HAPPY MEAL

 

These are Dark Eyed Juncos

I have been a bird enthusiast for some time.  I keep the bird feeder that hangs outside my kitchen window full at all times. It has been there since not long after we moved into this house in 1985.  I love watching the activity at the feeder as I am busy in the kitchen. The birds on the other side of the glass have gotten used to the noises of daily living that come from the house like me emptying the dish washer or running the garbage disposal and aren't frightened away. I keep a bird identification book handy in the kitchen and keep a record of every new variety I see. 

 My only disappointment is I have never had a goldfinch come to my feeder. They are the Washington State bird and are supposed to be very common in our area.  Other birders say they see them all the time.  Even though I buy bird seed specific to their taste (nyjer seed) they elude me.

But I continue to enjoy my regular visitors: nuthatches, bush tits, Mountain Blue Jays, Northern Flickers, Juncos, multiple varieties of sparrows, Pine Siskins, House Finches, Raspberry Finches, Black Capped chickadees and the Chestnut Backed chickadees, with the occasional Downy or Pileated Woodpecker added in.

Lately I have made a new discovery. I am missing out on half the birds in my yard.  Some birds feed in trees and feel comfortable in coming to my feeder.  But there are a number of bird varieties that are strictly ground feeders.  Some ground feeders like Juncos have adapted to bird feeders and are common visitors.  Other ground feeders like Towhees I only get to see at the feeder once in a blue moon even though my yard is swarming with them.

Recently I was filling my bird feeder on the picnic table and spilled some feed.  After I hung the feeder back up I never got around to cleaning up the spilled feed and I was rewarded for my oversight by having a whole flock of Varied Thrushes come feed from the table top.  I have only seen this Thrush once at my feeder in the 28 years we have lived here, and have never seen it around my yard. But by putting the feed on a flat surface, multiple Thrushes come by daily to feed. It is so exciting that after all this time I am being introduced to new feathered friends.