If you are at home and have the few extra bucks for it, adding a bird feeder to your back or front yard can be a real blessing. Kids got me feeders for Mother's day last year and 50 lbs. of black oil sunflower seeds... They attract colorful, quick birds here in Michigan and these birds can be the bright spot in my day. This morning I've seen nuthatch, gold finches, purple finches, cardinal, sparrows feeding fledglings, chickadees... No grackles or starlings, just lots of busy bird parents getting a free lunch for their little ones.
It's such a simple thing, but watching this little slice of nature out my window makes me happy. I have dogs so they keep the neighborhood cats away, but I know this can be a problem. Trays on the bottom of the feeder keep the seeds off the ground (where cats can hide in the bushes and pounce!) and small trees nearby offer shelter from hunting hawks.
Saw a humming bird yesterday so it's time to get out that feeder, too.
