May is a magical time in the mountains

The fires of spring glow brightly in the mountains. May is truly a time of hope and promise, with bird song at full throttle.

May is the month when spring finally springs in the mountains. Suddenly, there are flowers everywhere, with more trying to bloom each day. It is a time when gardeners must dig in the dirt.

There is tilling to be done, fertilizing, and raking the dirt.

Once the garden is tilled there are earthworms to the delight of the robins.

Earthworms are tireless tillers of the soil, and their castings are the richest and best of all fertilizers. One can never have too many earthworms in the garden. They need moist soil in which to survive. During dry periods, they receded deeply into their burrows, which can be as deep as six feet.

If you want to increase the numbers of earthworms in your garden, add more organic matter.

Bears are up and on the move, even the mothers with cubs. Don’t leave out the bird feeders past 4 p.m. It is useless to rant at a bear raiding the birdfeeder. All you get is a mangled bird feeder and a non-impressed hungry bear.

Bears become used to people, birdfeeders, dogs, and noises that they hear frequently. It is up to humans to take the proper precautions when living in bear country. You can live with bears without encounters.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission recommends:

* Securing bags of trash inside cans stored in a garage, basement or other secure area. Place the cans outside, as late as possible, on trash pick-up days. Do not set out the garbage the night before and expect neighborhood dogs or bears to leave it alone.
* Purchase bear proof garbage cans or bear proof your existing garbage containers with a bear proof latching system.
* Black bears are rarely aggressive toward people, but they do become bolder when they are accustomed to people.
* Stop free feeding pets outside. If you must feed pets outdoors, make sure all food is consumed and empty bowls are removed.
* Do not throw table scraps outside. A bear will literally eat anything.
* Clean all food and grease from barbecue grills after each use. Bears are attracted to food odors and will investigate. It is not unusual to find a bear licking an uncleaned grill.

Contrary to what many people believe, wildlife employees will not trap and relocate bears, because this would simply relocate the problem, rather than solve it.

Pups, cubs, chicks and kits are welcome signs of spring in the mountains. You may be tempted to pick them up or feed them, but it is against the law to tamper with wildlife.

Capturing and handling a young wild animal can stress it and sometimes results in the death of the animal. Young wild animals that look abandoned are rarely orphaned. Many species do not stay with their young and only return to feed them. Rabbits are an excellent example. The mother returns three to four times in a 24 hour period of time to feed her young. When you see a fully furred, alert bunny that measure five to six inches on its own, it is normal. Do not save wildlife from nature.

Wildlife can transmit diseases, including rabies and roundworms to humans. Also, it is illegal to keep wildlife without a permit.

Keep the birdbaths full of fresh water, keep the hummingbird feeders filled with a fresh mix, and enjoy the season.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

The mountains are awash with pollen and spring migrants

Waves of warblers are back in the Valley now. . With their numerous color variations they add a lot of visual beauty to an already spectacular spring season.

Bring the birdfeeders in by 4 p.m. daily. Also, hummingbird feeders are tempting to hungry bears.

The Valley like most of the area is loaded with pollen. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources reported that pollen has reached record high level . It is at some of the highest concentrations since air quality agencies started measuring pollen in the late 1990s.

The high pollen levels are most likely due to several factors, including the weather turning suddenly warm after a cold winter and cool early spring. Also, there has been little rainfall this spring. In addition to dry weather, winds have been blowing the pollen around.

Also, the coldest winter in eons delayed some trees that normally flower earlier in the spring, so that more different tree species are flowering at the same time.

For some, the enjoyment of spring is an ugly price to pay with sneezes, watery, itchy eyes, ears that pop and crackle, and the chronic sore throat. Then there are those who cough almost non-stop.

The conditions from mid-April until now have been perfect for pollen and wildfire. The hot, dry conditions make both events worse. When you add a mild wind of five to seven miles per hour, conditions are just right for pollen and fire.

The yellowish stuff coating cars is not the culprit causing all the human manifestations of allergies. It is pine pollen that is causing people to suffer and vehicles to be yellow coated.

Rain, which has been missing from the Valley for too long again, will help alleviate the pollen sneezes, but it won’t solve the problem. Pollen will still be around to cause discomfort.

Pollen is crucial for survival of all species. We can’t live without it and it is difficult for many to live with it. Without pollen, seeds would not form, and plants would die out. The pollen that causes most of the severe respiratory problems in human comes from plants that depend on the wind to disperse it. The small lightweight pollen blows around easily and is small enough to get into nasal membranes. Those who are most affected can stay inside, clean the air conditioner filter and pop an occasional antihistamine tablet. All of these should help stoop the sneezes.

Animals summer from pollen attacks also. Your dog may sneeze, cough and scratch until there are unsightly marks on its body. Check the inside of the ears. If they are more red than usual, and the dog is scratching them, it may be due to pollen. Each time you take the dog outside; wipe it down thoroughly before bringing it back inside.

Remind yourself. This too will pass, and Mother Nature will have done her job spreading pollen for another season.

Copperhead snakes are out of their dens, so watch your step in the garden. Also, watch where you put your hands.

