Around the Garden with Jay: BIRDS......Watching and Feeding

My namesake: a BlueJay

ADDICTIVE
EXPENSIVE
INTERESTING
FASCINATING

ALL OF THE ABOVE!

That's bird feeding and bird watching. I guess I am addicted. I have at least 10 feeders filled with various varieties of seed, and that's year round. Of course, come springtime the hummingbird feeders go up and that adds another 5 or so (that's a whole other blog post to come). My wife Karen and I are fascinated watching the birds and spend lots of time enthralled by their antics. She takes most of the pictures....I keep the feeders filled. She keeps the camera focused.

They are so interesting, some are unpredictable and
some have definite habits. The cardinals are here just
before dawn, stay all day, and are the last ones to leave at dark.

Male Cardinal

The nuthatches and chickadees swoop in, grab one seed and off they go to the safety of the trees to crack open their prize and return just as quickly.

The yellow American goldfinches eat their seeds upside down. Highly unusual. Specific feeders and seeds satisfy this peculiar feeding regimen. The black juncos, who are only here in the winter will only eat off the ground. They do not perch and depend on spilled seeds to fill up on.

Nuthatch

Female Cardinal

House Finches

I feed my visitors a variety of seeds. They love black oiled sunflower seeds the most. Almost everyone will eat them. Safflower seeds are great for the cardinals and many others and although most people say the squirrels will not eat safflower seeds, no one has told my squirrels this fact. These fat hairy rats will eat ANYTHING! I try to discourage them but it's almost a lost cause. I do have several http://bromebirdcare.com feeders that are virtually squirrel proof. These feeders are expensive but last for years. They are available at www.amazon.com

American Goldfinch

Summer visiting CatBird

Other seeds I use are nyjer seeds (thistle) for the goldfinches. These are tiny seeds that fit through the small openings in the upside down feeders especially designed for the finches. I buy blocks of suet that really appeal to the woodpeckers who appreciate the fat for protein. Of course every other bird loves it too.

Water is another requirement for birds. I have a fountain/birdbath by the feeders and they also love to drink from the waterfall at my pond. Of course the squirrels drink too.

Keeping an eye out

The birds require protection from predators and they flock to the evergreens and tree branches as soon as they are spooked. Our visiting hawks love to hunt for their meals at our feeders and unfortuantely they prefer bird to seed. It is nature and we have learned to deal with it. The feral neighborhood cats are always on the lookout for a slow bird and occasionally are successful. Again, sad but nature.

Hawk on watch

We've also had visiting Great Blue Herons (loved the goldfish in our pond), and a huge barred owl stopped by on a Labor Day a few year's back and made itself comfortable in a tree for hours and hours. Of course we made ourselves comfortable on the deck and watched him for hours and hours. Only time we've ever seen one here.

Also had a really rare visitor who came several times a day for months: a pet parakeet. He was beautiful and loved the seeds and seemed to get along with our regulars. He must have escaped his cage and stayed until we went on vacation and when we returned, he was gone. The spring brings a few migrators that stop for a meal but don't stay. Each year we get grosbeaks for a week or so then they are gone. The catbirds and cowbirds arrive early summer and stay till fall as well as lots of robins. We do see some robins periodically in the winter but not in large numbers till spring. This year we attracted more cardinals than ever before. They do live in groups and we seem to attract approximately 15 to 20 males and females. The bright red males look outstanding on the grey days and against the snowy background.

Early arriving robin

Did I mention how expensive this hobby is? It is a real commitment but I think it is really worth it. I could have worse hobbies! I don't even know how I got into this. Not sure what my first feeder was or where I was living. I never fed the birds when I was growing up, except for the occasional stale bread. But I am really happy that I discovered this hobby. My wife Karen has taken some fantastic pictures of our visitors and we could put together books of photos. Many of these pics on this page are her work. She has a great eye for shots and waits patiently for the best picture.

We have approximately 10 birdhouses on the property which have been
used predominately by the wrens and chickadees for breeding. More of that in a future post.

If you have any questions or thoughts about birdfeeding, shoot me a comment. If you have some space and a desire to be a part of nature, I highly recommend this hobby. It doesn't have
to take a lot of time or money and it can be extremely rewarding.