Birdy num-nums: backyard bird feeding

-By Lisa

This post is about bird watching.

I know. Your right click finger is getting itchy and you are wondering what’s new on Facebook, because bird watching is lame. But you only think that because you’ve never done it before.

I used to think it was lame too. I’ve never been a bird person. I’ve never had one for a pet nor can I identify egg speckling patterns or in-flight silhouettes or whatever. But one day I randomly got a bird feeder and birds started coming to it. And I watched them. And they made me really freaking happy.

I love the simple thing of watching a bird. There’s something about being closer to nature, about knowing your finch from your titmouse (there’s definitely something about having the excuse to say “titmouse.”) But I also think it’s about slowing down to look at a bird. I stop when I see wings flit by the kitchen window. I stop with the dishwasher and the emails and the repetitive monkey-mind chatter and I just look. Sure, some birds are impressive looking and colorful, but most are just plain little brown birds. And I respect them for that. I’m in the moment, experiencing nature even though I’m in the suburbs and have shared walls. I’m nurturing and encouraging my involvement with a wild animal, and there is nothing lame about that.

It’s also wonderful to learn something new - you know which birds migrate and when they arrive and leave. You know which ones invade the nests of other birds and which are prone to an eye disease and you notice when that one doesn’t come around anymore. It’s both beautiful and brutal and, well -- natural.

Those who study such things call it biophilia, referring to the love of all living things, from plants and trees to animals. It’s something innate and encoded in our biological senses; it’s the understanding of the sacred continuous cycle of life. Those eco-psychologists claim that our connection to nature is just as integral to our happiness as our connection to family and friends. I believe it.

I love watching our bird feeder, though we needed to do a little adjusting before it all worked out. We have lots of squirrels, who tend to catapult themselves at the feeder and get all the food before our feathered friends arrive. I tried feeding the squirrels separately so they would stay away from the bird food, but they seemed to interpret that as me providing a two course meal. I found this solution that works quite well the Squirrel Buster Classic (I swear, that's what it's called) --- it just closes the outer cage shut when anything of squirrel weight climbs on it and they can’t get to the good stuff. It's also easy to remember when it's time to refill the feedeer; I have a Red Winged Blackbird who pecks on the window when the seeds are too low for his taste. Quite a helpful fellow.

Humming bird season is also super fun. Those fellows cruise by this area from April to September and a brightly colored hummingbird feeder will give them a lovely place to rest those hard working wings. Mix 4 parts water to one part sugar and you’ve got a the ultimate in hummingbird cuisine.

A book called Birds of Virginia Field Guide is super helpful for identifying your birds, if you like putting labels on things. Otherwise, it’s still fun to refer to a specific bird as “the one with the thingy on his head”.

If you are in the Charlottesville area, check out Wild Birds Unlimited, on 29 across from Fashion Square. Wild Birds is a chain, but it is locally owned and operated by the incredibly knowledgeable John and Judith Lane. They’ve helped us with everything from seed selection to deck mounting pole systems for the feeder.

See? Maybe not so lame.

For more from Lisa, check out www.justherejustnow.com