Saturday, February 27, 2010

Hungry birds

I'm easily amused. I can watch the birds at my suet feeder for hours. Well not hours, but for a long time. It's hysterical. I have a very cool suet feeder that is a feeder within a cage. This gadget prevents big birds like Jays & Starlings from stealing all the suet.
Finches, Kinglets & Bushtits can easily squeeze through the outer cage to get to the goodies.
It's comical to watch the Juncos, a ground feeding bird wait around to pick up the crumbs falling below.
I thought this feeder would out smart all of the bigger birds from hogging all the suet. I guess I underestimated the neighborhood Flicker. This bird is a little larger than a Robin with a little longer neck, white shoulders & a brown throat. They feed on ants, berries & seeds. Seeking out these kinds of food sources make Flickers very ingenious. As I watched the Flicker arrive at the feeder, he seemed puzzled. He moved around the outer cage of the feeder, trying to figure out a way to get to the suet.
He finally figured out that the center cage was a bit closer to the far side of the outer cage.
This is where his longer neck became his greatest asset.
He was able to stretch his neck through the outer cage to reach the suet.
It was a sight. I was impressed.
He did scare away all the little birds, but I didn't have the heart to shoo him away.
He had worked hard & earned his lunch.

Take Care,
Judy

1 comment:

M. D. Vaden of Oregon said...

Last December, I replaced our small red feeder that was purchased, with a big home-made wooden one, 5 times the size. Front yard. The birds love it, but I'm looking forward to the newly planted trees growing this year. Then the feeder will fit better proportionately.

I found that a small water feature like a bubbling rock really boosts the numbers of birds that visit.

Cheers,

M. D. Vaden Portland Tree and Landscape