Bloggerlife.blog

06/01/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

At the feeder

Every morning I take a big cup of seeds to the cool feeder we got for Christmas last year – a feeder with a camera. It takes pictures of the birds who come to enjoy the feast. The majority of them are little sparrows, who are the most polite of all birds who visit. They make room for each other on the little platform and they share without drama. Then they will go to the ground and pick up whatever fell out of the feeder. I love watching these delicate creatures.

There are a few grackles that have made us their first stop of the day. They are considerably bigger than most of the other birds and they tend to hog the feeder until they’ve had enough. Grackles are big black shiny birds and they take up most of the seed bed. The feeder only holds one at a time. When they come around, the other birds disappear until the big boys are finished. These guys can be bullies in the schoolyard and they are highly respected. I have to remind myself that they need to eat too.

Birds need to eat sometimes up to 50% of their body weight worth of food each day. I know that the cup I bring out is barely a little of what they really need. So it is especially irritating when the one local squirrel remembers that we put out food. This guy is made of elastic because while his back feet hold on to the fence rail he stretches his body until his face fits in the seed bed. Then he helps himself. We try to keep an eye out for him and chase him away so the birds can help themselves. He is persistent and not really frightened by us at all. Jan wishes she had an airgun so she could shoot the interloper. 

Both of us have stories that involve squirrels. My attic was once invaded by a little family of these rodents who nested in the eaves right above my bed. They were noisy, especially at night. I would have shot right through the ceiling to quiet them. Instead I paid more money than I could afford to have a specialist get rid of them. Jan’s story involves her car, parked on the lot of her work building. A family of squirrels, in one day, built a nest under the hood and chewed a lot of the wiring. She called a guy who got rid of them but warned her that they might find the same place again – and they did! So neither of us is fond of the little bastards.

I worry about our local bird population. We used to have four nice trees right behind our place, and those trees were home to some Cardinals and lots of sparrows. Unfortunately, they were not a wise choice on the builder’s part because all four trees died at the end of last year. So a couple of weeks ago, a crew came in and took them down. I was sure that this would stop the use of the feeder and that made me sad. However, these birds have found new homes in other trees around us and are happy to remember where the restaurant is located. 

There is something delightful about feeding birds. I can watch their little selves flying and landing to eat, hopping on the ground to find seeds that have fallen out of the feeder, and showing mostly good manners. When I think of how my species treats our environment and the creatures that inhabit it, I am happy to do a little bit for our neighborhood feathered residents.