Thursday, January 2, 2014

Out of the Wind

So it looks like the Piedmont is about to get a few blasts of something uncommon: temperatures below 20F and wind chills below even that.  We don't experience this very often and the birds are no better off.  But here at Cary BirdCam all will be well.  There is not only plenty of food but we have something that will make the difference at night when the wind really howls: cover, in layers.  We have a good deal of wind-blocking native vegetation from ground level all the way up to the high canopy, plus nest boxes, plus brush piles.  I expect the birds will be able to reduce their exposure to moving air relatively well.  And in fact there are sufficient structures all along the neighborhood to blunt a lot of the worst.  This is one reason I keep a natural area relatively, well, natural.  It is times like this when every degree counts.

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