It's snowing like mad outside, and the birds are going crazy on my apple tree! :) I know it's hard to see in the picture, but there are no less than 12 little birdies on my tree! :) (most flew away when I showed up with the camera.
I hung some cheap feeders a couple of months ago and we have only had a few visitors until recently. First it was only finches - brown boring finches - but I was still excited to have them. :) Then a single chickadee arrived and, glee is the only way to describe how excited I was! I LOVE chickadee's! When I was a kid, I used to visit an elderly lady who lived behind our home. She had an enormous apple tree in front of her house that was bustling with the adorable little birdies. She and I would sit for hours and watch them frolic around the feeders and through the tree! They would even eat out of her hand! Needless to say - I'm hoping for a similar tree in my front yard.
Recently, it seems that the bird population has exploded in my front yard! The few finches have become a swarm! An entire flock of goldfinches have moved in. We have a single woodpecker (but I'm hoping he doesn't stay long), and the occasional crow. Last night, I also met a greedy chip munch who happily filled his chubby cheeks from the sunflower seeds I had left on the ground in tiny piles -just for him. That didn't go quite as planned as he now lives under the front deck - drat! This morning, I was surprised by a single house finch! His red head stood out like Turkey in toe-shoes and now there are many.
I'm starting to think that I may have an addictive personality because I've been googling the daylights out of New Brunswick Birds and trying to figure out how I can attract more of the little darlings to my yard! I am still hopefull of seeing blue jays and cardinals and a zillion other species that I know we have in NB...and tomorrow, I'm off to Chapters to pick up a bird book!! :D (Yes - I do need a life! :) I am also going to rope the kids into helping me build a few simple bird houses!! :) I'm actually hoping that this is something we can all enjoy as a family - especially since I realized that birds eat bugs!!! YAY!
I've been looking for building plans that are;
a) FREE! (cuz who wants to pay for something you can get for free??)
b) Soooper simple! Cut-Glue-Nail-Paint-Done! That's what I'm lookin for!
c) Something that will go together very quickly, cuz I'd like to make a bunch! (And they have to if I hope to get the girls involved. As a mom - I completely failed on teaching them the value in delayed gratification.)
Here are the plans I've been stalking for tomorrows project!
This one looks pretty simple and I like the side entrance.
The General Store house looks simple enough and is kinda cute too!
I like the triangle shape of this one and I've read that the side entrance is good for chickadees.
Because of the snow, though, I may not have much access to power tools, which means that I need to keep it extra simple. I have now narrowed it down to the following;
- This one will likely be the winner, though, since there are very few cuts and it's the simplest of all.
- And for Chickadees, this one is super simple and likely also the winner.
- And how cool is this?! A nesting "tube" made out of PVC! Even I can do this!!!
I'll post pics as we go and let you know which ones we decided on. :) I'm really looking forward to more bird watching and seeing which fun feathered friends we can attract!
Oh - I should also point out that I'm not the only one who has taken up the bird-watching hobby. Senior Ninja Diablo has loggd 3 times as many hours as me...although I suspect that his intensions are not exclusively observational. :)
1 comment:
Oh Hollee! You are now addicted to one of the best hobbies ever...other than paper crafting and cake decorating. We have been feeding them for years. If you feed all summer you will keep more birds around. Chipmunks and squirrels and even raccoons and deer will be attracted to the feeders. You can reduce the amount of four legged critters by taking the feeder at dark and putting them out early in the morning.
The small black sunflower seeds are the best, although they seem a little more expensive and the small black thistle seeds will attract the little finches and chickadees.
Building a bird house is fun but not really necessary. The birds usually prefer their own nests but you can build more feeders.
Have fun! :)
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