The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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December 7, 2018
Pacific Northwest
Half a dozen tiny birds rustling on the verge got my attention yesterday. Their exceedingly high pitched calls said kinglets. Then it became a challenge getting a good look at them.
These are Golden-crowned Kinglets, year round residents (unlike the Ruby-crowned Kinglets which are here only in winter) who feed on insects, larvae, spiders etc. Over the summer this roadside had masses of thistles edging a snowberry thicket, and evidently there are bugs active here even near sunset on a chilly winter’s day. One study (birdsna.org/...) reported caterpillars important in their winter diet. They also eat a small quantity of seeds and other vegetal material.
The kinglets hopped around hanging onto stems at all angles, picking at whatever’s in there.
See the two kinglets working within the thistle in this picture?
Golden-crowned Kinglet males and females differ slightly in plumage, though both are soft grey and olive, with wing bars and face stripes. Females have a golden crown, males have a red stripe in theirs.
I’m lucky I heard these tiny birds, otherwise I might have assumed the rustling was due to wind. Their calls are quiet and at 8000 Hz and above. Folks with high-frequency hearing loss can’t hear them at all. A diagram shows a typical audiogram of a person with HF hearing loss. You can still hear deep sounds like a dog barking but not high-pitched sounds like birds. That’s a birdy in the upper right corner.
The primary risk factor for high-frequency hearing loss is age. As we get older, our ear workings degenerate, and we all inevitably lose our hearing. Genetic bad luck is another factor we can’t do anything about.
But a third major risk factor is NOISE. If you listen to a lot of loud sounds, you’ll lose your birdy hearing sooner.
That’s yet another reason to seek out quiet spots in nature, away from the noise of machinery, as much as we can. Our senses are limited enough even in optimum condition.
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Stormy weather has come in today: windy, some spitting rain, but not cold. Temps in the 40s.
What’s up in nature in your area today?
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