Every evening during spring, summer and fall, we sit on the deck to watch our plants grow and to talk. But this time of the year, most of our chuckles come from the birds. We have a suet feeder that the birds love and a birdbath that Aloma changes the water at least twice a day. She says it gets dirty when the birds bathe.
The main birds that come to the suet feeder are: mockingbirds, bluebirds, brown thrushes, robins and black birds that we think are starlings. The starlings come in flocks, noisy and unruly, and eat more than their share. To keep the starlings from eating everything, we take the suet down when we go inside for the night and return it about 5:00 the next evening.
At about 5:00 p.m., the mockingbird swoops in and lands on our swing about 6 feet away and looks at us. We know he’s saying, “Where’s my food.” We get the suet out and he enjoys it first. Then a brown thrush comes and has supper. Meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird are sitting in the tree waiting their turn. A robin is usually around and picks up crumbs that fall from the feeder.
The mockingbirds are the aristocrats. The have beautiful bodies and seem really smart and are certainly aggressive. The robin has become territorial and chases the bluebirds away - but they are so patient and come right back. Aloma is angry and yells at the robin, but I don’t think he understands.
We enjoy seeing the robin and brown thrush race across the mulch on the bank, suddenly stop and start digging. Half the time they pull up a worm or a grub. They locate bugs by sound and sight, so I learned from “OK Google.”
Other birds that don’t eat suet but either bathe or enjoy our plants are: hummingbirds, goldfinches, purple finches, cardinals and doves. We enjoy them all.
Aloma said last night, “I’m so happy we can enjoy our plants and laugh at our birds - together.
Seasoned Man
stevelem117@gmail.com
BirdBird
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