Nature Notes: Birds Will Be Birds
The ruby-crowned kinglet is as small as my nose
The golden-crown one as big as your toes
These two little birds fly a few hundred miles or more
To stay here or south until the great thaw
The black-capped chickadee is just as tiny
It hangs with the nuthatches, which are whiney
They both stay on, they face the weather
Birds of a feather, they group together
The teeny warblers are not so bold
In the winter they flee from the cold
They form great flocks of thousands or more
They fly all night, then stop for a bite
The red, red cardinal is part of the mob
It stays through the cold with nary a sob
The blue jay, yet another flock member
Is here all year, doesn’t leave come November
The yellow-rumped warbler can often be found
In low brush and brambles, just hanging around
Seeds and small berries keep them warm
You may see several, but never a swarm
Robins, blackbirds, most go down
A few of each will stay in town
Song sparrows have flown away
White-throats? Flew in today
Fish crows leave come the first cold gale
You won’t find one on a limb or a swale
The common crows are not so picky
They get by cause they’re so tricky
The woodpeckers also hang around
With their beaks make a drum-roll sound
Drill for insects in the trees
Both the hairies and the downeys
The water birds come and go
Canada geese, swans white as snow
Mallards swim in shallow quarters
Coots and loons in deeper waters
The great horned owls, the first to nest
The snowy owls in pure white vests
There’s the whinny of a gray screech owl
And a long-eared owl makes a certain yowl
A red-tailed hawk lets out a cry
A rough-legged hovers quite nearby
A Cooper’s hawk eyes its dinner
The turkey struts, none the thinner
A turkey vulture glides by
Making circles in the sky
You can hardly miss the seagull
And best of all, our own bald eagle
Chipmunks stay snug and warm
Sleep away each winter storm
Snowbirds without a single feather
All go south to escape the weather
As winter’s cold wind blows and blows
Fireplaces warm the nose and toes
If we were born with wings, not knees
We’d better stand each winter’s freeze
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Larry Penny can be reached via email at [email protected].