Laura and I have put a lot of work into our back yard to make it a friendly and attractive place for birds, bees and other assorted beasts. We often enjoy the fruits of our labour over morning coffee, watching the comings and goings of our different guests. Over the past few weeks the little gang has become increasingly active, perhaps sensing the cooler nights and the need to pack on grams for the coming winter. Mourning doves have been particularly active, loading up on safflower seed, of all things.
Finches and sparrows have also been quite active.
Looking at these pictures I can see it’s definitely time for some new feeders. The plastic on this one, in particular, has gone opaque from many years of scrubbing with the long-handled brush, and the outer surface – scarred from all sorts of errant pecking – is discolouring in a few places. The birds don’t seem to mind, but like any good chef I feel presentation counts. Time for an upgrade!
The woodpeckers have also been quite active, eating their woodpecker picnic like crazy.
Unfortunately, the downies have been getting a bit of help recently, courtesy of this naughty fellow.
It’s not only time to replace the feeders with new ones, but move them to new locations where the squirrel can’t get to them. It’s currently leaping about eight feet from a tree and falling onto one of them, then having a great time feasting on expensive bird food. It’s cute as a button, but completely psychotic. Rocky the Flying Squirrel has nothing on this guy.
Other backyard mammals are also misbehaving. We just planted several new plants, and our resident rabbits have wasted no time tasting them all.
Perhaps the greatest activity has been with the hummingbirds. There are several visiting the feeder, some obviously larger or smaller than the others. We’re guessing the smaller ones might be new hatchlings, but they’re so quick to arrive and leave it’s honestly hard to tell. They’re all beautiful though, and we love to watch them.
Sometimes they perch on a wire leading to the house. I noticed this one while enjoying my morning coffee. It sat there for a while, flicking its tongue in and out several times. Good grief do they ever have long tongues! No wonder they can get way into the back of the flowers while hovering. They’re truly amazing birds. I tried to get a picture of it … I managed one, not perfect but not bad for a tiny little bird sitting on a wire on the other side of the yard.
We’re looking forward to seeing more activity in the weeks to come, and some new arrivals that haven’t visited the feeders since spring. Perhaps I can get some better pictures of our new friends – over morning coffee, of course.
