I am in bird heaven right now.  I grew up with bird-feeders, and as a child I was quite the backyard birder.  Recently we put two seed feeders in our backyard against our patio.  I have regained my passion for watching again.  Multiple times a day you’ll find me peeking through the blinds at whoever is currently dining.  I get so excited sometimes that I call my mother specifically to tell her about what’s happening at my feeders.

Today was quite a treat for me.  Everyone thinks about baby birds in the spring, but the real excitement for me has always been the late summer and early fall when they start getting out so I can see them.  Point in case, I didn’t have one family come and visit me.  Nope.  I had three!  While a mother cardinal was still feeding a fat baby begging for food, I watched on of her other children eating on its own.  At the same time I’ve had a goldfinch family discover the feeders, so I had around ten goldfinches eating seed and sipping from time-to-time from my water garden container.  Later I was visited by the titmice, who I find absolutely adorable, and I found myself graced by them bringing their kids along.

Watching long enough has allowed me to learn each individual bird’s personality.  For instance, I have a little male chickadee that is a comical little pig.  Instead of taking a seed and flying away like his compatriots, he will sit at the feeder hanging upside to eat and only righting himself to get another sunflower heart.

Due to the fact that I have no mature trees in my yard and woods about a hundred feet away, I’ve not had to contend with squirrels.  And I haven’t seen any starlings or grackles yet.  Any of them are welcome, though, because I’m not too picky as long as they don’t mind being spied on by a nature voyeur.

Ragweed and moving to a new environment has caused me to have so many allergy problems, and I’ve yet to find a medicine that doesn’t make me sick that takes care of it.  So these last few weeks of summer are being spent indoors.  The birds have given me the greatest gift I could ask for – That of being able to connect on some level with nature.

I plan on introducing suet next.  And this next summer the hummingbirds will be getting a feeder, too.

So tell me, do you have a bird-feeder?  What sort of birds are you attracting, and do you feel like it gives you the spiritual recharge that I find mine giving me?