If You Fill It They Will Come

Last winter we visited Heidlebeere and she had a couple of bird feeders in her backyard.  The birds that flocked to them were amazing.  She said she had so many she had to fill the feeders every few days.  Anyway, that got us thinking about our sorry bird feeders, sitting empty and disused in our own backyard.  We actually had a couple of them at one time but the squirrels kept coming and emptying them, keeping the birds at bay in the process.  The discouragement and just a busy life let them fall into disuse.  That, and the fact that we haven't been able to find a pole to hang them on that's tall enough to lift them up out of the range of the sprinklers.  Water and bird feed don't go together well. At the time we visited Heidlebeere, we only had one bird feeder left, still hanging in the yard and it was empty and in need of repair.

Well, seeing all those birds at Heidlebeere's feeders made us think we might want to try again with ours.  Especially right now, while we haven't turned on the sprinklers.  So we brought the one that was left in and cleaned it up.  Fortunately, it didn't need any repair, just putting back together because the squirrels, in trying to get at the seed, can be pretty rough on a bird feeder.  So we cleaned it up, got some bird seed and a cake of suet, put it all together, and took it back outside.  We hung it on the pole. No, we didn't try to straighten the pole or anything.  Just hung it there and left it.  That was a week or so ago.  And, sure enough, the birds found it!

I came home from work yesterday and was puttering around in the kitchen, doing my "just-arrived-home-from-work" routine, when I noticed a bird out at the feeder.  Exciting!  And it was easy to see, too!  A bright, yellow gold finch!  They're easy to see!

This was something!  I ran and got my camera, hoping it would stay.  They so often come and flit around but don't always stay a long time.  But this one did!  It stayed and ate at the feeder long enough for me to grab my camera, get back and get it out, and get some pictures!  And then, lo and behold, another little bird came!

I don't know for sure (I'm no expert), but I'm thinking that gold finches are like so many other birds, the males are bright and pretty while the females are more plain.  This might have been the mate.

So they both ate at the feeder for a while.  It was so fun to watch!  I like watching birds.  We have a few little bird houses around the yard.  Maybe if we're lucky they'll take up residence in one and raise a family!  Its been a few years since that happened.  That would be so fun!