A flock of wild turkeys saunters across the lawn near the Clotilde Irvine Sensory Garden. It feels particularly chilly today after yesterday’s unseasonable warmth, but the turkeys seem to take the change in weather in stride. One Tom appears to be stepping on his beard — a plume of dark hair-like feathers that grow out of the bird’s chest. The beard, which has the feel of a miniature horsetail, is believed to attract mates and signal dominance. Males begin growing beards at around 5 months of age, and they continue growing throughout a turkey’s life, at the rate of about 5 inches per year. While beards are typically a male trait, about 10% of female turkeys (hens) have a shorter, wispier version.
Male turkeys (Toms) grow beards to attract mates.
A pileated woodpecker is pecking loudly on a tree, excavating an oblong hole in search of food. She pulls her head back before each blow, then hammers into the wood with her heavy bill. (I know this one’s a female because she lacks a red stripe on her cheek.) Carpenter ants are this bird’s primary food; she will also use her long, barbed tongue to extract wood-boring beetle larvae or termites from deep in the wood. It will soon be mating season, with the males doing most of the work excavating a nest, then taking turns with the female to incubate the eggs and feed the young. Pileateds mate for life, and will create a new nest each season, leaving their old one for many other cavity-nesting birds and mammals to use.
Pileated woodpeckers excavate large holes in dead trees as they search for food.
Crabapple trees in the Johanna Frerichs Garden for Wildlife along Three-Mile Walk provide late-winter food for a variety of birds and animals, including robins and cedar waxwings. A gray squirrel also partakes of the bounty. Cedar waxwings are with us year-round, as are a small percentage of robins (as long as they can find food and shelter). The robins who have migrated to southern states and Central America will begin returning in force in late March to mid-April.
Robins and squirrels alike partake of last year’s crabapple bounty.
Another food source for birds is sunflower seeds, thoughtfully provided by Arboretum staff. Dark-eyed juncos hop around beneath a feeder, picking up seeds that have fallen, while nuthatches and chickadees dart onto the feeder, grab a seed, and fly off. The juncos won’t be with us too much longer; they spend their summers in northern Minnesota and Canada.
Bird feeders provide an easy meal for dark-eyed juncos and white-breasted nuthatches.
Upon entering the Oswald Visitor Center, I step out of winter and into spring — running streams surrounded by ferns and tulips; beautiful bouquets everywhere; cotton clouds suspended from the ceiling. The Spring Flower Show runs through March 15. You don’t want to miss this lovely foretaste of the upcoming season! And be sure to take in the exhibit currently on display in the Reedy Gallery, A Chorus of Wings, featuring four different artists celebrating our feathered friends.
Running streams and a profusion of color greet guests at the Oswald Visitor Center.
Holly Einess is a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer. To learn more about the University of Minnesota Extension’s Master Naturalist program, visit their website.