My New Hobby

It has finally happened. I am a new member of the Bird Watching Society. I have been feeding and watching hummingbirds for years. But at the end of the summer I put up the feeders and wait until the next hummer season to start over. As I was looking out the kitchen window a couple of weeks ago, I noticed several birds flitting in and around the oak trees. And the light bulb went off. Why not put up a bird seed feeder?

My trusty friend, Laurrie, set me up with a hanger that holds a block of seed and a regular bird seed feeder. I hung the block seed feeder to the north of the house. I hung the regular seed feeder in the oak tree on the south terrace. For two days, NO BIRDS even paid any attention to the feeders. I called Laurrie to file a complaint. I told her she must have sold me some bad seed. Patience, she told me. Be patient and you will be spending more money on bird seed than you do on your own groceries. Sam's reaction when he noticed the feeders: "What the hell is that?!" He mumbled and grumbled and shook his head as he walked out the door.

Last Saturday evening, one lone female cardinal was perched on the seed block. On Sunday, there were a couple of finch looking birds on the south bird feeder. By the middle of the week, I was beginning to notice more birds showing up on both feeders. On Wednesday, I branched out and bought another feeder that is shaped like an outhouse with a copper roof and put it in the same oak tree with the regular feeder. This morning all three feeders are covered in all kinds of birds. No, I haven't a clue what kind of birds they are. I recognized the cardinals and the robins and the doves. Shannon said she is going to get me a bird book for Christmas but I don't think I can wait that long to begin identifying "my" birds.

Gray Cat can't decide which feeder to sit under. So maybe I should change my title to "OUR New Hobby". The doves won't stand a chance if they get lazy.