I haven't been able to go into my backyard garden as freely as I usually do, because it has become a nursery for the birds! Now I have to look out the window at my feeders first to see if it's safe to go out, because all sorts of parents are feeding their fledglings on my feeders.

Today there was a little Downy Woodpecker feeding its baby Downy on my suet holder. The parent would take a nip of suet, then stuff it into the open mouth of its baby, which was clinging onto the holder at the same time.

Yesterday there were two Common Grackles on my mixed seed feeder, both the exact same size, but while one had the characteristic irridescent feathers, the other one was all dusky, and it kept opening its beak wide, squawking and flapping its wings. Then the glossier one nabbed a seed and stuffed it into the wing-flapping one's mouth. I've also seen Cardinals feeding their babies there.

A couple days before that, I had put cooked macaroni and cheese on the ground because I knew Robins loved it. Sure enough, I saw a parent Robin grab a piece and shove it into its baby's open beak...again, the baby was the same size, but it hadn't gotten its orange breast feathers yet.

And then there's the House Finches and Chickadees, feeding their babies at my safflower seed feeder.

Talk about having a bit of heaven... My garden has become a haven for butterflies, dragonflies and other wildlife, and rising above the flowers are my bird feeders. And now I'm watching the next generation of birds that will soon be feeding there on their own. Meanwhile, I can still freely garden in my front yard anytime I want, because I don't have any bird feeders there.

In my estimation, anyone who doesn't dig in the dirt or just pull weeds doesn't know what they're missing, and having bird feeders up increases our little own spots of heaven. The best stress reliever in the world is right at our feet...and a bit above us, if we feed the birds.

In case you're interested, I just had an article on attracting birds, which birds eat which seeds, etc. If you like it, feel free to rate it on top (but please don't click either the "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" icons on the bottom. They both actually delete points from the ratings. Weird!) The link follows... Darlene

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Attract Birds in the City