We finally have a reasonably nice spring day here today. It has a tiny chill in the air when I was just out with only a hoodie on....so I guess that is pretty warm! I have really been enjoying the birdwatching at my feeder. It is amazing how trusting some of the birds actually are. I was moving around some of the feeders into new positions and some impatient clients showed up for a snack. While standing there a Downy Woodpecker came in for a landing only to find out I was standing there. He scared the wits out of himself and took off again, but then decided he knew me and I was trustworthy so he came and landed about five feet from me and proceeded to have his snack of suet. Adding suet to the offerings has really increased the varieties of birds that come regularly and some of these new ones have beautiful colors and are amazing to watch. Another visitor was unperturbed by my presence, and that was a White Breasted Nuthatch. He was fully aware I was at the feeder he wanted to eat from, so he landed on the branch two feet over my head and took himself an evaluation of the situation. He wanted the sunflower seeds more than he was bothered by me so he came and landed right on the feeder, with me there about 18" away from him. It was my small joy of the day for him to let me get so close as to see the texture of his feathers and his gentle coloring. I love these small surprises and this is why I bother to feed the birds. It is a form of mediation I suspect. It is communing with nature at close quarters.
Another observation I have over the last couple of days is about the American Goldfinches. They have a dull winter color, and now that spring is here they are molting and bringing in their spectacular summer mating colors. The males are gradually turning bright yellow and getting the black patch on the top of their head. I have a few that mostly yellow at his point, though not fully their bright yellow. Here is a photo of one on the feeders, he is on the lower right. My photo is not great, but you can see his yellow coming in. The females are turning green, but the majority of them are still pretty gray. As you can see we have quite a flock of American Goldfinches. When I lived in New York we were lucky to see one occasionally. Very infrequently did one became a regular visitor at my feeder. When I moved here that they came in flocks to the feeder, that was a revelation to me. It is interesting how varieties of birds are more plentiful in certain areas more than others, and that those areas are not far away from each other. I guess it has a lot to do with population density and food supply. I know that the Goldfinches like to eat the seeds in pine cones, and Delmarva certainly has pine cones. There are dense stands of farmed pines here. New York had about five people for every pine tree, that makes for quite a different ecosystem, so that must be one of the reasons for the differences in population. For many reasons, I enjoy watching and observing this little creatures. A friend came to visit for the weekend and commented that our flock of Goldfinches is like having our own flock of Canaries because these little birds sing beautiful songs when happily and busily eating at the feeders. It is a small joy.
We finally have a reasonably nice spring day here today. It has a tiny chill in the air when I was just out with only a hoodie on....so I guess that is pretty warm! I have really been enjoying the birdwatching at my feeder. It is amazing how trusting some of the birds actually are. I was moving around some of the feeders into new positions and some impatient clients showed up for a snack. While standing there a Downy Woodpecker came in for a landing only to find out I was standing there. He scared the wits out of himself and took off again, but then decided he knew me and I was trustworthy so he came and landed about five feet from me and proceeded to have his snack of suet. Adding suet to the offerings has really increased the varieties of birds that come regularly and some of these new ones have beautiful colors and are amazing to watch. Another visitor was unperturbed by my presence, and that was a White Breasted Nuthatch. He was fully aware I was at the feeder he wanted to eat from, so he landed on the branch two feet over my head and took himself an evaluation of the situation. He wanted the sunflower seeds more than he was bothered by me so he came and landed right on the feeder, with me there about 18" away from him. It was my small joy of the day for him to let me get so close as to see the texture of his feathers and his gentle coloring. I love these small surprises and this is why I bother to feed the birds. It is a form of mediation I suspect. It is communing with nature at close quarters.
Another observation I have over the last couple of days is about the American Goldfinches. They have a dull winter color, and now that spring is here they are molting and bringing in their spectacular summer mating colors. The males are gradually turning bright yellow and getting the black patch on the top of their head. I have a few that mostly yellow at his point, though not fully their bright yellow. Here is a photo of one on the feeders, he is on the lower right. My photo is not great, but you can see his yellow coming in. The females are turning green, but the majority of them are still pretty gray. As you can see we have quite a flock of American Goldfinches. When I lived in New York we were lucky to see one occasionally. Very infrequently did one became a regular visitor at my feeder. When I moved here that they came in flocks to the feeder, that was a revelation to me. It is interesting how varieties of birds are more plentiful in certain areas more than others, and that those areas are not far away from each other. I guess it has a lot to do with population density and food supply. I know that the Goldfinches like to eat the seeds in pine cones, and Delmarva certainly has pine cones. There are dense stands of farmed pines here. New York had about five people for every pine tree, that makes for quite a different ecosystem, so that must be one of the reasons for the differences in population. For many reasons, I enjoy watching and observing this little creatures. A friend came to visit for the weekend and commented that our flock of Goldfinches is like having our own flock of Canaries because these little birds sing beautiful songs when happily and busily eating at the feeders. It is a small joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment