Suet Time ... Already?!

I’m working from home full time now.  I decided to put my desk in the sunroom so I could enjoy both the gardens and the birds while I work.  (I can see several of the feeders and the birdbaths from my “workspace.”)

On a daily basis, I see chickadees and nuthatches, cardinals and finches, blue jays and a few wild turkeys at the feeders!  I had the occasional oriole and hummingbird this summer, too.

Friday afternoon, I saw four (FOUR) woodpeckers on the bee house in the front garden.  So, Saturday morning when I filled the seed feeders, I took the bee house down and put up a suet feeder.  

I typically don’t put out the suet until Thanksgiving, but seeing all the woodpeckers clamoring around, I decided they knew better than I did about the timing.  The squirrels have been crafty in their efforts to “hack” the suet feeders in the past, but I think I have enough security on the feeder to ensure the feeder stays up and that the suet stays inside it!

When I arrived home after meeting a friend for a glass of wine Saturday afternoon, I saw this!  I was able to get within 4 feet of the bird before he sought temporary safety and shelter in a nearby tree.  By the time I walked from the porch to the sunroom, he was back on the feeder!

And, so far, the squirrels have not absconded with the feeder or the suet!  

For the Birds -- A Hummingbird Feeder

Part of the joy I get from the garden is that the birds seem to enjoy it as much as I do. I plant things they like and provide both water and supplemental food (when the plants they like aren't quite ready). It's supposed to be a scorcher of a weekend here, so I'm keeping an eye on the birdbaths to make sure they stay filled.

In an earlier post this year, I mentioned the variety and number of birds we saw -- just sitting on the deck above the Mississippi River. I didn't mention that we saw a couple of hummingbirds -- which are among my favorites.

The Riverman asked if there was something you could do to make the hummingbirds visit. I said there were a number of plants that are attractive to hummingbirds and that we have many of those plants in the garden. Then, I mentioned that there are special feeders for hummingbirds. His eyes lit up and asked if we had one. I said we didn't but could get one. We put it on the west side of the house -- just outside the sunroom -- so we can see it while having coffee. And, to my surprise and delight, two days after I hung it, we had hummingbirds! I haven't seen them for a few days. I don't know if it's because they've moved on or if they're coming at times when I'm not around. I know they'll be back when the Monarda blooms, so I may just need to be patient.

p.s. It looks like I'm having trouble with the scheduler for my posts! I'll try to be more diligent about checking that they're actually live rather than trusting the scheduler.

To Feed or Not to Feed

My Saturday morning routine is to take Monty for a walk, start the coffee, then water all the house plants and fill the bird feeders. By the time I’m done with the plants and the birds, the coffee is ready and depending on the season, I can take a stroll around the gardens with my coffee and see what’s what or sit in the sunroom and read the paper and watch the birds come to the feeders. Unfortunately, the birds aren’t the only ones coming to the feeders – squirrels come, too. And they’re seed hogs. So, I’m in a quandary – to feed or not to feed.

I know there are some who would say I shouldn’t feed the birds at all – especially in an urban setting like mine because it encourages vermin. “Before you know it, your house and all the ones near you will be crawling with mice.” They warn. So far, that hasn’t happened, and I’ve lived in a house crawling with mice, so I do know the signs. But, there’s something lovely and restful about watching birds come to the feeders and I am loathe to stop feeding them. I just want the squirrels to stop getting all the food!

I don’t currently have squirrel baffles/guards on the feeders, and frankly am a little skeptical. At the St Paul house, I did use a 4 inch diameter piece of PVC pipe to deter the squirrels, but that was for a platform like feeder and not for the shepherd’s hook’s I now have. Has anyone deterred squirrels with any success? If so, are you willing to share your secret?!

My Grandmother's Bird Feeder

Today is Syttende Mai, Norway’s constitution day, and I’m thinking about my grandmother. She had a small herb garden, an apple tree, and a few rose shrubs. She also had bird feeders. Her feeders weren’t the tube feeders I have in my gardens for songbirds. These were tray-like feeders off both the kitchen and dining room windows. I had never seen a bird feeder like it and was convinced that no bird would come to a feeder that was attached to the house with no “cover” close by.

But, come they did! The main visitors to these feeders were sea gulls, who came for bread crusts, left over boiled potatoes, and fish heads. Occasionally, another bird would visit, but the most frequent visitors were the gulls.

I was so fascinated by my grandmother’s bird feeder that I wanted to have one like it at my home. But, squirrels would be the main visitors to a tray-like feeder here in the city, so I stick to the tube feeders. My dad must have had a similar memory of the Norwegian bird feeder, because he built one for his kitchen window! He gets both birds and squirrels at his kitchen window, where he puts out seed not fish heads.

My grandmother had bird feeders as a way to prevent kitchen waste. I have mine because I enjoy sitting in the sunroom and hearing and seeing the birds that come for the seeds. But, I think about her (and the fish heads and sea gulls) every time I put the seeds out.