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| By Norma Boeckler |
Birds do not flock to their food at this time of year. They like berries ripening. I know, because they eat my elderberries, blackberries, wild strawberries, and poke berries. They are keeping in shape now to eat my beauty berries later.
I put some walnut crumbles on the recycle bin lid. They were largely untouched. I was watching out the kitchen window for the hummingbird that says "Hello and thank you?" every day.
Suddenly a female cardinal landed, did a threat analysis, looked over the offering of walnut bits, selected one, and took off. Not long after, the male cardinal landed, checked out danger, examined the walnut fragments, grabbed one, and headed for his mate.
That is why I am putting only a little food out for the birds. They enjoy their own food and really need baths during the dry spells. I dump all bird baths and refill them often. They like to wade in from a dry area, so I try to slant the two kiddie pools accordingly.
The two baths in the front yard are quite shallow and get refilled daily, washed often.
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| By Norma Boeckler |
Ranger Bob agrees that cardinals are always celebrities in the yard. His mother loved them especially and related to all wildlife.
Cardinals have plenty of nesting sites and 10 crepe myrtles producing seed for their winter season. People love to see male cardinals flock together in the winter, when they are not vying for mates.
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| By Norma Boeckler |
