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Back Porch Birds
By John W. Kennedy | June 4, 2008
My wife Patty and I enjoy sitting out on our back porch deck, soaking up the sun, reading and watching birds. Patty recently hung a birdfeeder on the tree next to the deck and it’s been a wonder to see some of the visitors we’ve had as a result.
The sparrows, cardinals and blue jays are in abundance as before. But the feeder has attracted all sorts of newcomers who never have bothered to fly by our yard in the nearly nine years we’ve lived there. Goldfinches, red-bellied woodpeckers, chickadees and even the occasional Baltimore oriole now populate our environs.
What is it in the seed mixture that’s attracting these beautiful winged creatures? How can they sense from far away in the air what is lurking in the tree in the Kennedy yard?
Just watching for a few minutes gives an interesting insight into the avian world. There’s definitely a pecking order as to who gets to stay at the feeder if two arrive at once. It’s not necessarily the biggest creature.
But for the most part the feeding is orderly rather than frenzied. One bird seems to wait its turn until another is finished. I guess birds in nature don’t have a lot in common with human nature.
Topics: birds |