Not-so-angry birds

It’s easy to take so many things for granted. At the house where we used to live in Idaho we had several different kinds of birds regularly visiting our yard, ducks that hung arround the neighborhood, squirrels that became familiar faces, and even neighbors cats (another matter altogether). Some of them took time to attract (like the hummingbird we saw last year), while others were just there naturally.

By comparison our new home in Utah is a wasteland. Very few birds visited our yard, ducks are a rarity, and the only squirrel I’ve seen in the entire town was freeway roadkill. We still get a few cats visiting from the neighbors, though, including one that was abandoned and we found a home for last year. We’ve been so desperate for wildlife we even named a snail we found in our garden.

But it became evident that if we want more wildlife around our home we’re going to have to take matters into our own home. My wife started putting up bird feeders this spring, and they’re starting to get results. The robins, sparrows, and finches started showing up first. Then the morning doves. We’ve spotted a nest of robins in one of our maple trees. Lately we’ve been noticing a few more exotic species, like a chickadee that paid us a visit this weekend.

It’s becoming a new form of entertainment. These feeders are just off our deck, and we can see them from our dining area. We regularly interrupt our meals to note the number, variety, or species of visitors outside. It’s fun to have visitors again. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy having animals, however small, hanging around our home. I’m hopeful we’ll see even more species as the year progresses.

I still miss the squirrels, though.