We have a birdbath that we need to pay more attention to.  When it’s there, birds flock to it.  This was pretty neat, I thought, for a Friday Fun Video!

I tried to videotape our hummingbirds today as they now love our feeder since we used plain sugar and water.  No luck, though.  Have a great weekend!

I’ve talked before about feed wild birds, but because January and February are the most important months to do this for wild birds I wanted to remind everyone again.

… February is designated National Bird Feeding Month because it’s one of the most difficult months in the U.S. for birds to survive in the wild. In mid-Michigan the plants are still dormant and haven’t begun to produce new food for the birds and the bugs are still scarce.

I’m basically a cheap person.  I don’t buy bird seed, sunflower seeds, or other food to feed wild animals.  I’ve always wanted to because it would be as much a treat for me to watch them as it is a food source for the animals.

Instead, I save my leftover bread, the peanuts no one eats from a bag of trail mix, spilled cheerios, crunched up stale crackers … I save all this then throw it on the front lawn during the winter months.  I never throw old apples or pears away either… in the side yard they go for our neighbor’s horses or other wildlife.  Winter is such a hard time for wild animals that every little bit helps.

Do you feed the wildlife in your neighborhood?  This really could be a great time to start that bird feeder you’ve always wanted!

My very favorite part of the front yard is seeing the occasional fox or deer, but also the regular squirrels and rabbits who visit.  Yes, I like taking photos of my flowers during the summer but so enjoy seeing other living creatures munch on the clover.

I haven’t seen a hawk yet like Benjamin over at The Deep Middle,

In the dead of winter I get the fullest, bare-bone understanding of where I am, and how I and my garden and little 1/4 acre homestead are connected to the larger world. A hawk passes over my yard in a second. In one minute how much more has it experienced than me? Whose perspective is deeper and richer? Whose life would suffer more for the lack of the other? The answer to that last question should be obvious.

He says it so much more beautifully than me.

My parents always have a cage of suet that hangs in the tree outside their window.  We see all kinds of wood peckers - from downy to red breasted to every kind in between - chowing down on the suet feeder.  It also attracts nuthatches and tufted titmouse.  When my Dad has sunflower seeds out, however, we’ll see tons of gold and purple finches and cardinals.  He’s backed away from using a lot of sunflower seeds, though, because the squirrels hit it pretty hard, too, and he has no desire to feed squirrels.

I think watching the various birds through the years has given me a real love of these winged creatures.  That’s why when I went outside today to take some photos of the “dusting” of snow we received, I found I took mostly bird pictures.

Okay, so I’m not the best wildlife photographer you can find, but I like the picture!  If you’re interested in setting up a feeder to help wild birds during the winter months, here’s a link that you might find helpful.