The
threat of major snow was here and little songbirds were all out at the backyard
bird feeders. Just like people, they did some last-minute shopping
at the grocery store (my bird feeders) to get their munchies to keep going on during and
after the storm.
The
bird feeder were a very busy place with chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, purple
and house finches, cardinals, blue jays, and a big, beautiful red-bellied
woodpecker that was always hanging on the edge of the feeder trying to stick
its beak into the food. After some quick flying, flopping and bobbing around
the feeders, the birds would get a seed or two, then fly off to store the seed or
gobble it up. The birds would return moments later to do it all over again, back
and forth, until the feeder was bare.
Who
knows how much snow we'll get, but for sure the bird feeders helped make things
a little easier for the neighborhood's feathered friends. A pile of snow or an ice storm that covers everything
with just an inch of snow or ice will increase many species' need for
supplemental food. Forest birds including chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers
and blue jays, will stash food away for times when their regular sources aren't
available. Not bad for a creature with a bird brain!
Within
the urban-suburban environment of the New York metropolitan region, I have no
doubt that bird feeders play an important role for the survival of many kinds
of wildlife. In a world where truly natural spaces, undisturbed by people, are scarce
and sporadic at best, bird feeders provide an easy meal and an easy way for
people to connect with wildlife.
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