It's almost keekee bird weather!

Have you ever heard the call of a keekee bird? It'll be a surprise if we don't soon see huge flocks of them if the cold temperatures hang around and drop even more as we approach the depths of Winter. Dull, drab, no sign of breeding plumage, but the American goldfinches have returned to the feeder. Today was the first time in weeks, months?, that goldfinches have been visible around here. As the climate continues to warm, Minnesota stands to lose much of its current American goldfinch range, based on Audubon's models.

American goldfinch at sunflower seed feeder

Photo by J. Harrington

It feels more than a little silly to be mentioning climate warming when this morning's low temperature (13℉) was about 20℉ below normal. I've seen the explanations about climate disruption triggering waves, and lack of stability, in the jet stream. The explanations don't make the current cold spell seem any less Kafkaesque.

perky black-capped chickadee

Photo by J. Harrington

Based on how many keep arriving, and arriving, and arriving at the feeder, the chickadees must have had a successful breeding season. Fortunately for those of us who are long-standing fans of the cheerful, chipper, black-capped little birds, climate change isn't expected to have hardly any effect on their range in Minnesota. Also fortunately, our house has been doing a yeoman-like job of keeping us warm despite the premature cold. Let's hope  we get a November thaw soon to break these January-temperatures.

What My House Would Be Like If It Were A Person

By Denise Levertov

This person would be an animal.

This animal would be large, at least as large

as a workhorse. It would chew cud, like cows,

having several stomachs.

No one could follow it

into the dense brush to witness

its mating habits. Hidden by fur,

its sex would be hard to determine.

Definitely it would discourage

investigation. But it would be, if not teased,

a kind, amiable animal,

confiding as a chickadee. Its intelligence

would be of a high order,

neither human nor animal, elvish.

And it would purr, though of course,

it being a house, you would sit in its lap,

not it in yours.

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