Birds

I'm finding it fascinating to watch the birds in my back yard. I have a bird feeder right outside my kitchen window, so every time I do the dishes (which is quite often), I get the pleasure of observing the various birds that come to eat. It has been VERY busy out there lately. What's up with that anyway? Aren't birds supposed to fly south for the winter?

Yesterday there were several groups that showed up all at the same time. There was one Flicker eating from a suet cake hanging from the feeder. I don't know if you've ever seen one of these birds up close, but they are a really neat looking bird. There were two Black Crows walking around underneath the feeder, a Woodpecker on the other suet cake, while five Blue Jays ate from the feeder. In the bush right next to the feeder had to be at least 15 to 20 Chickadees and on the back porch roof were several Morning Doves.

It was really interesting watching the various groups of birds. That saying "Birds of a feather flock together", is absolutely true. There was no mingling of species going on! Each group had their own space and didn't try to invade a territory that didn't belong to them. They were all very respectful to wait their turn and didn't interfere when it was another group's turn to eat. No one group ate all of the food, they took only what they needed and took care to leave some for the next group of visitors.

What was most fun to watch is that each group seemed to have it's own personality. The Flicker was very confident, obviously fearless and had quite a strong presence. He had an agenda that he was there to fulfill and that was that!

The Black Crows, which were the largest, most intimidating looking in the crowd, were actually the most intimidated. They seemed to be very fearful. They were the only group that would fly away, and then return to see if there was an opening yet, being very cautious not to get too close to the others, especially the Blue Jays, I think with good reason.

The Blue Jays were definitely the most aggressive. You could tell they were ready to do battle with any group, at any time. They were the most impatient with eachother and the only group where I witnessed fighting amongst themselves. "One for all and all for one" is not the motto of the Blue Jay!

The Woodpecker was not interested in the least at all the hubbub going on around it. It was a quick in and out for the Woodpecker, leading me to believe it had much better things to do.

The Doves on top of the porch roof were the clowns of the bunch. They would waddle around and move their heads in a very jerky, wierd kind of rythym. The sounds they made and the way they seemed to be knocking into eachother made them the most entertaining to watch. They definitely provided comic relief!

Finally, it was abundantly clear that the Chickadees were here for more than the food. This was social hour for the Chickadees! They were so wrapped up in conversation that they barely noticed when the feeder opened up. There was no fighting, and they didn't care enough about what was going on with the other groups to be intimidated by any of them. They even took time out during their meal to chat with eachother, the only thing missing from this scenario was a little wine. The Chickadees were here for eachother, and that's all that mattered to them.

I should probably end this post with some profound statement about the similarities between what I observed in the birds and man, but I got nothin'! All I know is that when I die, I'd like to come back as a Chickadee. I'll be the one with the red wine in tow!

xo,
Carrie