There was a time when Ray and I kept a running list of birds. One list was of birds we saw from our office window in Verlot (east of Granite Falls, Washington on the Mountain Loop Hwy) and one list was of birds we found when we traveled. When we made the move to Everett, our commute time went down dramatically. So did the number and variety of birds we see.
It is time to stop fussing about not seeing so many birds and just appreciate what we can see in this treeless (at least in comparison to the rain forest we left behind) city and start looking again.
The first winter we moved here, Ray put up bird feeders and we waited. The trouble with seed feeders in the city is the rats. In Verlot, if seed was thrown to the ground it was all good. The Towee and junco would gobble it up. Not so in town.
Today I wash the feeders and refill them. I feel safe since Chris just adopted a Jack Russell Terrier who is already on the hunt. The groundhog saw his shadow yesterday, so February should still be winter enough to make putting out feeders a good thing for the birds. Thanks to Orca Watcher for the Great February Bird Count link and to Northwest Nature Nut for starting the game! (The pic is actually Fort Casey in summer... but hey, I was birding!)
It is time to stop fussing about not seeing so many birds and just appreciate what we can see in this treeless (at least in comparison to the rain forest we left behind) city and start looking again.
The first winter we moved here, Ray put up bird feeders and we waited. The trouble with seed feeders in the city is the rats. In Verlot, if seed was thrown to the ground it was all good. The Towee and junco would gobble it up. Not so in town.
Today I wash the feeders and refill them. I feel safe since Chris just adopted a Jack Russell Terrier who is already on the hunt. The groundhog saw his shadow yesterday, so February should still be winter enough to make putting out feeders a good thing for the birds. Thanks to Orca Watcher for the Great February Bird Count link and to Northwest Nature Nut for starting the game! (The pic is actually Fort Casey in summer... but hey, I was birding!)
Glad you could join us. Good luck with your count!
ReplyDeleteI should put out some seeds for birds. We have a lot here because of the trees. I see red birds quite a bit, but I don't keep track of the different ones I see.
ReplyDeleteI do have a hummingbird feeder and see them a lot in the summer. Right now I think they have moved further south.
♥
Joy
Thanks Nut!
ReplyDeleteBecareful Joy, we bought a Sibley just to find out what one water bird was that we kept seeing (Common Merganser) and it took off from there. Seems like humming bird feeder was how we got into the game.