My wife has noticed a resemblance.
Sassy and I do bird-feeding chores every day now. First of all, we want to keep the corn feeder full for Mr. Squirrel and his extended family. Watching them swirl around the tree trunk for the chance to eat is worth the effort.
Second, we take the mixed seed bag around to all the feeding areas. Outside the garage is one zone. The front door planter is another one. Mixed seed is not a bargain, so I am scattering it where birds can pick out what they want. Some goes among the dry rocks. Several handfuls are thrown in the planter. I also have very cheap feeder up front which tiny birds use because the perch fell off into the holly bushes. I am not looking for that perch until I have a Hazmat suit on.
The bedroom window sill is quite low, but surrounded by holly bushes. The birds love all the protection they have. Cardinals enjoy the window sill and also the main feeder.
We have chickadees, cardinals, woodpeckers, red polls, titmice, and nuthatches feeding. Blue jays have been absent, but they are plentiful in the summer.
The result of spending a little money and a little time is a constant flow of birds around the house. The front of our home looks like O'Hare Airport during fair weather.
Birds will stay under cover during a storm but feed immediately before and after the low pressure zone moves through. We have no snow or ice, so the larvae are still easily accessed on trees and among bushes. However, cold weather requires more fuel, so birds are happy to have extra food to supplement their diet.
When one of the worst storms was bearing down on Minnesota, the weather was unusually warm, 60 degree weather. Hunters noticed enormous flocks of birds heading away from it. Many men were trapped in the woods because they did not realize the birds were fleeing a deadly blizzard. Here is the video about the Armistice Day Blizzard, 1940. Around 50 died from the sudden weather change.
even though she is missing one hind leg.
Photo by Norma Boeckler
A good way to handle suet, if you don't like the greasy feel, is to freeze it in your freezer before handling it, or leave it outside when it's cold. If you want chunks for a tray, slice it into cubes before freezing it, which can be done without touching it since it grips whatever it lies on well enough to stay put. I always have a full suet cage because I insert chunks where the birds have eaten. This only became an issue lately since 3 species of woodpeckers have had it in for my suet: downy, hairy and red-bellied woodpecker, named for the light pink hue on its belly. I think the names are quite inaccurate for all these woodpeckers since none of them are very downy, hairy or red-bellied! It's similar to how the red-throated finch is called a purple finch. Go figure!:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Finch
