To see wild birds feed, groom, argue and roost just inches away, with only a pane of glass between you and them, is an entertaining education. The feeding station we operate today is a bit more elaborate than that early piece of plywood nailed to the porch railing six decades ago, but the results are just as rewarding. Birdwatching wasn’t the popular hobby it is today, and it took a bit of ‘asking around’ to find the answers.īut the contacts that were made, and identification methods discovered, have stayed with me: how a library works, becoming involved with naturalists’ clubs, and being surprised by who knew the answers - doctors, foundry workers, engineers, Sunday school teachers, and librarians. Memories of evening grosbeaks and blue jays quarrelling over seeds just outside the kitchen window remain as vivid today as when my father first set out a feeder in about 1959.Īt that time, it took us almost a week to find someone who knew the names of our exotic feathered guests. Operating a bird feeder, also called a feeding station, has been a highlight of every winter I can remember. Over the next hour, a total of 11 birds of various species enjoyed the offerings, and no doubt the number will double by tomorrow. These birds were quickly followed in queue by a few more of our natural neighbours: a white-breasted nuthatch and two blue jays. Within a minute of that first advertising call, several more of the cute black-capped bandits appeared, each eager to delve into the offerings of sunflower, peanuts and cracked corn. Too early a start and it feels as if I’m wasting money on food that could otherwise be found in a natural state, and too late will mean the local birds have discovered the neighbour’s feeder, leaving us with just a small flock of freeloaders. The sassy call of the lone chickadee flitting above my head did a better job of announcing the feeder was open than any ‘bells and whistles’ I may have thought of.Įach November, the weather is carefully monitored, along with the available wild seed crop, as both are used to determine the starting date of filling the feeder for another winter.
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