May and June Birdies

I know you have listened to me complain about our weather before but this year takes the cake. I put out all the bird houses, set up the garden fountain and the birdbath, filled up the birdfeeders with the new mix and what does it do? It snows. We had 4 beautiful days. Warm and sunny beach weather in fact, wait don't pack the powder pants it's only May and now the robin is sitting out there all poofed up looking grumpy with snow on his beak. I have an agreement with my garden visitors that I will make sure they get fed during the snowy seasons and they make sure I know the weather forecast. I can't keep seed in the birdfeeders if it's going to be a big storm, you would think they were part vacuum cleaner. The birdbath and the garden fountain both froze. It's always a good idea to have a water heater and to take the fountain pump in doors if you are going to have very cold weather.

So spring lasted 4 days and winter returned. I still have to bring the birdfeeders in every night to keep them from becoming "bear" feeders. This procedure has done well for me I didn't lose a single birdfeeder to the bears last year. However I had 2 absolutely adorable visitors that got a hold of one just a few days ago. I heard a noise on the porch and very carefully opened the door. There are 2 new cubs about 40 pounds apiece (mom's around the corner at about 350 pounds) snacking on the birdfeeder I forgot to bring in. They are so cute it's easy to see why people fall in love, however "a fed bear is a dead bear" so I had to go get a pot and a wooden spoon, open the door making all sorts of noise and yelling "bad bear" at those adorable babies. It broke my heart but they haven't been back so I am hoping they will not become nuisance bears. They like the birdfeeders as much as the birds do.

Now June has arrived and my yard is full of beautiful birdhouses, brand new garden fountains and some wonderful new birdfeeders. My family finally clued into the fact that I wanted new and beautiful birdhouse accessories for my amazing collection of birds. The Robins and Junkos are loving their new platform bird feeder but the have to kick the squirrel off every so often, sometimes they let him stay for a few minutes. I had one birdfeeder that didn't have a strong enough chain to hang from and I found the whole thing 15 feet up in a pine tree where the big Douglas squirrel had taken it.

The new ornamental birdhouses already have tenants for this year. Several mountain chickadee families have moved right in. I believe that they may very well be the children of last year's tenants. Around here they are one of the few birds that stay all winter. I now have a garden fountain as well as a new birdbath. This way everyone stopped competing with the dog who demanded the pond as her very own swimming hole. What's funny about this is the pond is about 3 feet long, 1 foot wide and the dog weighs 70 pounds. Once she is in it there is no room for anyone else.

The amazing grosbeak families have returned I really love their bright colors and loud whistles. They only visit the birdfeeders and the garden fountains as they tend to nest 400 feet up in the tallest pine and fir trees. You should hear them complain when I don't fill up the feeders early enough. The bird food crisis from last year is over, for now. I have found another brand of songbird mix that everyone loves (too much). They just mob the birdfeeders and wolf down the food. The only thing good about feeding the mix they don't like to eat is that they don't eat as much and it is easier on my budget.