Don't Forget The Birds

If you’re one of those who enjoys feeding the birds, now is not the time to let your feeders go empty. This deep snow and harsh weather will be hard on our little friends and they will depend on you even more than usual. And of course if you feed birds you probably feed squirrels too, whether you want to or not.

I feed about 1,000 pounds of bird seed each year. I’ve been doing it for years and enjoy it immensely. I gave up on trying to keep the squirrels out of my feeders years ago and just bought a few more feeders so there’s room for everybody.

With the freezing rain and snow I found my feeders in bad shape Sunday morning. Of course they were all empty and covered with ice and snow to the point that I had to take a screwdriver to chip them free so the seed would come out. I wasn’t three feet away from them and the birds began flying to them. It’s amazing how many will come on a day like that.

Birds and squirrels have been around for many years and most likely would get along without us feeding them, but it gives me a lot of satisfaction to see them all clustered around my feeders enjoying themselves and getting enough nutrition to stay alive for another day. I even enjoy watching the squirrels fight and scrap over feeder rights.

If you don’t feed birds you might want to give it a try. If you know someone who doesn’t and they’re on your Christmas list, a birdfeeder and a bag of seed would make a gift that would give them a lot of enjoyment.

post by: Dan Bomkamp