{"id":47149,"date":"2024-01-11T15:41:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T15:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=47149"},"modified":"2024-01-11T15:41:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T15:41:43","slug":"recent-snow-is-latest-evidence-of-late-start-to-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2024\/01\/11\/recent-snow-is-latest-evidence-of-late-start-to-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent snow is latest evidence of late start to winter"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Ted Purcell<\/em>
\nCommunity Correspondent<\/em><\/div>\n

January 2024.<\/p>\n

I cannot believe it has been one year since I pitched the idea for this column to Kristen, the local editor for our Landmark, and she said it was a great idea, and would I write one monthly. I hope readers have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. We have received positive feedback from many folks. My son recently was hiking in the prison camps and ran into some folks and in conversation our last name came up, and they asked if he was related to \u201cthe guy who writes the articles in the Landmark.\u201d My hope and intention is to draw readers’ attention to what is going on outdoors, encourage people to get out, and educate folks about outdoor sightings and experiences. I am grateful for the opportunity and hope to continue to bring a window to the outdoors.<\/p>\n

I have spoken to many people this past fall and holiday season who are wondering where winter is. As I am writing this I can hear the TV meteorologist talking about our \u201cfirst snowfall this season,\u201d which indeed came to pass this this past weekend, Jan. 6 and 7. To some of us this seems late, and for others, that lack of a white Christmas is disappointing.<\/p>\n

We have been trending to a \u201clater\u201d start to winter and less snowy winters. In fact, a recent study released said we have lost an average of 27 days of snow covering the ground. It sure seems to me that as a kid growing up in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, we had more snow, but memories can be tricky.<\/p>\n

We are currently in an El Nino weather pattern. What is El Nino? Perhaps more appropriately called the El Nino Southern Oscillation, this is a cyclical pattern, where the ocean surface temperatures near the equator in the Pacific Ocean change, bringing warmer temperatures to the eastern Pacific off the coast of North, Central and South America. This generally impacts our weather by giving us warmer than average winter temperatures and more likelihood of rain than snow. This sure sounds like our late fall and early winter. Local ponds and lakes have barely skimmed over with ice, and we have just had a substantial snowfall. But the forecast for this week included temperatures in the 50s and windy rain, typical El Nino winter weather.<\/p>\n

I have seen a few ponds recently, Eagle Lake in particular, where the ducks, geese and swans are getting pinched in by a skim cover of ice. This can be a problem for swans in particular as they need to \u201crun\u201d across the water surface to take off and fly. Generally these water birds have an uncanny ability to \u201cknow\u201d when it is time to move toward water that is open and likely to remain open. Simply going as far south as Charlton or Sturbridge or east toward the coast will find open water. My wife and I follow several wildlife groups through Facebook, specifically Central Mass Birds and Wildlife of Worcester County. One recent post there reported a black bear out and active. These warmer winters have led to some bears no longer hibernating. It seems if conditions do not require it, wildlife will take advantage and act accordingly.<\/p>\n

My wife and I will be heading south to the Florida Keys for a few weeks. Not only are we looking forward to warmer weather, but also to visiting some of the fantastic national and state parks along the way and in the Keys. As we have here in Massachusetts, Florida has a great network of state parks. We will be visiting John Pennekamp Park in Key Largo, which has a new visitor center and offers visits to coral reefs and kayaking through mangrove swamps. Not that Massachusetts is without National Wildlife Refuges and Parks, but bigger states seem to have bigger National Parks to offer. We will visit the Okefenokee Swamp on the Georgia\/Florida border, and the Everglades National Park in southern Florida, including the new visitors center at Flamingo. Seeing and experiencing the different habitats and wildlife that live there is a real treat. We also will be taking a boat, and hope to fish and explore unique habitats.<\/p>\n

Featured Flora and Fauna<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dark eyed junco,<\/strong> aka snowbird. A member of the sparrow family, juncos are common visitors to bird feeders in fall and winter in our area. While a few nest up on Mount Wachusett and in Northern Worcester County, this is primarily a winter visitor. For juncos, we are their South. Many, many more of them nest farther north in New England and well into Canada. As are most sparrows, juncos are primarily seed eaters and primarily feed on the ground, often picking up the seeds other birds spill from a bird feeder. They are small birds, standing 3-4 inches high, slightly larger than a chickadee.<\/p>\n

When I was growing up, they were known as slate colored juncos. The top half of their body is gray, and their underside is white. The outside feathers of their tail also are white, which often is a tell-tale field mark if you see small birds flying along a roadside or other area. They are nicknamed snowbirds by many because we see them often when there is snow on the ground (winter), and when conditions drive them under our bird feeders. When the ground is not snow-covered, they will be in fields and wood edges eating the seeds of grasses and other plants they can peck from the ground. For me their arrival in the fall (usually October) and departure in the spring (late April\/early May) often mark the change of seasons as much as any calendar.<\/p>\n

Last month I mentioned the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Counts. This was the 123rd year, and I participated in two local counts, Worcester and Westminster, both of which include slivers of Rutland and substantial parts of Holden, Princeton, Sterling and Paxton. The Worcester Count had a record number of species and birds recorded, including several new species. These records serve as a data set that shows changes in populations related to climate and habitat changes.<\/p>\n

Evening grosbeaks used to be common winter birds in our area, but have moved north as things have gotten warmer. Several species of warblers (Spring and Summer species) were recorded this year for the first time or in greater numbers. Greater numbers of ducks were counted this year as lakes and ponds were mostly ice free, which is not always the case. My count partner Scott Wahlstrom and I also got a nice glimpse of a bobcat, which was mighty cool.<\/p>\n

If you like to try different foods, especially \u201cgame,\u201d keep your eyes open for game dinners put on by local sportsmen and rod and gun clubs. They often will sell tickets to the general public, or members are able to invite guests. You never could have convinced me that beaver tasted good until I tried it made into Italian sausage. I know that we donated a yellowfin tuna that our son caught this summer south of Martha\u2019s Vineyard to the Rutland Sportsman’s Club. We have some friends who study and research recipes all year long in anticipation of these events.<\/p>\n

Speaking of our son, he has been doing quite a bit of hiking recently in the Prison Camps and sections of the midstate trail to exercise himself and his dog. Hunting season for deer and most species is now over, although wearing orange when out hiking still wouldn\u2019t hurt. Recently he and good friend Mike Wisnewski found a good amount of moose and deer sign (scat, bed areas and antler scrapings). Tanner said he learned much from Mike, who is a longtime hunter and fisherman. Even if you are not a hunter or fisherman, one can learn much from those who are, as to be successful at either you need to know the outdoors. I know many folks like to hike, snowshoe and cross-country ski in the winter when conditions allow, but the lack of snow made area trails very accessible, and that accessibility is likely to return.<\/p>\n

I hate to sound like a broken record, but please be very careful this year if you hope to get out on the ice to fish or skate or explore. The warm temps have not allowed for safe ice to form. The recent snowfall allowed a skim of ice may to get gray and look safe, but the warm rain is likely to thin that covering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ted Purcell Community Correspondent January 2024. I cannot believe it has been one year since I pitched the idea for this column to Kristen, the local editor for our Landmark, and she said it was a great idea, and would I write one monthly. I hope readers have enjoyed them as much as I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-opinion"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}