I am thankful for an empty bird feeder.
A week ago, we put up a bird feeder at the new house to give the birds a chance to find it before the winter. Well, we checked it yesterday and it was totally empty! I'm not sure what ate the food, but Ward reports that he saw two little, gray birds* on it one day. Meanwhile, back at the present house, I stopped feeding the birds a few weeks ago. I didn't want them to get used to finding food here before winter. However, they're not suffering as there is plenty of natural food around. Yesterday in a short five minutes I saw crows, sparrows, Carolina wrens, blue jays, tufted titmouse, chickadees, and bluebirds.
Watching birds always brings a smile to my face, so for an empty feeder and visits from birds at both houses, I am thankful.
*Except for cardinals, blue jays, and woodpeckers, all birds are little gray birds to Ward.
I'm still laughing at your assessment of Ward's bird knowledge. That's the way I've felt these past few weeks as our regular feeder visitors have disappeared and I can only catch fleeting sights of tiny gray-looking birds in the trees!
ReplyDeleteMy feeders are sitting there... full! Not even the squirrels have tried to eat the suet cake. What is going on?! The birds that used to visit my feeders are not known to be migratory in Florida so I'm really stumped. Our son spotted a new stray cat and I know there are several others so I can only surmise that an influx of predators are keeping the birdies away.
I hope you (and we!) get to enjoy the show at your bird feeders' new location soon!
The birds here definitely go in cycles, both daily and seasonally. Hopefully, you just in a down cycle right now and your decrease in sightings is not all due to new predators. Do you see any hawks around? They are known to pick off smaller birds at feeders. So far we haven't had that problem, thankfully.
DeleteI don't know a blue Jay from a robin but enjoy seeing the birds. All but crows-they freak me out.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the movie "The Birds"? That could certainly make you freak out when you see crows. I don't think that movie had much of a plot, but it certainly scared me.
DeleteI am one of those nerdy types, so I have a bird book to help me identify birds, especially those rarely seen migratory types that don't hang out here on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of bird books, but more often I go to the Cornnel University website, All about Birds for ID help.
DeleteWell, they must have found your feeder. I can only imagine the excitement that spread among the little gray bird crowd, as one bird says, "Should we tell Aunt Martha about all this food?" and the other says, "No, let's keep it to ourselves. We can take it easy now." But then they're sitting in a tree with other birds and one bird pipes up he has a secret then blabs like a big shot about the feeder. The other bird is kicking at him and giving him dirty looks.
ReplyDeleteThis is hysterical. I totally think that's what happened, lol!
DeleteYou may be right. I guess it doesn't matter whether it is a bird or a person, neither one can keep a secret very well. :)
DeleteI love all the birds, even the crows!
ReplyDeleteToo funny about Ward and the "little gray birds." I try to keep track of names but sometimes the little ones get confusing. Lots of fun trying to keep track and learn though :o)
I'm not that great at identifying lots of birds, just better than Ward. Sometimes I forget the names when we switch out kinds between winter and summer. I know I've seen the bird before, but I can't remember its name for the first few sightings. Then it becomes old hat. However, each year add a couple more names.
DeleteDo you keep a lifetime bird list like real birdwatchers do? I don't think I want to get that serious about keeping track of things, but maybe I will start a list to compare things season to season. However, I do a lot of recording that way for my Second Look posts.
That's fantastic! When I moved it was the first of October and one of the first things I did was hang a bird feeder. It took weeks before the birds found it. I figured it was because no one around here has feeders up so they weren't looking for one. I also think it was smart, and unselfish, of you to stop feeding the birds at your old house to give them a chance to get used to not having a feeder before it got too cold.
ReplyDeleteI'm more like Ward than you, although I know a few more birds than Ward does. :-)
I meant to fill the feeder again today when I was at the new house, but I forgot. Oh, well. Next time. I do know that there were some other birds there besides the couple that Ward saw because I saw more bird poop around. I'm gonna have figure out what's the best way to clean it off the painted deck. To be able to see the feeders from inside, that deck seems to be the best place for them. Cleaning the painted deck is a new wrinkle I'm gonna have to work out. At our current house, all of the feeders are in flower beds, so bird poop is not a concern.
DeleteThat is so kind of you to feed the birds at the new house and prepare the birds at the old house for the changes to come. I have a bird identification book, but still, most birds remain the equivalent of "little gray birds" to me, too! :D
ReplyDeleteI think I have identifying one of the little gray birds down, then I learn that they change colors depending on the season or I'm seeing a juvenile that looks different. In other words, sometimes I can't do much better than little gray bird either.
DeleteI'm also in the "little gray bird" camp. I can ID the brightly colored ones but the others, not so much. :)
ReplyDeleteIt will be nice for you to have birds visiting this winter. That's my favorite time to have little winged guests.
I think winter is my favorite time for watching birds, too. Maybe that's because the leaves are gone and I can see them better.
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