Bumblebees are out now. They are gentle and slow. She meanders through the garden collecting pollen and nectar. She is never in a hurray. The bumblebee is round and furry. There is the large queen, the smaller and somewhat imperfectly formed female worker bee and the tiny male or drone bee. Only the queen and the worker bees have a stinger.

Important facts about bumblebees include:

· They live in small nests and never swarm.

· Bumble bees produce enough honey only to feed their young.

The Bumblebee’s biggest enemy is man with pesticide spray. Like every other form of wildlife, they are under serious threat from the chemicals used in flower and vegetable gardens.

· Bumblebees are much less aggressive than honey bees.

· * Bumblebees are hard workers in the garden. They repay man’s kindness by pollinating flowers, fruit and vegetables.

· The best flowers for bumblebees are any kind that is simple and open. They carry more nectar and pollen. Bumblebees enjoy foxgloves, hollyhocks, heather, lavender, oregano, cornflowers, mint, clover, marigolds, and beans.

The main job of bumblebees is to pollinate flowers.

Keep out plenty of clean water for bathing and drinking, and keep the feeders full during the day. Bring them inside by late afternoon to prevent tempting bears.

Listen for toad frogs calling.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

Hummingbirds return to the Valley

Photo by Tony Dill

The Valley is enjoying a breath of springtime for a few days.

The birds of winter have slipped away. Notice how few are showing up at the bird feeders now. Those migrating are hardly noticed as they leave silently vanishing often before dawn breaks the sky. The tempo of spring is increasing daily.

The sun swings north and the shift of the season gains momentum.

Squirrels are carrying cedar bark and bits and pieces of newspaper up the trees to their nest. The cedar and the newspaper deter moths and other insects that torment young squirrels.

Hummingbirds are showing up daily in the Valley for another season. The males arrive from a few days to two weeks prior to the arrival of the females. They are as eager as the songbirds to get a start on the breeding and nesting season. They visit the Carolinas from March through November, and have devoted backyard bird lovers who furnish an endless supply of sugar water. The hummingbird feeders are important especially now when there isn’t too much in bloom to feed the tiny, iridescent birds the nectar they have to have to live.

Hummingbirds feed on nectar from flowers and tiny insects. The flower garden can provide both. Hang hummingbird feeders in the shade. Make sure they are clean and refill the feeders at least every two-three days. If you plan to be away from home for a few days, take the hummingbird feeders down to prevent fermentation.

Fill the feeders with a boiled solution of four parts water to one part white refined sugar or commercially prepared nectar mix. Do not use a honey solution in feeders, because they can produce a fungal disease that is fatal to hummingbirds.

Clean the sugar water feeders with a brush and mild detergent solution and rinse well before refilling.

Some interesting hummingbird facts include:

*The hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world.

*Hummingbirds hover easily. They can move ahead, sideways or backward at will.

*A Ruby-throated hummingbird, those that call the Valley their summer home, weighs about one tenth of an ounce and travels a minimum of 600 miles during migration.

*Hummingbirds often drink up to eight times their body weight daily.

*Although their normal body temperature is about 103 F, it can drop to 70F at night. Unfortunately, a hummingbird in a torpid state cannot respond to an emergency situation. *They have the ability to endure temporary cool weather or cool nights by becoming dormant. To wake from a dormant state can take as long as one hour.

*Flying consumes a tremendous amount of hummingbird energy. Wing beats have been measured from 20-200 beats per second.

* Pesticides, especially sprays, can be lethal to hummers. Malathion, Sevin or diazinon is deadly to them. Also, when you use pesticides, the number of insects in the garden in drastically reduced, and in turn reduces the hummingbirds’ nutritional source. It can also cause starvation and death of the young in the nest.

* Hummingbirds winter in Central America from Mexico to Panama. Some go no farther than Florida. Most winter in the Mexico area. They migrate by day, with once exception. When they cross the Gulf of Mexico, they are over water when night falls and must keep flying until they reach the other side. That requires a lot of energy, and stored fat reserves. It takes about 18 hours in good weather to cross the Gulf of Mexico, and 24 hours if the weather is bad.

The hummingbird is an important contributor to the entire ecosystem. By flying from flower to flower, the hummingbird pollinates plants and feeds on them. Some plants can only reproduce because of the pollination.

Crows, jays, cats, and mice eat baby hummers. The small birds can also be caught by dragonflies and praying mantises. It is not unusual to find them caught in spiders’ webs. They not only eat nectar and insects, but enjoy the sap running from sapsucker drill holes. These are especially important food sources in early spring after a long migration.

Put the hummingbird feeders up, and plant lost of blooming flowers. Keep the water dishes full of clean water, and fill the bird feeders. Birds arriving daily have used up most of their reserves, and need to feed regularly and heavily when they arrive in the Valley for another nesting season.

Towhees and brown thrashers are back, scratching and searching for tidbits of food on the ground under the feeders. Bumblebees are out, and luna moths can be seen around porch lights. It is the peak birthing season for gray fox and beaver. Red tail hawks are beginning to nest, and copperhead snakes are beginning to leave their winter dens.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.