“Brrrrrr! Good morning, Squeaks, it’s a frosty morning!”
Momanita tugged the blue cover off my rolly nest.
“It’s a frosty morning AND an early one!”
To other hootmans this sounded like squeals and whistles, but not to Momanita. She MOSTLY understood cockatiel speak. I MOSTLY understood hootman talk.
Frosty mornings, rainy mornings, windy mornings, Momanita never slept late. She wrote in the morning which meant that I wrote in the morning, too, since “Squeaks Says” was MY blog.
“There’s a cold snap, Squeaks,” reported Momanita. “It’s -14 degrees now and will be below zero for a few days.”
“That’s not a snap. A snap is quick and easy. A few days is not quick and -14 degrees is NOT easy!”
“Our boiler is clunking away but it’s still cold in here,” said Momanita. “Let’s keep warm while we write.”
Momanita set my writing nest atop the rolly nest and I climbed in. She carried me upstairs to HER writing nest. Before she scooted her chair to the computer, she placed a heating pad under my nest and covered part of my nest with a towel.
“That should keep you warm,” said Momanita. “I wonder how our wild bird friends, Cardinal, Chickadee, Woodpecker, and Doves keep warm.”
When Momanita wondered, she thought of questions.
When she thought of questions, she looked for answers.
When she looked for answers, she needed my help.
What DID Cardy, Chicky, Woody, and the Lovey Doveys do to keep warm? Momanita sipped her coffee and tucked millet between my bars. Momanita thought better with coffee, and I thought better with millet.
Puffed, Preened, and Protected
“The arborvitaes we planted keep Cardinal warm in the winter,” said Momanita. “These evergreens act as a wind break.
“Cardy zips into the dense branches. He moves fast for a giant puffball.”
“Those downy feathers puff up next to his body and trap air. That warms him,” said Momanita. “Preening keeps his feathers clean and dry.”
My puffed and preened feathers kept me warm and dry AND handsome. I flashed my crest to show how handsome I could be.
Momanita didn’t see. She tapped the keyboard to find out about Woody.
Woody In The Winter
“Cardinal shelters in the evergreen branches. Our Downy Woodpecker shelters inside the oak tree,” said Momanita.
“I wondered where he went!”
“He gobbles the suet and peanuts from our feeder,” said Momanita. “Those high energy foods keep his temperature steady. Then he sleeps in the hollow tree.”
I wondered if Woody had a heating pad like me. I never tried suet, but I could use more millet. I tossed the sprig I picked clean by Momanita’s computer.
Momanita didn’t notice. She tapped the keyboard to find out about Chicky.
Shiver Me Timbers
“Chickadee shivers in the winter,” said Momanita.
“I shiver when I see a ping pong ball or a terror bird. Then I run away and hide.”
“Shivering increases Chickadee’s body temperatures,” said Momanita. “In the fall, chickadee gains 10% more weight to help him survive the winter.”
“I could do that if someone gave me more millet.”
“Chickadee’s hippocampus, the memory part of the brain, also increases. Since Chickadee stores food in the fall, the larger brain helps him remember where his seeds are.”
“I could be smarter if I had more millet- hint, hint.”
Momanita didn’t hear. She tapped the keyboard to find out about the Lovey Doveys.
Huddling Up
“I saw the Mourning Doves grouped together on the feeder,” said Momanita. “Then they moved to the back of the house to a patch of sunshine. The group and the sun keep them warm.”
“I see Lovey Doveys together on the roof.”
“Mourning Dove stashes seed in his crop. Then he can fly to a safe place to digest it.”
“I could store millet if I HAD any extra millet TO store.”
Momanita didn’t care. She stopped tapping the keyboard.
“Should we write how our backyard birds stay safe and warm in the winter, Squeaks?” asked Momanita.
“I think we should write about planting evergreens for shelter and filling feeders when they are empty.”
To other hootmans this sounded like squeals and whistles, but not to Momanita. She MOSTLY understood cockatiel speak. I MOSTLY understood hootman talk.
“We’ll write about it after I make more suet,” said Momanita. “Here’s millet for my favorite cockatiel. You have a warm heart.”
Momanita DID see and notice and hear and care.
I climbed back into my writing nest. I nibbled millet while Momanita mixed oats and peanut butter for the suet.
Check out Momanita’s book OPERATION HOPPER.
Momanita and I read about birds surviving in the winter. You might want to read about them, too.
Anita Borgo 