Whatever Series — Wednesday 22 May 2024
Today a Baltimore Oriole visited my feeders. I had one visit a week or so ago. I have no idea if today’s visitor is the same bird, part of the family or a totally different Oriole. Any which way, they are beautiful birds, with bright orange, black and white markings. This one’s orange looked a tinge lighter perhaps, so maybe it is youngster in a new brood?
Unfortunately, while I have a suet feeder and two seed feeders, I don’t have oranges or other food that an Oriole might like. Today’s visitor poked a bit at the seeds in the seed feeder then flew the 12 inches to a wood beam where it stopped for a moment, and then hopped/flew another 6-to-12 inches to the suet feeder where it maneuvered around a bit, pecked at the suet (maybe even ate some) and then flew off as a larger bird flew in.
My deck and feeders are surrounded by dense treetop canopies. Once the leaves have filled in, as they have now, it is nearly impossible to see where the birds go after about 10 feet if they head into the trees. I’d love to see the Oriole nest which is a hanging marvel of weaving!
This was about lunch time, around noon. (I love lunch.) Today was a second summery weather day in a row, getting to about 80 degrees, which feels very hot in contrast to the last six or so months of New England winter and early Spring.
With a fully leafed-out canopy of tree tops just outside my deck that encircles the room where I work, and the West and North-facing sliding doors wide open, the sounds of leaves ruffling in the breeze and birds chirping surround me all day. Even the sound of birds landing and taking off from the deck railing and cross-beams below the feeders becomes part of the “Great Animal Orchestra” described so amazingly in Bernie Krause’s book of the same name. Some birds land almost silently, while others, such as Blue Jays land with a distinct thud. Many birds’ flight is nearly silent, but some wing and feather patterns on some of the larger birds make a sound, especially when they hover before landing on the suet feeder.
Yesterday evening, a neighbor’s college-age kids had a backyard party, the first outside one of the year. They were playing a lot of Country music, on high volume. The sounds from the party and the music were energetic and fun, but also totally drowned out the “Animal Orchestra.” Today, for pretty much the first time, the afternoon also had neighbors (or their landscape service providers) running lawnmowers.
Many of our human-made sounds just entirely overwrite the natural sound environment, at least to my hearing. I wonder if, and hope that, the animals can tune out our cacophony. I think it is wishful thinking.
