Birds

This season I have regularly kept the bird feeders full.  I especially enjoy sitting in the sun room in the morning drinking my coffee and watching the birds.  There is a bird feeder on the front porch as well, filled with the kind of seeds that seem to attract mostly yellow finches, which I find beautiful.  But I don't get to sit and watch those.

Bird behavior is rather fascinating.  In some ways,  it is similar to human behavior.  The small birds yield to the birds twice their size. Frequently, there is fighting and squabbling over who gets the best seat.  Occasionally, there is even bullying, where one bird is the odd man out and will not be allowed to sit on any of the four perches around the feeder. Different kinds of birds share the same space, both on the rail next to the feeder, and the feeder itself.

 This morning, for the first time, there was even a squirrel in the mix, sitting on the rail of the back patio.  He could not quite reach the feeder though. Many of the seeds end up on the ground anyway.  The birds seem picky, and wasteful with the food, knocking aside the seeds they don't want, which end up below.  

Last year I had a bunny visitor frequently, who ate the seed droppings on the ground.  I read that bird seed is like candy to bunnies.

This is the first year that I have had the time, taken the time, to regularly keep the feeders full.  It certainly does provide a great deal of interesting entertainment.

I suppose we need a book on birds so we can identify the types.  But honestly, I am more interested in their behavior among themselves.

Come to think of it,  the same thing is true of my interest in humans.  It is the interactions that fascinate me the most!!