Mar
4
2013
It is going on three days after I put out fresh thistle and still I have spotted no goldfinch coming to that feeder. I don’t know whether there is something wrong or the goldfinch have not discovered the thistle yet. I have my eyes posted. We will see.
Mar
2
2013
Let us see when the goldfinch come back. I just emptied and cleaned their feeder and put fresh thistle in it. There was some odd combination of bird feed they were not coming to. This is the time of the year (early spring) I can see up to two dozen goldfinch at one time–some feeding on the ground on thistle that spills over from their feeder. Now they are drab looking but they will soon change to normal coloration–males then becoming partly bright yellow. Let us see how many days it takes them to discover the fresh thistle.
Oct
4
2012
It is so easy to take the goldfinch for granted. Now sometimes I can see a dozen or more feeding on the ground. It was not that long ago they had stopped coming to my feeders. I finally cleaned the goldfinch feeder and put out fresh thistle. Now they are coming in droves. I will not take them for granted this time. They are beautiful birds and most have changed into their fall and winter drab coats.
Feb
17
2012
There are many visitors I am waiting for. At some point, sometime soon I will put out nectar I have prepared for the hummingbirds. The first sighting is usually not before the end of April but I am awaiting them. The regal great egret will come back. Maybe, I will see flocks of goldfinch under the tree, again. I don’t understand it but they stopped coming to my thistle feeder but during the beginning of spring I see the most–often a dozen or two at one time. I will put out fresh thistle. Snowy egrets I will see, again, along the river. And about now I will keep my eyes open for the first sighting of a robin. And that is a short list. And includes only the birds.
Apr
16
2011
It was cold, wet and rainy today. I watched the many birds come to our feeders: titmouse, cardinals, goldfinch and others. The weather did not dismay them. There was a steady stream of them. It was one of those days I wanted to go back to sleep. Or if anything else see a movie. I really did not want to go too far. And thank God for the heat and shelter. Maybe, I will read that book I set aside. It certainly was a good day to bury oneself in a book.
Jan
3
2010
I was thrilled: all of a sudden I saw five goldfinch at once, most of them on our finch feeder we keep nyger seed in. There was also one house finch. I always get mixed up between purple and house finches. I believe the purple finch is bigger.
It was one chilly day and I made sure there was plenty of seed on the ground for the birds to feed on. I saw the red bellied woodpecker come several times to our suet.
There was a period when the bird did not make an appearance for several months. Now every day I see it. I know the pickings must be slim for the birds. The ground is still snow covered.
Dec
28
2009
It is so easy to take God’s creatures for granted. I have been feeding the birds since I moved here. I remember how excited we were when we first put up the finch feeder and the first goldfinch appeared.
I never ever saw a tufted titmouse and now we get a steady stream of them every day. Very seldom did I see downy woodpeckers until I placed a suet feeder near the trunk of the large pine tree which can be viewed outside our living room window.
I never saw the white-breasted nuthatch who has become a regular visitor to our yard. It likes both the suet and the sunflower seed I put out.
And there are other visitors we get every day. How easy does it become to become jaded. And forget these are all creatures created from above and deserve our praise and wonder.
Somehow you need to restore this quality and see these birds again with true amazement. How do you see things as if it was the first time? I have no answers.
PS Thoreau in Walden said it much better: ‘Nothing is greater than to have an expectation of the dawn which will never forsake you even in our soundest sleep.’ I am not sure whether this is an exact quote but it is close.
Feb
25
2009
The dawn is only an hour away. I can not wait to see the first chickadees come to my feeders. They never fail to delight me. I am always thrilled by the magnificent red-bellied woodpeckers who come to feed on the suet I have put out near the trunk of the large pine tree outside my large living room window.
The downy woodpeckers come during the day. They seem to stand at attention as they feed and go around the trunk of the tree. The occasional cardinals who feed on the ground are very wary. The beautiful bright red male cardinal never fails to delight me, too.
Every once in awhile I see a brown creeper. And the many goldfinch who love the thistle I put out for them. They will sit at the feeder for five minutes eating the thistle. Often there will be a dozen feeding on the ground. I can not wait for the males to turn yellow again. Before, I rarely saw them. Now they have become commonplace. Maybe, now I take them for granted. The slate covered junco come in flocks and might have gone away.
These are the more common birds I see out of my window every day but I never know when I will be surprised. I am waiting to see if I see any flocks of indigo buntings. They are such beautiful birds who I only see a few times a year.
There are also the piliated woodpeckers. I usually hear them not see them. Their wild cackle is unmistakable and when I am lucky I actually spot one with its large long red crown. It is such an exotic looking bird over a foot long. I never forgot the first one I spotted outside my house. I had to run into the house to grab my binoculars to get a good look at it. It was over a hundred feet away perched on a stump. I absolutely love birds. I have all my life. I guess you got that idea.
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