They know the drill. When they see me heading out to the shed in the back yard each morning, my small flock of blue jays begins to spread the word. With a piercing, hawk-like shriek, one blue jay lets the others know that dinner is on. They’ll soon be eating peanuts. Blue jays are noisy birds, perhaps the most vocal of all my backyard songbirds. They have five distinct calls and use … [Read more...]

A few weeks ago, three snowbirds appeared beneath my feeder. That was a sign for me to begin scattering more seed on the ground in addition to keeping my feeders filled. Many birds in our yards are ground feeders, and it seems unfair for them to have to scrounge for bits of food and seed dislodged from the feeders. So, I feed them directly on the ground. How much you feed them will determine … [Read more...]

  We have a Christmas Cactus, several actually. Nancy has combined three smaller plants - given to us as  previous holiday presents  - into one, large Christmas Cactus pot. Except, our plants do not pay attention to the calendar. It (they) usually blooms at Thanksgiving. Like small children, they just can’t wait for Christmas Day. Native to Brazil, there are several varieties of Holiday … [Read more...]

  I have a pair of cardinals in my yard, but only one pair – which concerns me. In the summer, I always have two cardinal families that visit my bird bath and feeders. They often skirmish, but I always have two pairs. In the winter, however, I often can see 4 or 5 bright red, male cardinals standing out with a backdrop of white snow. But now, there is only one pair. Birds come and … [Read more...]

The bane of every bird lover is a squirrel. Put out a feeder, and a squirrel, rather than birds, invites himself to dinner. A baffle on the feeder pole works well, but not if there is overhead cover nearby – like a limb or a roof or anything a squirrel can use to pounce down on the food. We discovered one method, however, that absolutely keeps squirrels at bay and that is a bag of Wild Delight … [Read more...]

  Not only do they flock together, they feed together. All of them. At the same time. My passion is watching birds, sometimes from the kitchen window and sometimes from my vantage point in a lawn chair in the back yard. One thing I have noticed is that all of the birds seem to feed at the same time. You’ll see bunches of birds - cardinals, sparrows, chickadees, finches, and the like, … [Read more...]

  There have been a pair of hawks buzzing around our neighborhood recently. Sometimes they’ll share the same tree, but often they simply call to one another from long range. I assume they are mates, but perhaps one is a juvenile. This morning, my three regular crow visitors let me know in no uncertain terms that there was at least one hawk in my back yard – and he was - perched at the … [Read more...]

I saw the first one this morning. A little snowbird – a Dark Eyed Junco, to be exact. He was hopping around beneath the feeder, picking up bits of sunflower hearts and seeds that the finches had dislodged. Almost always, the snowbirds feed on the ground. I’ll have to start leaving more seeds on the ground as I tend to my feeders. Snowbirds are cheerful little birds and not terrible skittish. I … [Read more...]

    I have always enjoyed feeding sea gulls. When I’m surf fishing at the beach, and have a few shrimp left over, I toss them high and watch in fascination as gulls swoop in to intercept my deliveries in midair. I was in Urbanna last week and had some extra shrimp that I didn’t want to put in the trash can and took it down to the dock, wondering if I tossed a few in the water if … [Read more...]

I was in the edge of the woods, looking for squirrels for a potential Brunswick Stew when I was thoroughly chastised by a Carolina wren. The wren flew to a nearby bush, checking for spiders (their favorite meal). He pecked here and there and found a few, I think. Then he saw me. He was not pleased. I guess he thought I might be looking for spiders myself, and I was, but not to eat. The wren let … [Read more...]