As we graudually plant more shrubs and flowers in our yard, the wild birds are moving in and taking up residence. This spring as we hung wooden bird houses, I joked that real estate is all about “location, location” and that we are providing some great reasons for the birds to relocate: mature trees, good diversity of flowers and shrubs, bird feeders, and running water.
A few weeks later we watched from the window as a pair of finches inspected a birdhouse we had mounted on the trunk of the silver maple in the front yard. I could almost hear the bird saying to her mate, “Well, it’s NOT water front – the pond is on the other side of the yard and I’m not sure I like the distance the house is from the ground. But it IS a new house, we are a good ways from the street, and I like the way this thin, supple branch is near the entrance so I can perch before I go inside.” And her mate replied, “Then let’s get it, and before some other bird does!”
Bird-watching is one of the fastest-growing outdoor activities in the United States and it’s an ideal family hobby because it can be enjoyed by all ages. Besides being entertaining to watch, birds are beneficial to a yard’s ecosystem because they eat insects, worms, snails and spiders, and can pollinate flowers too.
This weekend I saw a large, spectacular bird in our yard. Fortunately, I had the camera with me, as we were hosting a family picnic and I had been taking photos of everyone. I walked around the house to see how the kids’ chalk drawings on the driveway were coming along, and heard this odd scratching sound coming from the tree.
On the trunk, close to the ground, was a huge woodpecker! We’ve seen woodpeckers in our yard before, but not one that looked like this! I snapped a few photos, and some of our visitors even got to see it before it flew off. I looked it up, and identified it as a Pileated Woodpecker.
As the days get shorter and cooler, limiting our time outdoors, consider hanging a bird feeder or two near a living room, dining room, or kitchen window and make it a family project to watch the birds. It can be as simple as just watching the birds or as involved as naming which birds the family recognizes, identifying new birds, and keeping a list of birds seen at the feeder.
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