Winter feeding tips • Once you're done with your Christmas tree, place it on your balcony or in your back yard, when it can provide shelter or serve as a perch for birds.
• When you're filling your feeders, scatter millet and/or cracked corn on the ground for juncos, sparrows and cardinals.
• Consider offering mealworms, which are available at wild bird stores. They provide a high-energy treat for many winter birds.
VAL CUNNINGHAM
Bird word Icterids: The New World (North, South and Central America) family of birds that includes blackbirds, cowbirds, grackles, orioles, meadowlarks and bobolinks.
Owling in winter January is a great time to listen for great horned owls. They're courting at this time of year, and the males call to find a responsive female and announce their territorial rights. Owls can be very vocal and their low-frequency calls travel a long distance. By late January or early February, great horned owls will have eggs in their nests.
JIM WILLIAMS
