It’s Christmas Day, and I am watching my birds through a downy sprinkling of big, thick snowflakes. It reminds me of a gift my sister gave me this Christmas: a sign that says, “Some of my best friends are flakes.”
The wren is in the peanut cage. I put my peanuts in a cage especially designed by Wild Birds Unlimited experts to keep the big birds away. I worried that cardinals couldn’t get to them, but one day I watched as a cardinal found the one place big enough for him to squeeze in. He has shown the others because I see them eating peanuts all the time.
Through the snow I see the tops of several feeders, and it is clear that there is at least 4 to 5 inches of snow on top of them, and it’s still falling. I feel like I did when I was a little boy who got a bicycle another Christmas when it snowed. You never ever forget a Christmas when it snows.
The goldfinch are back and have loaded the upside-down feeders that they are able to access and the house finch cannot. I thought they had cut out for Cuba like the hummers do every fall. Goldfinch are not predictable.
My pal Ed Townsend set up a feeding area this year and called me wondering why he had no birds. They are creatures of habit. They must find a place to eat, like we find our favorite restaurants, and then they will return, just like we return to our favorite dining places. That’s the reason faithfulness is such an important part of being a bird person. On really bad days, like today’s snow, it is important that we be there for them because they cannot forage for seeds and bugs in the snow.
It takes a while for birds to become faithful to your cafeteria. And you will never understand all of them — like goldfinch. They come and go year-round in no predictable pattern, but every day they are there they splash so much beauty on your life.
My bluebird house is completely covered with snow right now. Strangely, I saw a couple of bluebirds checking it out just days ago. It would seem they would only be hunting a home when their hormones start coursing, but they check all winter long. If you watch them, you will have a good idea of where they will nest come springtime. But, again, like it is with the goldfinch, they are never completely predictable. They will have you thinking they will nest in a certain place and change their mind at the last minute. Anything in the environment of the box can influence them. Something new on the scene can cancel out winter’s decisions.
If your box is too near your feeding area, it can change their minds. When they have babies, they don’t like a lot of birds around. They raised so much cane with me one spring that I actually quit feeding my birds in a few feeders near their box until the nestlings got on their feet — or on their wings, to be more accurate.
There’s nothing like a good snowstorm to make you happy you are a loyal friend of the birds.
E-mail Dalton Roberts at DownhomeP@aol.com.