I'm sending this on, received from Dan Victor. You can save it for when we
get our 2 feet of snow one of these winters. Obviously this information is
relevant for mountainous areas in this region, but, on the other hand,
those mountainous areas (1) are empty of most ground-feeding birds during
winter, and (2) support only mammals that are adapted to snow.


>HEADLINE: Plants Snuggle, Birds and Deer Struggle in Drifts
>SECTION: news
>PUBLICATION DATE: 1/9/96
>
>By D'Vera Cohn
>Washington Post Staff Writer
>
>The big snow that shut down Washington will be bad for the birds but
>good for the garden.
>
>Birds and animals, for the most part, will have a tough time finding
>food and making their way through the piled-up precipitation. Their
>human friends can do a few things to help.
>
>For lawns, shrubs and trees, the fluffy stuff provides a warm
>insulating blanket. Don't brush it off.
>
>The blizzard has been a bonanza for backyard birders, attracting
>crowds to their feeders.
>
>"We've got about 50 house finches and juncos around our two little
>feeders," reported Keith Van Ness, who lives in the Frederick County,
>Md., town of Walkersville and works for the Montgomery County Department
>of Environmental Protection. "Two flocks of geese flew over the house
>looking for a place to land."
>
>That's because the snow has covered the ground where birds hunt for
>seeds and other food. It will be especially tough for ground-dwelling
>birds such as sparrows and wild turkeys, or grazers such as geese. And
>the powdery snow has not clung to tree branches to offer birds shelter
>from the stinging wind.
>
>People without bird feeders or heated birdbaths can help, too,
>naturalists say. Sprinkle sunflower seeds or millet on the snow,
>suggested Jeff Swinebroad, who teaches birding classes at the
>Smithsonian Institution. Cut up oranges and apples, and stick them on
>twigs. Leave out a shallow tray of water. Don't put out bread, which
>offers birds little nutrition.
>
>Smear peanut butter on a pine cone or roll it into balls and coat it
>with birdseed, offered Van Ness. Peanut butter gives quick energy to
>birds, and snowbound children like to work with it "because they can get
>all messy."
>
>Van Ness even dragged his Christmas tree outside to provide a place
>for birds to shelter.
>
>Yesterday morning in Dupont Circle, a short, wheezing young woman was
>hefting two 25-pound bags of birdseed toward the pigeons that had
>collected around her by the hundreds.
>
>"This is my second trip," she said, slinging the seed out in golden
>ropes along the snow. "I feel bad for them."
>
>One big snowfall will not kill substantial numbers of birds, said
>birding specialist Erika Wilson. "We'd have to have a whole series of
>storms like that to cause a problem," she said.
>
>The snow will cause problems for other wildlife. Deer, which are
>browsing animals that roam for food, will be unable to push through the
>snow in many places. The weak ones probably will die, and their
>carcasses will feed other animals.
>
>Backyard squirrels will do fine, specialists say. And snow is great
>for small animals such as mice, voles and rabbits, which can dig tunnels
>through it to keep warm and escape predators such as foxes and hawks.
>
>The big blizzard will benefit wildlife in the future: "With this huge
>loading of moisture, we can be relatively assured we'll have a vibrant
>growing season," said Ed Clark, of the Virginia Wildlife Center. "In
>years where we have very little snowfall, spring is hard on animals."
>
>In the plant world, the heavy downpour of lightweight snow will not be
>harmful -- quite the contrary, according to gardening specialists.
>
>"The snow around the plants is great," said Bob Warhust, owner of
>Merrifield Garden Center in Fairfax County. "It's like being snug in
>your bed under the covers."
>
>---
>Copyright 1996, The Washington Post. This story is from the Washington
>Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be archived or
>redistributed.
>
>For more information, send-email to American Cybercasting Corporation
>(usa at AmeriCast.COM)
>
>
>

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416