If You Feed Them...They Will Come

Many years ago, in our first home, we installed a bird feeder which we loaded with Black Oil Sunflower Seeds in the hope of drawing beautiful birds throughout the year.  Unfortunately, for months we fed the neighborhood squirrels, despite my husband's ingenious squirrel-proofing; and of course, the squirrels called their friends, and then they called their friends, and in frustration, we took the bird feeder down.  Many years and one move later, we are ready to try again.  We have had incredible success growing Purple Coneflowers in our yard, and we both enjoy watching the Finches gather to peck at the seeds embedded in the center of the flower, so we have decided to focus on feeding the finches.  

Now, a bright yellow feeder hangs off the fence in our backyard - perfectly positioned so I can watch in the morning from my comfy kitchen chair, and later in the day, my husband can watch from the home office.  The feeder holds about 3 pounds of Nyjer seeds - a seed popular with the Finch family and not popular with the squirrels.  

This morning, a cup of coffee in hand and wrapped in my warm robe, I watched the birdfeeder and the little chirpers that it drew.  Red-headed House Finches, more subdued female Finches, and occasionally the light-yellow head of a Gold Finch all stopped by to nibble - and an apparent pecking order began to emerge.  The larger red-headed House Finch stayed primarily on the bottom of the feeder, generally wallowing in the black seeds and flicking them over the sides.  The daintier Gold Finches grasped the wire mesh and pecked at the seeds, twitching their tail feathers for balance when the wind caused the feeder to sway.    

They were a pleasure to watch, and honestly, there was something calming about being able to observe nature so closely without disturbing it.  The squirrels that use our back fence as a trans-neighborhood highway - didn't even blink at the birdfeeder.  Apparently, Nyjer seeds just don't appeal.