More Evidence of Hardship

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Although temperatures have begun to return to normal here in the northern Piedmont (average this time of year should be 44 degrees Fahrenheit), the ground is still covered with plenty of deep, crusty snow and the wildlife is desperate for food.

For the first time in the 26 years I have lived here, a Northern Mockingbird has begun to appear regularly at my suet feeder.  Mockingbirds, like American Robins, are insectivores during the warmer months, but switch to berries during the winter.  Clearly, the supply of edible, freeze-dried fruit on the vine has been exhausted and the mockingbird has turned to the only food it can find.

For so many of us, this winter can't end soon enough.