01/30/2022
Feeding the hungry bunch…
It’s been snowing, the white dusting since evening yesterday continued through the night and showed no signs of stopping at 8 am.
I had just gotten up, still in the bed, I gazed out the window and noticed the little blue birdhouse was swaying with the wind, bracing itself tight to the fragile fragments of the branches it was hanging from.
As i was getting hypnotized by this rhythmic swaying, i noticed few black n white flutters around it.
I jumped out of the bed and marched towards the window. A pair of dark eyed juncos were hovering around the birdhouse trying to hold onto the little stalk protruding from the opening.
I have never noticed any birds around these birdhouses since the day we hung them. They had survived the squirrels but they didn’t interest any birds until now!
I was elated to see the sudden interest and realized that the snow had covered the ground and branches, diminishing the only food source for these tiny birds & hence the interest in the birdhouse!
The birdhouse had not been replenished for a long time now and was likely empty.
I rushed downstairs, put on my winter boots and jacket and marched outside in the foot of snow on our terrace. I brought the birdhouse inside and noticed that it had lost its base!
The birdhouse needed a base, a surface to hold seeds and an edge for these birds to perch on. I thought of using the styrofoam dish that came with the takeout lunch we ordered yesterday. It was lightweight and sturdy for the tiny bird’s weight.
I glued the birdhouse with paper folds at the bottom leaving tiny gap to let seeds slide through on to the dish. Hung this new contraption on the branch, went back inside the house and ready with my camera to catch this new design in action through the window!
The juncos flew by, stood on nearby branches, observed the new birdhouse curiously and slowly tried to get to the seeds. But as they hovered around the dish, their tiny claws kept on sliding on the styrofoam surface.
The birds needed a surface that they could grab on, like a stick,, a branch… how about a branch from that same tree? I thought. I went back outside, took the birdhouse off the tree, broke a nearby twig and stuck it firmly through the gap between the dish and the birdhouse.
Hung it back onto the branch and slid it far back to the joint where this branch met the main stem. This reduced the swaying as the thickness of the branch was now greater.
I Went back inside and stood against the window, again ready with my camera.
The junco pair came back, with same curiosity, but flew off. In 5 minutes a female cardinal stopped by. She came closer than the juncos, made her observations and flew off.. then a white throated sparrow flew by, hovered in front of the birdhouse and finally managed to perch onto the twig. The sparrow slowly walked on the twig and got closer to the edge and finally started feeding on seeds in the dish. Success!!
Soon the birdhouse became known to many and the branches were filled with tiny feathers waiting for their turn!
The birdhouses that are specifically meant to feed the birds needed a lightweight yet sturdy design to keep away from squirrel invasions. I have used at least 10 kinds of store bought birdhouses, but none of them have been as successful as this homemade fix!
After taking many pictures of my tiny friends I went back inside the house happy and content having accomplished a difficult task and sense of gratitude to have provided food for the hungry bunch!
And just when I was enjoying this proud moment, I heard..
“Mom, are you up? Whats for breakfast?”
It was time to feed another one of the hungry bunch!! 😀😀
