It is certainly typical winter weather here on the Texas gulf coast. As I sit in my house with fleece on, a down blanket on my bed, a fire burning and drinking warm drinks, the birds are very active at my feeders in the cold and windy weather outside. So in addition to eating to keep their metabolism cranking and body temperature at about 105oF, what else do birds do to keep warm in the winter? They have multiple strategies.

One of the most well-known is of course down feathers. Birds can grow or shed the down depending on ambient temperatures. Their insulation often involves growing an extra set of insulating downy feathers. Birds will puff up their feathers and turn into little fluff balls to help maintain body heat. Down jackets, vests, and sleeping bags have been used by humans for outdoor activities for decades. There are historic records of bird down being traded in the 1600’s. We know this is a good strategy to keep warm.

As in humans and other mammals, shivering generates warmth. Species like chickadees are experts in shivering. This isn’t the familiar tremble that mammals use to generate heat. Birds shiver by activating opposing muscle groups, creating muscle contractions without all of the jiggling typical when humans shiver. This form of shaking is better at retaining the bird’s heat.

We are all familiar with birds putting on fat for migration. They can also put on fat as both an insulator and energy source in winter. More than 10 percent of winter body weight may be fat in certain species, including chickadees and finches. As a result, some birds spend the vast majority of their daylight hours seeking fatty food sources, making feeder food even more precious for surviving a frosty night.

When I see a Great Blue Heron standing in ice cold water with its feathers looking like they are going to be blown off its head, I can’t help but wonder why it is not freezing to death. The reason is the blood vessels in the legs of birds are located right next to each other. Because of this, the warm blood flowing from the birds’ body transfers some of its heat to the cool blood returning from its feet via conductance. This helps the bird stay alive. If the warm blood didn’t heat the cold blood, the birds’ core temperature could be overwhelmed by cold blood from the feet. The bird’s core temperature would drop, endangering the bird. Blood flow is carefully regulated to maintain the delicate balance of providing oxygen and nutrient rich blood while maintaining core body temperature. While the core temperature of a duck or gull standing on ice may be 104 degrees F, its feet may be only slightly above freezing.

A bird on an icy sidewalk doesn’t feel cold from its feet the way you would if you walked barefoot over the same surface. Often, a bird will constrict the blood vessels in its feet to prevent additional blood from flowing into its toes.

Some birds save energy by allowing their internal thermostat to drop. Hummingbirds are a famous example of this, undergoing torpor nightly as their body temperature drops close to outside temperatures. But torpor is not too common in winter birds, because the morning warm up would take too much extra energy. Instead, kinglets and chickadees undergo a more moderate version of this, reducing their body temperature as much as 22 degrees Fahrenheit from their daytime level in a process called regulated hypothermia.

You’ll never find a warmer spot to sleep than in your own down feathers, nestled in a nook small enough that you can warm it up with any extra heat that does escape. Old woodpecker cavities, crannies beneath the eaves of houses, even a tunnel in the snow… they’re all warmer than spending the night (literally) out on a limb.

With all these strategies and adaptations, I can now better understand why birds don’t seem to be bothered as I am by the cold.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to our little village from the ladies of the Port O’Connor Community Service Club. It has been a busy year. We loved seeing everyone at the annual Senior Christmas Luncheon celebrating life in POC. Décor included fishing, oystering, crabbing, and beaching, and the photo booth was a big hit. The home cooking was delicious too. We were so proud to honor two of our own local good guys as citizens of the year. Mr. Kenny Finster and Mr. Teddy Hawes, Congratulations. They have done so much for our community and are always ready to lend a hand. Look for their stories elsewhere in this newspaper.

The Service Club was busy as ever this year. We raised scholarship funds with two huge garage sales, made numerous donations of money to community efforts including memorials to the Cemetery Association; gifts to the POC Elementary school students and teachers, the Volunteer Fire Department, the Benevolence Fund, the new Library, Toy Run, Angel Tree, outreach benefits for locals and other special projects and in and around POC. It was fun and successful to work cooperatively with the Chamber, Friends of the Library, PTO, VFD, local churches and others to make our town a better place every day. The club elected new officers and approved updated bylaws as well as revising our annual operations calendar. We added several new members and said goodbye to a few old ones. We continue to be invested in POC and to work to make a difference in our community.

