Snow piling up as backyard bird count approaches; great-granddaughter Milly enjoys blooming amaryllis

More storms are racing across the middle of the country, starting in the Gulf and cutting through most of the southern states with thunderstorms and possible tornadoes. High winds, rain, sleet, and snow to the north. These storms are following the same path of the tornadoes that came through last week killing a couple of people and putting thousands out of power in Tennessee. My Master Bander Gordon Howard told me he just got wind and rain in his area around Clemson, South Carolina, but there were tornado warnings during these storms. 

Up in this neck of the woods, it has just been snowing every day for more than a week, Bless the guy who invented the snowblower as it has eaten through everything Mother Nature has laid down in my 950-foot driveway daily. Looking ahead to the weekend, it is predicting sleet, snow, and rain. I have got to put some heat from my cellar into the garage and open the trap door to let some of that heat to the roof, which has 2 feet of snow just sitting there. There was a sonic boom this morning that shook the house, but that did not rattle any snow on that roof. Rain on the 2 feet of snow we have on the level might be too much for some roofs. I saw where the roof on the bowling alley in Rome was stressed from the snow. Some of the older camps that I used to scoop around Limekiln Lake could use a little attention. 

The snowmobilers have been having a banner year in this area with new snow to ride on daily and plenty of base so far. There were a couple of accidents over the weekend. The first one Saturday afternoon had the injured rider flown out by helicopter to the hospital. Then at 3 a.m. Sunday I heard the tones go off for a snowmobile accident out on Fourth Lake. I turned on the outside light and it was snowing hard so there would be no helicopter flying for this one. Five sleds traveling on the lake ran into a sled left out on the lake or each other with only one sled missing the pile-up. One operator, 22-year-old from Batavia, Spencer Schmidt, was pronounced dead at the scene, the others had non-threatening injuries, but their machines were all disabled. Police said that alcohol or drugs were not involved. 

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was first found in New York in Suffolk County in February 2022 in a flock of free-ranging chickens. Many cases have been detected since then with whole flocks being destroyed. In the wild, a few small flocks of ducks and geese have been found dead from HPAI. Animals and birds that fed on any of these dead birds have also been infected with the disease. This has been the cause for the high price of eggs, fewer chickens and fewer eggs. This is going to increase the price of any poultry eventually. A new link for reporting any observations of dead birds can be found on DEC’s Animal Diseases webpage. I have only read of one case in Texas where a rancher’s cows contracted the disease, and he caught it from them. I did see some photos from South America beaches covered with dead seals with gulls eating on the carcasses and being found dead nearby. The way snow geese and Canada geese flock together during the winter, they are going to take a big hit, and the birds like vultures, gulls and eagles that fed on these dead birds will certainly get the disease. We have a big flock of ducks wintering on the Inlet Channel, but I have seen no problems with them so far.

One bright spot this week was a photo of great-granddaughter Milly and a beautiful yellow amaryllis that I gave her mother for Christmas had come into bloom. She had been watching it grow then one morning there it was fully open with more to come. 

This is the Great Backyard Bird Count from Friday through Monday. You can count just the birds at your feeder or take a walk on a woods trail and record any birds you might hear or see on your hike. Reporting not seeing birds is just as important as seeing them. Keep track of your time at your feeders or on your hikes and mileage covered on foot or skies. 

This is also Chili Bowl Luncheon Saturday at View Arts Center in Old Forge where you can come in a buy a new bowl for your chili or just enjoy a bowl of chili on a chilly winter day. View will present a play called “Love Letters” tonight (Valentine’s Day.) You do not want to miss this one. 

Results of the Great Backyard Bird Count, but that’s another story. See ya. 

Top photo: Ducks in Inlet Channel. Photo by Gary Lee.