Birdwatching

Or, What I did This Summer
A Photo Essay

                                     Clockwise from the top: pine siskin, male and female house finches

                                                                        Carolina wren, chickadee

Downy woodpecker

A cardinal forages with some sparrows

House sparrows

I love watching the birds outside my kitchen window and in my backyard. For years I had goldfinches every winter and I could not keep the thistle seed feeders filled because the birds emptied them so fast. Then for the past couple of years, the birds stopped coming. The thistle seed would go bad in the feeder. I got thistle new seed, I got new feeders, but the birds stopped coming. I mentioned my problem to the folks at Wild Birds Unlimited in Hoover earlier this summer. The nice lady there told me that I should try shelled sunflower seeds. “Surveys across the country,” she told me, “are showing that finches are now preferring shelled sunflower seeds over thistle seed.”

Goldfinch

Well, those folks at Wild Birds Unlimited were way ahead of me. For one thing, I did not know that goldfinches responded to surveys. I certainly had not heard the news of their change in diet preference. I decided to give it a try, and lo and behold, they were right! As you can see in the photos here, goldfinches are back. I’ve also had wrens, nuthatches, chickadees, and a hairy woodpecker frequenting the feeder.

In addition to changing the seed in my feeder, I have also tried to make my yard bird-friendly, which has really paid off in this summer of COVID seclusion. My wife and I have planted flowers and placed birdbaths in the yard, all of which the birds enjoy.




One unexpected surprise (speaking of goldfinches) was our abundance of zinnias. My wife planted some last year and again this year, but we also had many volunteers from last year’s seeds. I discovered that goldfinches also love zinnias! We have seen them fluttering about the flowers all summer, finding nourishment as the blossoms go to seed.

Another unexpected delight came last week as I was trying to film a hummingbird at the feeder. Suddenly, a goldfinch came down to the hummingbird feeder sending the hummer off in flight. The goldfinch found the “ant trap” in the middle of the feeder to be a perfect watering hole.

Just for good measure, here is a shot of the hummer who came back for the nectar after the goldfinch left.

This winter, I will continue with the shelled sunflower seeds in the feeders and next spring – more zinnias! 

And here are a few more shots of some backyard visitors.

Mockingbird

Sparrow

Fledgling sparrows

American Robin

Mother robin feeds a worm to her fledgling

Female cardinal

Male cardinal

Male towhee

Female towhee

An acrobatic sparrow

Titmouse

White-throated sparrow

Eurasian collared doves

Brown Thrasher

Male goldfinch

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All photos and videos taken by Charles Kinnaird using a Canon PowerShot SX410 IS



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Respite in Nature

Oak leaf hydrangeas (can you spot St. Francis?)

It is the natural world that gives me hope for the future and comfort in the present. With so much turmoil in politics and in the news cycle, I find my own peace and renewal in nature. Though I live in an urban neighborhood, I like the presence of parks nearby and a vibrant creek in walking distance (I catch sight of a blue heron down there on occasion). My wife and I try to keep nature as close as possible by planting things in the yard to create a “sacred space,” attracting birds and butterflies and keeping us in touch our living planet.

Indeed, it is our natural environment that is our hope and our sustenance. Though care for the environment has become yet another political struggle, may we ever more seek to preserve the earth that sustains us. 

Last week, I took some measures of encouragement by stopping to listen to the natural world from my own doorstep. I shared one of those moments Saturday with the haiku, “Forest Rain.”

The other two events were documented in short poems as well:

Watching Squirrels

Sitting on my front porch

I watch the squirrels

As they scurry around the telephone pole.

They are fatter this year –

A sign of abundance

In the neighborhood.

         *    *    *

Two signs of hope

Up in the trees along my street

I hear two barred owls calling,

“Who cooks for you!”

And the possum on his itinerant rounds

Makes a front porch visit

To the offering of fruit.

5/21/18                  ~CK

May we continue to find hope each day as we nurture this vibrant and fragile earth.

Trees in the ally for a natural space

Four oclocks and lilies

Lilies with birdbath

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Photos by Charles Kinnaird

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