Outside the window this morning things have changed.
After several days of dreary drizzle and low leaden skies,
although still very cold here, the sun is shining
brightly again and the view is bathed in beautiful colors.
Our garden birds, here the woodpecker and cardinal,
have been emptying the feeder within a few hours, they
appear to be ravenous. Crowds of chickadees, finches,
towhees, sparrows, even large thrashers, wait their turn
patiently for a seed or nut. They crowd the now bare
branches of the Celeste fig tree, always alert, now and
then dipping into the birdbath for an icy drink.
I love how birds have very different feeding patterns.
The woodpecker hangs on vertically because of his size,
digging quickly for a peanut, then flies away.
Last week on opening the potting shed door peanuts
rained down on my head - I know they always store
their nuts there, and along the top of my back door!
Cardinals stay on the perch for several minutes, nibbling
and cracking open their choice of sunflower seeds,
devouring them right there. Tiny chickadees take one
seed back to a branch, banging it until it cracks open,
such a lot of hard work for a very tiny bird.
I see the feeder is almost empty again. Sunny yes,
but a very cold day, still below freezing as I write,
so I'm off to refill as yesterday we bought more seed.
It's expensive but............well you know, I do have
have a soft spot for my garden birds and the joy they
bring is worth every penny spent to keep them fed.
Do you feed the birds? Can you share tales of special birds
who come to your garden..........I'd love to hear them.
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