Winter’s anything but slow for bird-watching

The big lantana bush that drew a plethora of butterflies, bees and other insects to my yard during summer has withered to a lifeless mass of brown, bare stalks. The oaks, maples and other hardwoods that bedazzled with their reds, oranges and yellows only a few weeks ago now stand in deep slumber, shorn of their leaves.

The tanagers, warblers and thrushes that serenaded us so sweetly on a sunny morning in May have disappeared from our woods and yards. They’re flitting around now in their winter homes in the tropics of Mexico and Latin America.

Winter is upon us. The season arrives officially at 7:04 a.m. today. In that instant, the year reaches the winter solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere leans farthest from the sun.

The days are darkest in winter, but this is the darkest day of all. With only about nine hours, 54 minutes and a few seconds of sunlight, the first day of winter is the shortest day of the year. In ancient times, people lit bonfires to strengthen the waning sun.

Winter in northern latitudes is considered the year’s low point, its nadir. If spring is the morning of the year, then winter is the night. Doctors say that winter days, with their fewer hours of sunlight, can trigger melancholy, even depression, in people —- a condition known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). “A sad tale’s best for winter,” Shakespeare wrote in “The Winter’s Tale.”

But to naturalists, winter is a time of hope. The sun will return. From now on, the days will get longer until we reach June 20, the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. By tomorrow, then, we’ll already be leaning towards summer. As country music singer Merle Haggard crooned: “If we make it through December, everything’s gonna be all right, I know.”

Winter life

In many climes, winter is considered the time of the “dead months.” But not in Georgia, where winter also is a time of abundant life. This is the time of year, for instance, when the Audubon Society conducts its Christmas Bird Counts. The Atlanta area count is being held today. Last year’s survey yielded 90 species and more than 10,000 individual birds in a single day —- not bad for the “slow season” of the year. For a complete line-up of this winter’s counts across Georgia, which continue through Jan. 5, visit www.atlantaaudubon.org.

As further proof that Georgia’s wild places teem with life even in midwinter:

Bald eagles and great horned owls are nesting now; several already are sitting on eggs in their nests. On the coast, rare and endangered northern right whales (Georgia’s official state marine mammal) are nursing their newborn calves.

Although our summer-nesting ruby-throated hummingbirds are ensconced in their winter homes in Mexico and Central America, rufous hummingbirds (native to Western states) are showing up at several backyard feeders in metro Atlanta. And while nearly half of our summer-nesting songbirds are spending the winter in the tropics, several of our year-round birds, especially cardinals and blue jays, are adding brilliant dashes of color to the winter landscape. Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice, kinglets, finches and other small birds are vying for space at birdfeeders, amusing us with their antics.

A variety of ducks and other waterfowl also are showing up on Georgia’s lakes, rivers and other bodies of water. Winter is the best time, in fact, for seeing these birds, most of which will depart the state in early spring for nesting grounds up north and in the Midwest. Along Georgia’s highways, you can see hawks and kestrels sitting on power lines and fences, waiting patiently to pounce on a mouse or other small creature in the grass.

Possums also are starting to breed this month and will continue to do so through midsummer. In a couple of weeks, gray foxes, bobcats and raccoons will begin their breeding seasons. Flocks of robins and cedar waxwings will descend on holly bushes and other shrubs to strip them of their berries in a matter of minutes. Male cardinals will even be starting to sing their territorial songs in preparation for their breeding season.

So much for the “dead season of the year.”

In the sky

The annual Ursid meteor shower reaches a peak tonight of about 15 meteors per hour, says David Dundee, astronomer with the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum. The shower will continue through Tuesday night. Look to the east from about midnight until dawn.

Look for the crescent moon low in the east just before sunrise this week. The moon will be new next Sunday. Mercury is very low in the east just before sunrise this week. Venus shines brightly in the west just after sunset and sets in the west about three hours later. Jupiter sets in the west just after dark. Saturn rises out of the east about midnight. Mars is too close to the sun for easy observation.

seabrk@comcast.net