By Mary Reid Barrow

Photos by Gibbs Barrow

This dreary cold winter has inspired me in one way.

I’ve spent more time looking at birds through my window than ever before and I’m ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count, Friday through Monday, Feb 14-17!

From what I saw, I know my yard could add some good finds to the count if the critters will just show up next weekend!

For one, I think I can count on the hummingbirds. I know I’ve written more than enough about them already, but every time I do, I learn more from you.

For example, Bay Colony resident Ned Williams wrote to say that he has had wintering hummers for several years. They hang around his camellia bushes.

I have been so imbued by the fact that hummers love tubular flower that I just can’t imagine how they extract nectar from camellias, but they do. They also feed on other winter bloomers, like Hellebores, witch hazel and more, some even with tiny unnoticeable flowers.

In addition, where there are blooms, there are insects that hummers depend on for protein. On warm days insects may even hatch out and provide more food for hungry birds.

It has begun to sink in that the border of huge old camellias in the yard next door is helping to sustain my hummers. Like Ned’s birds, they have had another source of food in addition to sugar water in a plastic bowl.

It also has begun to sink in that maybe Virginia Beach has enough wintering hummers to create a good blip on the Bird Count map.

I’m also hoping that a pair of white breasted nuthatches that skitter down my sassafras tree to the feeder will show up this weekend. This is the first time I have ever seen these little nuthatches in my yard.

I guess it’s because they are known to spend more time in deciduous forests, but my yard is dominated by a huge pine tree. I also learned that  white breasted nuthatches always travel in pairs. There must be power in numbers because I read that white breasteds tend to be bossy and they are probably running their cousins off!

My brown headed nuthatches are not around as much this winter and the red breasted nuthatches that often spend cold months here are nowhere to be seen.

I also would love it if the pretty green female painting bunting who visited during the snow would show back up. What a fun little find! And I feel equally wishful that the bluebird that fluttered around the little bird house on the deck would show up again too!

But whatever visits during the Great Backyard Bird Count, whether little yellow rumped warblers, perky wrens or noisy blue jays, I’ll be ready!.

You can watch birds for as little as 15 minutes one day or all day long every day. If the weather cooperates, take a walk in the neighborhood, in a park, on the beach and count birds that way too!

Learn more about the Great Backyard Bird Count here:  https://www.birdcount.org. Or, stop by Wild Birds Unlimited at Hilltop and pick up a printed list of common birds in the area. Wild Birds will even enter your count online if you bring you checklist back by the end of February.