He didn’t make it. He was a male house sparrow. I found him in the yard. No ruffled feathers, so he didn’t die in a skirmish with a hawk or a cat. Rather, the winter was too much. He was weakened and died. When you consider what birds must go through to last even one night in the bitter cold with the ground covered in ice and snow, it’s a wonder any of them make it. Nature is a cruel … [Read more...]

“Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care, “Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care, “Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care, “My master’s gone away.” If you’re as old as I am, you may remember this Negro spiritual. Mama Ida used to sing this to me when I was a child. It is said that this was one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite songs. There are several theories about the lyrics. One is that a slave boy … [Read more...]

  Other than the Hummingbirds of summer, he is the smallest bird to visit my yard. He is my Chickadee and every year I have a pair that nest in or near the yard. He is also fun to watch. We have just put one those see-through feeders on our den window so that Foster (our pet parakeet) can watch and try to speak to other birds. You should hear the racket that Foster makes when a bird … [Read more...]

We have had a spectacular visitor recently – a Red-bellied woodpecker, several, actually. These are beautiful birds with a scarlet red head patch and well-defined black and white wing markings. Against the backdrop of snow, they are stunning. These medium-size woodpeckers have primarily been drawn to the Peanut Delight Suet Bar I have hanging, but they have also made frequent trips to the buffet … [Read more...]

I suppose this will be my annual plea to fellow birders to put out a heated bird bath. Our little friends need water, especially in freezing weather, to survive. Many, many people put out feeders – something like $500 million is spent annually on bird seed, but for bird baths - not so much. I have a ton of songbirds in my yard, but it didn’t happen by accident. I provide multiple food sources … [Read more...]

  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...]