What the Bird Feeders Bring

Jun 30

By Yvonne Kunz |

I used to take the bird feeders in as soon as the weather turned warm. I figured the birds didn’t need my help for spring or summer. In 2020, I decided to leave them out year-round. Not only did it help the birds, but it also helped me as well.

In the spring, I got to see birds beyond the usual suspects (resident birds that frequent feeders). One morning, a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak showed up on my back porch. I’ve never seen one up close before. And a variety of woodpeckers also came to visit, including, to my surprise, a Red-headed Woodpecker.

Early one morning, as I was setting the feeders out for the day, I was greeted by a strange call from the woods out back. It was something I’d never heard before – the buzzy peent of a male American Woodcock. In the evenings, this call was often followed by a descending twittering sound generated by the male’s wings during display flights. Something I would never have heard without the feeders.

During the transition from spring to summer, I got to see robins perch on nearby fence posts, holding food for their young, cautiously waiting to return to their nests. I found a chickadee nest by accident while weeding underneath an old apple tree in the yard. As I got closer to the tree, they were chirping at me from a nearby branch. I couldn’t figure out why they were upset until later as I watched an adult fly under the leaves into a hidden hole in the trunk.

With early summer comes the parade of the youngsters. Before I kept the feeders out year-round, I rarely got to see baby birds. Now, not only do I get to hear them, but I also get to see them as well. They all have an unmade bed look about them. And some look so much like their parents, it’s tough to pick them out. But then the young ones give themselves away by doing the “feed me” dance (rapid wing flapping and chirping at the same time) around the adults. With the addition of no melt suet cakes this season, I’ve seen a bumper crop of young woodpeckers – Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied. I got to see young Red-winged Blackbirds for the first time this season. Even young chickadees have joined in the act.

How have the bird feeders helped me? They have created an ever-widening view of the world outside my windows. When I’m out and roaming about, I think I hear and see more. More of the magic and wonder of this beautiful place around me.

That’s what the bird feeders bring.