In other news entirely: BIRDS! Jill "xtingu" Knapp 6/1 '19

I had this broken bird feeder in my backyard for eons (it's a platform-style feeder) -- it broke because it was cheap and the squirrels knocked it down a few too many times. It has sat empty for a year or two in my garage.

I always had pet birds growing up. I love birds. Seeing birds out in the wild makes me unreasonably happy. I just fucking LOVE birds. Any kind of bird. Common sparrow? Cute! Robin redbreast? Neato! Mourning Dove? I love your little hootie sound! And crows? OMG, they have my heart. What I would give to be adopted and trusted by a pair of crows. 

Anyway, I decided to fix and fill the platform feeder and place it outside the kitchen window, and the neighborhood birds have found it and they hang out there all the time. We have sparrows, mourning doves, a pair of cardinals (who are afraid of the tiniest thing), and the occasional little finch-looking things that I die over.  I always have the feeder filled with seeds, and occasionally I'll dice up an apple which they seem to appreciate.  I watch the Cornell University Bird Feeder Cam and saw they also put out oranges, but my birds gave no fucks whatsoever about the orange when I put it out, so I took it away so ants wouldn't discover it. 

I've been thinking about getting a bird bath/fountain (the kind where the water circulates) because birds appreciate clean water like anyone else, plus bathing birds are unfathomably cute, and it's also a sign of bird uber-trust and comfort, since wet birds can't fly... or, they fly as well as, say, a chicken. (Hello, run-on sentence.)

I was also thinking about getting a Ring Doorbell Cam but only aiming at at the feeder just so I can see cute fat birds all day. 

Or maybe I should just work on my goddamn courseware.

But.... BIRDS!


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6/1 '19 11 Comments
It makes me so happy that you can feed and watch the birds all summer! I switched our seed feeder out (because bears) for a nectar feeder, so although all the song birds are gone, we get to watch the hummingbirds whizz around like alien helicopters now. But a bird bath! I could do a bird bath! Bears don't care about bird baths!

Also: Squirrels; sheesh. This winter, the squirrels kept absconding with our suet. First they just pawed it out of the cage. Then they figured out the cage latch and stole the whole cake. When I put a better latch on, they dragged the whole cage off into the brush and I didn't find it until spring!
Anne Mollo
My squirrels did the same thing with our suet cages! I have this mental picture of what looks like a squirrel forensics lab or operating room where the greatest squirrel minds dissect the suet cages the suet-cage hunters have lugged in. They figure out how to open it, have a community feast, and then toss they cage wherever, like a suet carcass. The squirrels feel mighty and triumphant, and we humans are just like, "Hmm. Weird. Look where this ended up... *shrug* "

My parents up in the NJ Sticks also had to get rid of their seed feeders due to bears. My dad also has an elaborate system for trash night. It fascinates me. :-)
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
I think I bought you a feeder at one point for all the reasons.

I _absolutely_ think you should get a circulating bird bath. They (and by proxy, you) will get a tremendous amount of value from it.

Same holds true for the Ring doorbell cam. Well, okay, they won't care about it, but if you set something like that up next to the bird bath? Well, you would have an endless supply of courseware distraction! ;P
Matt Lichtenwalner
It might be that same one, honestly. Once it fell and broke and was glued for the 97th time, I stuck it in the garage telling myself (LOL) that I would buy the replacement for the broken bit. But the birds seem to like it much better without the broken piece anyway (it was like a hard plastic "umbrella" kinda thing to keep the rain out), but it made it tricky for birds to land under it and onto the platform. So now that the umbrella-bit is gone and the feeder is in a dry place, it's BIRD TIME!
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
That's great! I love the idea that they have better access now. It makes it tempting to make you a new one that's long and low and has access all along the base so that MANY birds can get in at the feed at the same time.

ALL THE BIRDS!
Matt Lichtenwalner
I put our feeder out again this morning with a different kind of bird seed. It's for finches, titmice and chickadees, we'll see how that goes.
Lindsay Harris Friel
"Titmice." Huhhuhhhuhhuh.
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
My mom used to have a dry bird bath next to our feeder. Basically a plate with fine sand. Little birds loved to roll in the sand. And it was sooooo cute.
Ursula Sadiq
Ah, I didn't think about the dry bird bath. That might be a good solution... I just have to make sure I put it where the rain can't get to it, otherwise bird mud packs. :)
Jill "xtingu" Knapp
My bird feeder brings all the birds to the yard. They used to bathe adorably in the puddle on my neighbor's pool cover. You are really awesome if you get them a special bird bath, but a plastic pie lid with water in it will make them happy too. Plus, pie.
Lindsay Harris Friel
Oooh, maybe I'll do that. I have several laying around, and since I add seed to the feeder often, changing the water won't be a biggie.
Jill "xtingu" Knapp