Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Tuesday Slice: Birdwatching

 


They arrive around 7a
I scare them off if I am running late
Wings all aflutter as I step outside
It used to take them a good half hour to return
Now, maybe five or ten minutes

Bluejay is usually first to the feeder
Followed by a dole of doves
(Though I prefer to call them a congregation
The way they line up on either side of the monkeybars
All facing the same way, as if in pews)
They could be a circus too
The trapeze bar hasn't seen this much activity in decades
Many haven't figured out the feeder roof is slippery
Almost doing the splits as they slide down

Once the doves have had their fill
They make room for the tiny black-crested titmouse
Carolina chickadees and Bewick's wrens
Red-headed house finches and house sparrows
Ladderback and red-bellied woodpeckers
And--just this week--a cardinal pair

The oak tree above the playscape 
Serves as a waiting room for the birds
Who are too timid to wait in the pews
Some are brave enough to perch 
On the edge of the nearby bird bath until
A red shouldered hawk flies above
Or a dogwalker crunches the gravel
On the hike n bike next to our yard

I fill the feeder each morning
It is almost empty by midday
But still they come, pecking at the last of the seeds
Until the waning sun beckons them to roost elsewhere.

7 comments:

  1. I love the synergy you created between man and nature. We definitely need each other.

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  2. Birds are a joy. They wait for my husband to come out and pieces of chapati are not there after a few minutes. I never tire of taking photos.

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  3. Love your congregation of birds. Today I watched a pair of mockingbirds playing, calling in a hundred different voices - tried to record them but they seemed to know and got quiet. Few things bring me as much joy as bird-listening.

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  4. I enjoyed reading your birdwatching poem, Chris, especially since I don't have congregations that I can visibly see (only hear at night). Maybe next slice you can share photos of your flocks of birds.

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  5. I have never been a bird person, to be honest. I've never gotten into feeding or watching them as it seemed like the squirrels, already fat and happy, would steal any bird feeder food and they all looked so much alike.
    BUT THIS SUMMER, with nests appearing on my porch that are watched from the kitchen/dining room window where I work, oh my, I have become a bird watcher.
    I wrote about the second nest on my porch today.

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  6. Your bird feeder is an active church, welcoming all.

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