Great Backyard Birds

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Great Backyard Birds

1.18.10

Regular readers of this column will recall that last month I wrote about the Grand Lake Christmas Bird Count. This was my first such experience, and I was honored to participate with more experienced ornithologists. During the Christmas Count we saw so many birds at feeders that I decided to join in and feed birds at my home too.

 I grabbed Santa Clause, went to the store, bought feeders and seed, came home, and went into the bird feeding business on December 20. Like all new businesses, we had to advertise and wait for word of mouth to get around. We waited and waited, but had no customers the first week.

Taking advice from a more experienced bird watcher, the feeders were moved farther from our habitat (the house), and closer to the bird’s habitat, along the tree-lined creek about 50 feet away. Finally on New Year’s Day, with snow on the ground, I saw the first birds at our feeders: American goldfinch, and cardinal.

Word of mouth (or beak) got around and, on January 5, house finch, junco, American tree sparrow and downy woodpecker tasted our fare. Confident of our customers’ loyalty, we moved the feeding station closer to the house viewing window. The next day blue jays joined our patrons.

Our little feeding station consists of one feeder each of oil sunflower seed, Niger (thistle) seed and suet. I consider it a restaurant for birds to use while their natural food is buried under the snow.

One day while observing our flock of varied birds, they all vanished instantly. A hawk, not yet identified, had come to feed. Raptors see a feeding station much like people view a grocery store: an easy place to pick up food. What a thrill to watch the food chain in action.

Our list of species is growing to include mourning dove, chickadee, and nuthatch at the feeders. With their raisin-like fruit, the nearby crab apple trees have attracted a flock of robins and a lone northern flicker. So far we have counted 13 species in all.
 
What’s in your back yard? People all over North America will answer this question during the Great Backyard Bird Count, February 12-15. You can get involved if you have 15 minutes to sit at home, watch birds, record your findings and report.

Citizen Scientists are invited to participate. Learn more at www.birdsouce.org/gbbc. At this site you will learn the three easy steps to participating, find the data form, and a regional bird list to help with identification.

This is the best bird watching ever because you get to stay warm and dry at home. Grab a cup of coffee, get your slippers and plop your derriere into a comfy chair by a window that provides a view of your yard. Bird feeders are not a requirement but helpful because they draw birds to one location. All you need now is 15 minutes, a pen, paper and knowledge of birds to expect in the winter in Auglaize County. A bird reference book can help with this.

Don’t have access to the World Wide Web? Your neighborhood library can help you get online. Or stop in at your local Chamber of Commerce in New Bremen, Wapakoneta or St. Marys during business hours and ask for a Bird Count Data Form.

Here’s your chance to stay warm, get involved, and contribute to the scientific studies of animals and their environment. And watching birds and learning more about them does the heart good. I know, I am doing so daily.
 
 
Allison Brady, Executive Director
Heritage Trails Park District
Your partner for parks in Auglaize County