Occasionally through the years I would look at what birds were doing for a few minutes and then go back to what I was supposed to be doing. I never thought watching birds would be so interesting and so much fun. But that was before last spring when I put two bird feeders outside my window, and I soon became an avid bird watcher. Not only do I enjoy watching the birds but also the other animals that come around their feeders.
When I first put seeds out, if I sat in the chair right next to the window, all of the birds would fly away. When I moved to a chair away from the window, they came back, but I couldn’t see them as well. Now the regular visitors to the feeder usually don’t pay me any attention when I sit next to the window.
For several months the birds would wait a long time before they came to the feeders after I filled them up. Now one or more birds is already eating at the feeders by the time I get back in the house and look out the window. A few birds have surprised me recently by coming to a feeder while I’m out there although they quickly leave as though they just saw me. But they must have seen me before they flew over there.
I thought I only had four or five kinds of birds in my yard. Now I’ve seen too many different kinds to count! I didn’t know what some of them were so Gina had to identify them for me. Bluebirds, cardinals, robins, chickadees, finches, wrens, Blue Jays, doves, crows, sparrows, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a White-breasted Nuthatch – just to name a few – and Chompy.
Chompy is a squirrel who has taken possession of a small area under the two feeders. He got his name because he’s usually chomping on something. He doesn’t allow birds or other squirrels in his area when he’s there, but fortunately it’s okay for the birds to walk around and eat a few inches away. It’s very interesting to watch what he does if one gets too close. He stops eating and stares at it. If it doesn’t walk away quickly or fly off, he makes a move toward it, and it definitely hurries off then. When other squirrels get too close he usually chases them across the yard. Then he scampers back to his area and starts eating again.
When Chompy’s around, he only takes a break from eating to jump on the bird bath to drink water, or just stand on it to look at the feeders, as though trying to figure out how to get to those seeds. And sometimes he jumps on a feeder and hangs on for a minute or two before jumping back down to the ground. I guess my feeders really are squirrel proof. I wish they were deer proof too.
I have a lot to do today so I’d better stop watching the birds and get busy. But I wonder how they like the new seeds I bought them. Maybe I should first look and see if they’ve eaten any. If they haven’t, I might need to hurry to the store to buy a different kind before I do anything else.
Written by Eleanor Robins. Eleanor is a frequent visitor to Seabrook Island, enjoys SIB’s “birding by golf cart” activities and strolling around Palmetto Lake looking for birds. Eleanor now owns multiple birding guidebooks and can identify several species of backyard birds.
Photos by Gina Sanders