For the Birds

 

For the Birds

It has been impossible to keep the bird feeders full the past two weeks.  I like to entice my recently-arrived feathered friends into the yard, so even though I dare say it – winter is over – I still try to keep plenty of seed in the feeders.  I think we’ve seen most of the migrating birds over the last several weeks, either at the feeders or nearby.  While those lining up for an easy meal can be quite numerous, it isn’t the birds so much that have been cleaning out the feeders almost daily.  It is the deer that have been the problem. 

Every morning, I go out and fill up one feeder with feed that appeals to a wide variety of birds.  It has both cracked corn and sunflower seeds, so birds like the blue jays and the cardinals really frequent that feeder.  The other feeder is filled with finch seed, which is the favorite of the smaller birds like chickadees, red polls, and purple finches.  Over the last week we’ve seen a number of male gold finches that have already fully donned their bright yellow plumage of mating season and summer.

Nearly every evening, or sometimes late night, several deer show up to attack the feeders.  They show no pride as they set about raiding the food from the birds.  I think it’s a bit odd that they seem to enjoy birdseed so much.  Maybe there’s a reason that they come in the dark of night.  If the birds witnessed them raiding the pantry I wonder if they would try to run them off.  That may be worth the price of admission. 

Birdseed is not exactly cheap, so I’d prefer that the deer nibble at the grasses that are beginning to green up in the yard. I don’t even mind so much that they eat the birdseed, but they are persistent enough at getting at the seed that they have ruined two feeders in the past two weeks.  Just yesterday I didn’t notice that they had pulled another perch from the side of the cylinder feeder until I saw the seed that I was pouring into the top spilling out of the side just as fast and onto the ground.   

I’ve tried keeping an eye out the first couple hours of darkness.  And I’ve shamed a few of the deer when I’ve flipped on the light switch and caught them red-handed – or maybe more accurately, with a birdseed mustache.  For the most part they have been embarrassed and run off as soon as they were spotted, but either they get over their embarrassment quickly, or others who sneak in even later at night come in an empty the feeders, so that by morning there is nothing left the birds.  These are the same deer who ignored all of the fresh vegetation around the yard and neighborhood last summer, and ate my garden bed of green beans right down to the ground despite three plantings last year.

My wife suggests that we bring the feeders inside every evening to end the deer onslaught.  It sounds like extra work to me, but I have to do something  I don’t want to stop feeding the birds.  The honor system has proven ineffective.  It’s time to outwit them with my superior intelligence.  I can’t wait to see how that works out!

His Peace <><

Deacon Dan

Photo by Richard Bell on Unsplash