeds and tiny stones along roadsides where snow plows scraped up soil on th