Palmer town birds

Palmer seems to be a daily destination and home to many winter birds. There are fruit trees and seed pods, native and imported vegetation, unattended garbage cans, wind’s litter and fast food wrappers. All these are delectables and exploitable by our little birds. And in this coldest time of winter, our birds are most welcome. Many of us feed the birds to encourage them to stick it out along with us in the winter. The “avian urbanites” include our favorite small chickadee, magpies, waxwings, junco, jays, nuthatches, thrush, and most remarkable ravens.

No White Raven—In Anchorage right now the highly unusual White Raven spottings are pretty exciting. In Palmer we don’t have one and it is doubtful the special White Raven will visit. However our raven friends are prolific in Palmer.

Bringer of Daylight—Native lore says the raven is the bringer of daylight. They are quite large birds and some say the raven is the biggest black bird in all the world. I don’t quite believe that but I am not an ornithologist, Ravens seem to thrive around humans perhaps because we have trash. I also think they like to mess with us a bit. Their sounds are extraordinary with gurgles and rattles, whistles, plops, mews, and teasing glooks. These birds are playful, sociable, watchful and very, very wise. We are so fortunate to have ravens as a part of our Palmer urban ecology. Many head for the hills to roost after their town day of foraging is done.

Palmer Raven Route—Nearly everyday, before sundown, our local Palmer ravens collect and make their homing flight to their evening roosting place. It seems as if they’ve fulfilled their work day in town, scavenging snips and snacks, inspecting dumpsters, hanging out at McDonalds and other drive-throughs. Many of the stronger, more storied, and dominant ravens have spent their time at the Palmer dump. Despite intense Eagle and Magpie competition, industrious ravens represent well at our most beautiful landfill in the world. It is a wonderful place for scraps and food, plus lots of shiny gifts.

But somehow, about an hour before sun sets, the Ravens collectively gang up for the flight home, after a good day’s work. Now, their destinations are uncertain. Some say they huddle in a conspiracy up Smith Road. Some say the inconvenience of Ravens cluster in a suitable roost, half-way up Wolverine Creek. Others say the famous Raven Murder tree is actually on the Lazy Mountain Trail, about of a third of the way up.

Imagine what it must be like when all the ravens return, after another big day in town. Do they chit chat about their findings? Do they laugh at the spoils.? Do they discuss the corvid caches? Do they tell tales of humans slipping on the ice? Or of near-misses with the eagle who lives by the Matanuska River? Certainly all the ravens settle down eventually, chill and sleep the sleep of the weary bird. It’s all good and part of our Winter life; and the Palmer Buzz honors and celebrates the Ritual of the Raven.

Palmer Alaska Buzz Photo Frenzy—We never get tired of taking snaps of our sunsets, sunrises, mountains and creatures. Sometimes social media has dozens of the same event, from many different viewpoints. It’s a phenomena because each photo is better than the last one. I think documenting these events is one of the ways we continually appreciate where we live. It causes a pause in our lives, to stop, catch your breath and take a snap of our wonderful world. Viewing our home from different perspectives is not redundant but reassuring. It appears that very few people weary of seeing repetitive pictures of our home from any angle. So keep the pics coming!

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222