Birds Are Slobs!
This season during a freezing cold spell, I am shocked to see a carpet of seed trash all over the deck. I mean everywhere! No nook or cranny is safe from being strewn and stashed with bird seed. What slobs, I'm thinking. There are as many pieces of sunflower hulls as bird tracks.
Birds peck and hop away to crack the hull and eat the seed inside. In doing so, the seed trash scatters where they scatter. Spreading compostable materials is what birds do. Mother Nature, I'm sure is pleased with the services birds contribute. Using a container or bird feeder helps, but it doesn't stop the scattering.
For a few days I didn't put out new birdseed. I want the avians to finish whatever is left in the mess they made. In that time the deck was tidied up. The wind does help blow the lighter pieces away.
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| Male cardinal in Winter |
I’ve never seen a cardinal though they do exist on the island these days. Hear you about the seed mess though! The cost of feeding the critters.
ReplyDeleteMarie,
DeleteCost. I was shocked at the price of song bird seed the hardware store now carries.
Black sunflower seed attracts cardinals for sure. Plain seed is even better. The problem is squirrels and other birds love sunflower seed.
Salty Pumpkin aka May
Smiling Maywyn... those birds can certainly be messy and in my opinion just a wee bit wasteful. Sounds like you have a good plan to maybe not put out fresh seed as often. Hope you are surviving winter. It certainly is here. Thank you for your visit...Gunny (Gunnar-real German name) is a very busy boy. My brother says though he is an "old soul". I think he is right. Kelsey is doing her best to keep him on the straight and narrow. :)!! Have a lovely day friend. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteDebbie,
ReplyDeleteThere are times when the birds are very busy in numbers after the seed and other times not at all. I think I need to note the hour they are busy out there.
Gunny is adorable!
I've a lot of you to catch up on! My birds are eating more (and costing more) in a week than Lizzie does in a month! It's not unusual to see a whole platoon of sparrows -- eighteen, I counted once -- chowing down. Happy to oblige in this frigid weather.
ReplyDeleteJeanie,
DeleteBravo counting sparrows!
That is amazing. The cost of birdseed is depressing. I measure by a plastic cup to keep a handle on it.
We used to feed the birds and I agree that some of them are real slobs. The squirrels cleaned most of it up but sadly the scattered food was attracting more and more of them which was leading to them discovering that chewing the wires in car engines was a perfect dessert. So, we stopped feeding seed and now only have a log with holes drilled in that we keep filled with suet. We don't get as many songbirds but we're happy with the different types of woodpeckers and nuthatches that come every day.
ReplyDeleteMaryanne,
DeleteI like the suet in a log idea.
Around here, suet cages are even dragged away.
Birds must be birds.
ReplyDeleteSo true, William!
DeleteMay
When we were homeowners, we also feed the birds and using feeders on a lawn area not only minimized the fallout, but we never had any cleanup. Droppings were hidden in the grass. As apartment dwellers, we no longer buy seed but I have seen the higher cost in local stores.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice,
DeleteWhen Ace took over Aubuchon's Hardware I think the songbird brand I bought changed to a higher priced one. I notice the bag appears larger as well. Evens out thing. Still, less seed is not a bother for me.
May