The Fourth Day is Blackbird Day

It is time for four calling birds in the Twelve Days of Christmas.  There weren't always 4 calling birds.  The “four calling birds” that we sing about today were, at different times, “four canary birds” and “four mockingbirds,” and before that they show up as “colly birds” or “collie birds,” which is the archaic term for blackbirds.  And blackbird can refer to a crow, raven, grackle, starling or cowbird.   Blackbirds (grackles) are known for their colossal flocks in wintertime.  In December 2011 there was a flock of several million birds in Delaware.  They form a solid black carpet in the sky.  There are several dozen flocks in Delaware.  Some may travel to Chester County, PA or as far as Lancaster before returning to its nightly roost.  A large flock of flying blackbirds is a murmuration. Perhaps I may be able to see them next week when we are in that area visiting Longwood's Christmas Festival. We do experience big flocks in Niagara near the vineyards, particularly when the grapes are awaiting ice wine temperatures.  That's one way to tell the vineyard grapes are intended for ice wine - they  are usually covered in netting.  I was lucky to be driving on Highway 8 two weeks ago and a big flock was congregating.  I was able to pull over and get a few pictures.  This is only a small part of the flock as it was mostly on the other side of the road by then. Our second picture of leaves shows how Japanese Maples are still hanging on to their leaves - mostly are dull brown, this tree out front has a touch of orange against the snow.