Jenny:
The pigeons do not migrate. I used to think that they were limited by
the cold weather, until I visited Arctic Explorer Will Steger's place
near Ely MN last summer, and discovered he had a problem with pigeons
pooping on his deck. The mean January temperature there is 1 degree F,
and the average nightly low is -14. So, if pigeons can live there, they
are not limited by cold.
The crows have made all the pathways in the park into poopways, covered
with white permapoop, which freezes instantly and becomes as hard as
concrete when it hits the ground, and which will turn into slime in
March when it gets above freezing. They also kill the buds on the twigs
on top of the trees, so will shorten the height of the trees by a foot
or two. Crows used to migrate down to Iowa during the winter, but in
recent years they have decided to stay in Minneapolis. The crow
population had been greatly reduced by the West Nile Virus several years
ago, but obviously they have now recovered.
Lee
[email protected] wrote:
Lee,
The more you tell me about Minneapolis, the more I think it is
actually on a different planet. 8,000 popsicle crows in a park? Wow.
They must be the Twin Cities' heroes if they displaced the hated
pigeons... or do the pigeons migrate? I wonder how many of these
birds perish in the winter?
How can I know so little about all these common animals? I guess they
just don't come up much in opera libretti.
Jenny
-----Original Message-----
From: Lee Frelich <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tue, Jan 5, 2010 6:26 pm
Subject: Re: [ENTS] Central Park Wildlife
Jenny:
Raccoons in Minneapolis are asleep until the Arctic Oscillation
reverses and gives us temperatures above zero. They sleep for 1-2
weeks during outbreaks of arctic air, along with squirrels. We do have
about 8,000 crows in Loring Park every night. If they are so smart,
why do they perch in windy tree tops all night when its -15 degrees?
During the day they go somewhere down by the Mississippi River, and
return here at about 6:00 pm. The pigeons have left the neighborhood
(I assume because of the crows). Smaller birds like chickadees are
staying within the crowns of conifers where windchill factors are not
so low. Bobcats are out at night--they are well insulated and don't
care how cold it is.
Lee
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> wrote:
> Yes, I was there at day break. I was so surprised to see the
raccoons. > I hope nothing was wrong. Oh, now I'm worried! I take this
walk a lot > so I'll check the same spot tomorrow. It was right by a
stream, so I > assumed they were getting a drink before heading to
bed. But I don't > really know much about raccoons at all. These guys
were so cute. I > couldn't believe the variety I was seeing that
morning (I saw > cardinals, chickadees, and red-bellied woodpeckers as
well and lots of > squirrels, of course). The pigeons and house
sparrows were hanging > out at the edges of the park where people were
putting out seeds for > them. Taking walks in the park in the early
morning is a new thing > for me, so all this animal activity in CP is
so fascinating.
>
> Jenny
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Carolyn Summers <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>
> To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
> Sent: Tue, Jan 5, 2010 2:43 pm
> Subject: Re: [ENTS] Central Park Wildlife
>
> Fantastic! How did you find the racoon? In Hastings, they only come
out at
> twilight. Occasionally I have spotted them hanging around just after
the sun
> rises. Is that when you took the photo - at daybreak? Racoons are my
very
> favorite animal.
> -- > Carolyn Summers
> 63 Ferndale Drive
> Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706
> 914-478-5712
>
>
>
> > From: JennyNYC <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]?>>>
> > Reply-To: <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]?>>>
> > Date: Tue, 5 Jan 2010 07:49:13 -0800 (PST)
> > To: ENTSTrees <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]?>>>
> > Subject: [ENTS] Central Park Wildlife
> > > > ENTS,
> > > > An unbelievable morning of wildlife in the middle of NYC on a
freezing
> > cold early morning. It's about 2 minutes. It's a good one.
> > > > http://www.vimeo.com/8544987
> > > > Jenny
> > > > -- > > Eastern Native Tree Society
http://www.nativetreesociety.org
> > Send email to [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]?>>
> > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en
> > To unsubscribe send email to
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
<mailto:[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]?>>
>
>
> -- > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org >
Send email to [email protected]
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