Our bird feeders were once squirrel-proof. If a squirrel stepped on the perch, its weight would pull down a door that closed off access to the seed. But no longer. The plastic window on one broke allowing squirrels to reach in and seed to spill out. On the other, the door no longer closes. I replaced the one with the broken window with a new squirrel proof feeder, and it doesn't allow the black squirrel in. But mostly we have red squirrels, and they can still feast at this feeder.
I don't mind in some ways. The squirrels' energy makes them fun to watch. And birds flit in despite the squirrels. Squirrels are messy, though. They spill a lot of seed onto the ground. This has had interesting consequences.
In mid-winter, as the local flock of turkeys ranged through the woods and across the shoreline properties, they found a lot of seed laying on the snow at our place. We became a regular stop on their daily journey. Neighbours asked if I was feeding them. I had to admit that, although it hadn't been my intention, they were getting fed here.
In April, we got to watch the senior male in the flock strut his stuff for the hens. They've now found nesting sites, and only the occasional solitary male stops beneath our feeders.
The next flock to descend on us was a large group of grackles. They appeared after the snow was gone and took over the yard. They are a lovely glossy black, and their flight is graceful with a wedge-shaped tail extended behind them. They took over for a couple weeks but have wandered off to nesting sights, with one or two at a time returning.
A group of white-capped sparrows was the next to arrive. These they ate from the feeders and foraged in the grass as well. That group spent about a week here, sharing the space with the grackles.
A pair of mallards is hanging around the area. One day, they seemed quite curious about the activity around the tree where the feeders hang. They waddled across the grass, jumped over the rocks, and discovered the seed the squirrels had dropped. They came back every day for a while.
There have been singles and pairs of birds coming by. Chickadees were here all winter and still claim a place. A pair of cardinals are regular visitors. We've seen a few juncos and goldfinches, a couple rose-breasted grosbeaks. When I put out oranges, baltimore orioles appeared. I've added a hummingbird feeder, so we have that visitor too. Robins scout the lawn for their food.
Given that the squirrel-proof feeders were not what they claimed to be, I decided to try a couple small feeders on a metal pole. The red squirrel managed to climb straight up. But the way the feeders hang, they can't reach the seed.
The last time I ran out of bird seed, the birds disappeared. I made a special trip to get more. Along with the seed I usually get, there was a bag of peanuts on the shelf, and something prompted me to pick that up too.
Now a flock of fifteen blue jays has taken over the yard. They perch on the tree where the feeders hold peanuts. They swoop across the yard. They call and answer each other. The yard seems to be in constant motion as these bright blue birds flit up the ash tree, across to the cedars, over to check out the feeders that supply sunflower seeds.
These cocky birds are disputing the territory with the squirrels. There haven't been fights, but there have been confrontations. Not sure either won as both seem to still enjoy the peanuts. Fortunately, I put the new feeders a distance away from the ones that hold peanuts, and the chickadees and others are free to eat there.
When I put out the oranges, I knew what I hoped for, and the orioles showed up. Same with the hummingbird feeder. It didn't even take a day. I had no idea what would happen when I filled the supposedly squirrel proof feeders with peanuts.
Cathy Hird lives with the birds on the shore of Georgian Bay.
