THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, February 16, 2012


9


DO YOU HEAR SPRING?


by Steve White Contributing Writer


After reading this article,


venture outside and listen for just a moment. Do you hear spring? Wait for it………do you hear it now? All around your home, nature is anxiously await- ing the new life that spring- time embodies. Look for that first “cardinal kiss.” Watch as the male, with a magnificent air of regal ceremony, gently offer his mate a sweet morsel of a freshly hulled sunflower kernel. A tilt of her head allows her royal majesty to accept his gift. The tapping on trees,


telephone poles and even human abodes are signals used by territorial male woodpeckers to search for a mate before the upcom- ing nesting season. These sounds can be heard from miles around, greatly in- creasing responses from other dominant males or receptive females. Wood- peckers are one of the first wild bird species to start nesting, usually at the end of February or beginning of March.


Mourning doves are


earning their name as they commence their “mourn- ful” cooing to each other. Male and female mourning doves look the same, but with the advent of spring, it is very easy to distin- guish the sexes. The bird


doing the chasing is the male, pure and simple. The other dove acting shy or “hard to get” is the female. She picks only the best mate available to ensure that her offspring possess the strongest traits she can find.


IMAGE BY PAUL MERRITT Bluebirds arrive toward


the beginning of March around the New England region in search of last year’s successful nest- ing area. Nest boxes for these migrants should be thoroughly cleaned out


See WHITE on 28


It’s time for our


9th Anniversary Sale! Feb. 17th - March 4th


3rd Item - 15% off 2nd Item - 10% off 1st Item - 5% off


5th Item - 25% off 4th Item - 20% off


6th Item - 30% off 7th Item - 35% off!


The more you buy, the more you save!


5% applies to highest priced item and graduates to 35% off lowest priced item


purchased. Some limitations apply, see store for details.


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