Life is for the birds

Hours of entertainment!  Toss some birdseed on the ground and watch what happens. I guess this would happen anywhere, whether you have a large yard or just a patch of dirt near the sidewalk; once birds know there's food around, they will come.

There is a bird feeder hanging near my kitchen window but watching the birds jockey for position at that feeder is not nearly as enjoyable as watching them roam all over the yard, nipping on the bird feed I toss out every morning. (It's cheap and even Safeway carries it.)

Different birds have different eating styles, of course. The little birds, about the size of a tangerine, just get in there and peck away, sometimes getting a big piece that requires them to fly to a tree and nibble on it. But usually they look like typical eaters: little heads bobbing up and down, moving from tiny seed to seed. The gray morning doves are different. They are slower, gazing over the ground like they are at a Las Vegas buffet, figuring on what's the best and making their selection carefully. Then they stand in one place and peck away, not moving around much. 

The woodpeckers are very quick, flying in, scaring the small birds, their bright red heads gleaming. With their shiny white breasts and their black tuxedo-jacket wings, these guys seem formal, like they just stopped off for a bite before going out to a nightclub to listen to jazz. 

And then there are the blue jays. Everyone scatters when these characters show up. Not only are they bigger in size, but they are bigger in sound and fury as well. The jays just chow down, no finesse, just gobbling as quick as they can and they eat a lot! All the little birds hang back about a dozen feet away, hoping the jays will leave them something.

If crows show up, I go outside and tell them to leave.  Yes, everyone thinks crows are so smart and clever.  I don't care. Crows are even more bullish than the jays, walking around in their black overcoats, strutting like they own the place. They can get their own meals, I am not feeding them!

Watching the bird action early in the morning makes my day. The little juncos, the titmouse with the little mohawk haircut, the cute chickadees, there are so many different species. The humming birds don't come and eat the birdseed, oddly, but they are always around, flitting from bush to bush, flower to flower, dipping in and out of the water fountain. Every now and then a squirrel will join in and then I know it's going to be a very good day.