Photo: Northern Mockingbird and hoophouse, Deidra Bryant
Deidra Bryant
What’s “Frostmas?” Every year farmers celebrate the end of the growing season when the first frost occurs. Flowers and crops at this time of year turn to mush due to frost damage. So, Frostmas can be a fun celebration with farmers and their families to commemorate a good year of hard work and a successful harvest. It can also be a quiet reminder to plan and prepare for next year. Depending on what’s being grown, farmers may start to winterize their crops by assembling plastic tunnels or preparing cool crops in a greenhouse or hoophouse.
Northern Mockingbird and hoophouse, Deidra Bryant
This year we experienced the first frost around early November 3rd. However, throughout the month, we reached temperatures of at least 60 degrees several times AFTER the first freeze. You’ve probably noticed some extra fat non-migratory songbirds around. In Waterford there are some noticeably larger Northern Mockingbirds hanging about the area. Which makes sense since they will usually feast on berries and other fruits and veggies in the fall and winter, and the Waterford/Lovettsville area is home to many local farms. However, I’ve also noticed with the warmer temperatures occurring, they’ve been gorging themselves on insects, worms, and other arthropods persisting in the soil and in the air. You can actually see bees, butterflies, and flies still buzzing around, along with huge earthworms and large grasshoppers eagerly moving above ground in late November. Unfortunately, these mild days and nights are almost certainly caused by human-influenced climate change. Scientists predict that autumns and winters will be much shorter decades from now. Specifically, fall would essentially start in mid-October and spring starting in late January. This is troubling because these seasonal changes could also cause flowers to bloom out of sync with avian and insect pollinators and alter the structure of other ecological systems each spring. We would also see insect populations migrating to higher latitudes resulting in increases in mosquito borne illnesses among humans and increases in insectivorous bird populations up north.
Although it makes me concerned to experience temperatures close to 75 degrees in Northern Virginia a week from Thanksgiving, I’m happy that many overwintering omnivorous bird diets will be supplemented this year. Which is evidenced by our feathered friends joining in on the festivities by singing and feasting till sunset.