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Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Reflections of An Amateur Birder- Maple Syrup Time
Written By Lisa McGurk
We had a maple syrup program at Germantown MetroPark Nature Center last week. The naturalist, Doug Horvath, not only discussed trees and the process of making maple syrup, but he also discussed Tufted Titmice. They fill the forest with their song this time of year so they are associated with maple syruping. I looked up some information on Tufted Titmice on allaboutbirds.org. They are little grey birds with large dark eyes and brushy crests on their heads. Their song sounds like “peter-peter-peter”. An interesting fact about them is that unlike many Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse pairs do not gather in large flocks outside of breeding season. Another interesting fact about them is that they hoard food in the winter. They will store many of the seeds that they get from feeders, usually in a stash within 130 ft of the feeder. Come to the Window on Wildlife on a weekend and watch the Tufted Titmice as they collect their seed. If you want to learn more about maple syruping, there are some programs coming up: Sat. Feb. 27: 9 AM-3:30 PM Maple Syrup Time at Possum Creek MetroPark; Sat. March 6: 2 PM-3:30 PM Maple Sugaring in Your Backyard at Germantown MetroPark; and Sun. March 14: noon- 5 PM Boil The Sugar Down at Carriage Hill MetroPark. You can check www.metroparks.org for more information on these programs.
