Is this a love bird?

Late winter coincides with the time of year when songbird numbers are at their lowest. Let's think about why that would be. We are a long way from last spring, when nests were being built and babies were being raised. The many months between that time and now always sees songbird numbers drop and then be replenished when the babies come in springtime.

This past year delivered a long, hot drought in summer as well as a few days of temperatures dipping to at least 6 degrees below zero Fahrenheit accompanied by near 30 miles-per-hour winds in December. Many songbirds migrate hundreds of miles south for winter to save themselves.

It is a reasonable assumption that each year most of our songbirds face a mortality rate of perhaps 40%. Life expectancy in the wild can be anywhere from three to 10 years. Predators such as hawks, foxes, snakes, cats, coyotes and disease make life a challenge for our beloved songbirds.

The songbird shown here is a northern flicker. It is a yearlong resident of Southeast Missouri and spends a large part of its time searching for ants and beetles on the ground.