Bird Feeders.

Two-weeks ago, our backyard became the new food shelf for a variety of local birds. The first week, the majority of the birds eating out of our feeders were Pine Siskins: smaller, slimmer birds with dark brown streaks washed in golden highlights on their wings, rump, and tail. A member of the finch family, Pine Siskins are uncommonly trusting of humans and have no reservation about perching on our clear plastic window feeder as they feast on the high-energy sunflower seeds Adrianne purchased along with three additional hanging feeders– two seed hangers and one suet feeder– throughout the day. While neat to watch, Pine Siskins fly in tight, compact formations with no obvious leader showing the flock which way to go, the birdfeeders have quickly attracted more colorful birds from neighboring birdfeeders and the woods behind our home. One of my favorites, a newcomer, is the Downey Woodpecker. A tiny bird when compared to its cousin the Pileated Woodpecker, which sports what looks like fiery red, spiked hair as they incessantly “drum” their beaks on hollow trees to claim their territory and search for food, the male Downey Woodpecker has a single splash of red on the back of his head. And our newest newcomers, arriving yesterday afternoon just before a threatening nor’easter, the Purple Finch, which looks red and not purple, showed up in masses to our ogling delight. Regardless of which birds visit or claim our feeders as their own: the Pine Siskins, Downey Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmouses, Red Cardinals, Song Sparrows, American Goldfinches, or Mourning Doves, the joy of watching the birds eat and interact with one another is dwarfed by the unfettered excitement Taylor and Simon display watching them.

Our love for bird feeding and, oddly enough, squirrel feeding began several years ago. At a prior apartment in Vermont we were blessed with a large backyard, plenty of trees, and a healthy animal population. One might say that we were a little bird and squirrel crazy– buying a ceramic birdbath, running 65 feet of electrical cord from the garage to the backyard supplying electricity for the optional electric ice defroster, purchasing copious amounts of quality birdseed and suet from Agway at an exorbitant price, and spending a whopping amount of money trying out a variety of “squirrel proof” birdfeeders before yielding to the hordes of squirrels which mobbed our feeders every morning. Unfortunately, a move to southern Vermont thwarted our fondness for bird watching– the neighborhood in which our new apartment was located was infested with domestic and feral cats. During our first summer we were forced to take trips into the woods just to hear the sounds of nature we’d grown accustomed to. (To our pleasant surprise, a harsh winter, hungry bobcat, or a zealous animal control officer depleted the gaggle of felines and a few birds returned to the towering pine and lotus trees behind our apartment the following spring). But thankfully, our latest move has allowed us, once again, to return to nature by simply looking out our kitchen window.

Enjoying nature and the experiencing God’s outdoors is a significant part of our daily routine. Whether watching the birds feed, walking in the woods, or simply drinking in the fresh air on a walk around the block, I make it a point for the kids to be exposed to the outdoors. This is important. How else are the kids going to appreciate the environment unless they are exposed to how nature ought to be?