Can we talk?

Bird Visitors

         We feed the birds year round. I've noticed my dad is buying seed in 50 pound bags now. He puts it in a tall container, which holds about 3 pounds, with a top out in the garage where he stores it. He takes the container up to the kitchen where it lasts a few days. So every morning while the coffee is brewing, he's on the back porch filling the feeders. (He clears the snow on the railing in winter, so they can perch there.)

         My mother has been gone eight years. He still calls the doves "Mama's doves" when they come to eat. He faces the window at every meal so that he can watch. The cardinals nest in a blooming tree by the front door, and come around back to eat. They share with other birds. The wrens share with the non-aggressive birds. To listen to my dad, the same cardinal has been living there for over a decade. I told him once that it was probably a younger generation, but that didn't go over. The cardinals stay all year round.

         The most aggressive is the blue jay. He does not share. All the others take off before he lands. Mr. Cardinal might hang around a while, but if they get to close to each other, he leaves. Blue jay comes every evening during dinner. We watch him all by himself picking out seed while we eat our vegetables. He's our dinner guest.

         Sometimes when I'm watering my flowers or planting new dill seed, a bird or two will light as though I'm not there. A sudden move or speaking sends them flying off. I'd like to put a bird bath out back in the flower bed. My grandmother used to have one in the front yard. People sitting in her living room were amazed to see that birds really do take baths! They dip in and shake like crazy. You have to rinse it out and refill it every day to keep the slime away. Birds can be fun entertainment if you are willing to work at it.