Backyard Circus
Sensing movement on my left, I turned quickly to watch two hummingbirds fighting over the right to use our sugar water bird feeder.
Even our Blue Angel fighter pilots would be envious of their ability to dart and maneuver.
Movements and skirmishes are so quick that one poorly timed blink might cause you to miss the show. Repeat performances occur regularly however, so patience will be rewarded by several encore showings.
Hummingbird visits proved so entertaining that we decided to add bird feeders containing suet, seeds, nuts, or peanut butter to increase the bird species frequenting our yard. Our neighbors have taken up feeding also, and at least fifty different kinds of birds now frequent our combined yards, plus more seem to show up all the time. Good placement of bird feeders allows us to view and conduct our own outdoor circus. Some performers travel long distances, as part of their migrations, to join in with our group of regulars. Our more unusual sightings to date have been quail, ring neck pheasant, heron, owl, three species of woodpeckers, blue jays, plus a few migratory birds that we have yet to identify. Watching the ongoing natural show has become, more entertaining than television, and we don’t even need to change channels. A recent heron sighting has aroused suspicion as pond goldfish disappeared shortly thereafter, without the usual mess following a raccoon visit. Not all bird feeding is planned.
Backyard bird feeding is not without expense.
Bird identification books soon became a must. At a garage sale, we purchased an audio book containing recorded wild bird calls to help with identification. Next came four humming bird feeders, two hanging basket feeders, bird stand seed feeder, tray feeder, plus three squirrel corn feeders which we scattered in good viewing locations around the yard. We added two bird baths, fish pond, plus sand and gravel to aid in bird’s digestion. Our yard has lots of trees that accompany an existing stream and large flower garden. The combination helps to attract birds and wildlife. Of course, the birds needed a place to raise their young, so bird houses came next. Currently over a dozen bird houses, with variety of design and color, dot the branches in our newly named bird house tree.
After careful interrogation, I pried an estimate of $20 per month from Linda for what we spend entertaining neighborhood birds, plus their migrating friends. Linda keeps our feeding cost minimal by preparing much of the bird feed by mixing lard or suet, peanut butter, corn meal, cut oatmeal, bird seed and sometimes peanuts. A little cayenne pepper is added to the mixture to keep the squirrels away but it doesn’t seem to bother birds. I contribute a little by gathering field corn during frequent trips to Eastern Washington in an effort to tempt gray squirrels and crows. Our yard has been formally acknowledged, with a certificate and metal signs, from National Wildlife Foundation, as a yard that has qualified as wildlife habitat. Linda proudly displays our certificates on our back yard entry gate where she uses the signs to welcome visitors to her garden and wild circus.
Bird feeding as a hobby is second only to gardening in its popularity and this seems to be a win-win arrangement. Birds learn where nourishment can be found during winter months when food is scarce, and birders get to enjoy their presence and learn of their habits. Throw in the opportunity to take close up photographs and it could convince us to stay home more and pay for it all with the gas we would save.
I must run now. Performers have arrived and the show outside is about to resume.