2019 will be bigger and better. The POC Service Club will still be taking donations of quality used goods for our epic garage sale fund raisers so we can provide scholarships to local students. If you have donations, please contact Donna Vuichard at 361-237-0476 to arrange for drop off. We will also be involved in other community events and efforts and we can always use a helping hand. If you would like to join us, come to our next meeting. We meet the 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 10 AM at the POC Community Center. You would be welcome to join us.

So, until next time, be safe, live simply, love openly, forgive generously and remember this quote by Mr. William Arthur Ward, great Texas author and motivator who chaired a service club in Fort Worth, Texas, who said, “Lose yourself in generous service and every day can be a most unusual day, a triumphant day, an abundantly  rewarding day!” Come on and reap your abundant reward as you serve with us.

The POC “Hooked On Books” Book Club had their annual Christmas Party, & 29 lovely ladies enjoyed the food, fun, & festivities!! A great time was had by all!! If you’re interested in joining this group of fun loving women, please email alanehaardt @yahoo.com. All are welcome!! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

A Fond Goodbye

As of Thursday, November 29, 2018, I am no longer the official Librarian of the Port O’Connor Library.  It has been a distinct and happy pleasure to have served this community in this capacity for one month less than 30 years.  During that time I have made many, many friends, both young and old, have watched our small Library become a part of the Port Lavaca County System, and have been the joyful caretaker of so many books.  My greatest bit of happiness, though, has been watching so many  members of the very young generation grow to be cognizant and caring adults.

The Friends of the Port O’Connor Library hosted a “goodbye” open house on Thursday, November 29, 2018, for me.  I so enjoyed the opportunity to visit with so many friends who attended, people who have made my tenure here so enjoyable.

Thank you to the caring residents of Port O’Connor who have made my almost 30 years such an enjoyable experience.  However, my home has been in Port O’Connor for many years; I am not leaving, and you may find me from time to time at the new Library.  After all, books are in my blood!

Shirley Gordon

Once Again the POC community has come through!

The Pool family would like to thank our community for all the support given to us. To everyone who baked, donated and worked, we are truly grateful for making the fund raiser a success.

A special thanks to Sally Ragusin whose hard work and encouragement made this happen. She is a real blessing . We love you Sally.

Tony, Marion and Juanita

Those Were the Days in POC

In the late 1950’s after I served in the US Air Force, our family started going to POC every Thanksgiving. After our meal we would head for the Beg Jetties and set up camp. We would flounder, walking all night, and by morning would have an ice chest full of flounder. We would take them back to the house and prepare them for the deep freezer. At this time and for years afterward, no regulations on fish. In fact, we often walked different areas in POC floundering at night. We did not see another person or boat.

Some people like regulations. Provide jobs for some people that write regulations, enforce them, and catch fish for a living. Regulations are seldom deleted. Usually they are enlarged.

Some can remember catching trout on reefs near POC and not having to go to San Antonio Bay for trout. I feel the fishing is not as good because of the boat traffic and too many tournaments. This is money making and will not change. Change is not always for the good.

Charles Dullye

Apologies from the Editor

I apologize to our readers for the huge blunder on the front page of last month’s issue. And I especially apologize to Mr. Tom Andrews, President of the Magnolia Beach Fire Department. I inadvertently changed his name from “Andrews” to “Anderson”. I promise to try to do better from now on.

Joyce Rhyne

Thank You from the Chamber

Someone once told me teamwork makes the dream work. In the past several years I have found myself saying this a lot.

The Chamber of Commerce is made up of 10 directors. We find ourselves spread very thin sometimes and reaching out for help for our many events we host. Most of us are business owners and sometimes it seems overwhelming trying to juggle our lives and volunteer in making these events the success they are. There is one organization in our community that we can never repay for all they have done to help us.

The POC Service Club has manned the food and drink ticket booth at the Crawfish Fest the last several years. This area takes about 12 – 16 folks to make it run smoothly.

This past Friday they hosted the Community Christmas Luncheon and graciously helped us out by leaving the Community Center decorated so we could host our annual Christmas Party. We can’t say THANK YOU enough to this group of ladies that give so much to our community.

Seeing organizations come together and help each other is so rewarding and our community benefits so much. Also Thanks to Brigid Berger and Brenda Berger for the photo booth – what a cute addition to the party!

Mary Jo Walker
Vice- President, POC Chamber of Commerce

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