Too Easy

Having been away so long, I find I'm out of practice at the art of paying attention. Now, cold rainy weather keeps me inside, challenging my ability to keep winter doldrums at bay. Watching the comings and goings and perchings at the new bird feeder is a suitable defense, though it feels like cheating. Somehow the regularity and ease with which I can now see such variety of bird species at close range robs the thrill of its cutting edge. Instead, I learn to discern unique styles and movements of the feeding pattern of each species---even of individuals within a species.

Yet the first thrill remains---at the length of the growing list of species that visit the feeder. All my bird ID books are going ragged. The list so far: Eastern blue birds, Carolina chickadees, Tufted titmice, Carolina wrens, orange house finches, greenish winter goldfinches, Northern cardinals, Purple finches, Yellow-rumped warblers (not sure of warbler IDs), White-breasted nuthatches, Brown-headed nuthatches, Red-bellied woodpeckers. And ground feeders on the deck floor beneath: Mourning doves, Rufous-sided towhees, and of course the ubiquitous squirrels.

Happily, the squirrels can't get to the feeder itself. They must be satisfied with cleaning up the fallout beneath it. Okay with me. Less sweeping.

I'm also hearing more whistle of hawk above since the introduction of this feeder to the backyard habitat. Here's hoping it does not make sitting ducks of the small perching birds. The increased activity has not escaped the hawks' notice. dkm

Bingo!

Waiting for me at home, among the mountains of mail (mostly bills) and packages (mostly Christmas) that had collected in my six weeks of absence, was a gift from my brother, Dan. It was a fancy schmancy squirrel-proof bird feeder, which took half a day to read about, assemble, fill, and hang. If it foils our aggressive Georgia squirrels, it will be the first.

The design is a clever inspiration of engineering. The weight of a squirrel on the perches pulls a shroud over the feeding holes, forbidding access to the seed. Lighter weight song birds can feed happily on any one of the six perpendicular perches that can be adjusted in length to accomodate larger birds. It has a special apparatus for cardinals that surrounds the feeder like one of Saturn's rings, because cardinals can't or don't tilt their heads to feed. Who knew?

Sparing you the unnecessary details of my expectations about how the bird population of 710 Pinetree Drive would accept this feeder, I admit to shock and awe. The first was that a pair of cardinals, one bright, one dull, came so soon to the buffet, @ 11:20 a.m. today, only the second day after the feeder was hung. At 12:00 noon, a pair of bluebirds came. What follows is the transcript of the e-mail I sent my brother at 12:14 p.m. today:

"Bingo! Bluebirds! BLUEBIRDS! Then nuthatches, now a Carolina chickadee, and tufted titmice---all within seconds of each other. Not an hour since the cardinals first arrived. The parade goes on as I type. Chickadees fighting over a spot. More and more birds coming and competing for the perches. A pair of rufous sided towhees---brown female, black male---now tons of chickadees. A sudden flurry of activity in last ten minutes---six feet from where I sit reading, with only a sliding glass door between us. Now Carolina wrens---it goes on and on---four and five birds at a time---all over the deck banisters---waiting their turns. Don't worry, I won't report every visit---but these first ones are such a surprise. I hadn't hoped for such an immediate and magnificent response---huge variety of birds in great numbers. I know I have a reputation for hyperbole, but you should see this---far exceedlng what I had imagined. Did the cardinals spread the word? The others arrived all at once. A blog-worthy day. dkm