Feed the Birds-- It Will Warm Your Heart

That's what my two grandmothers always said... both of them fed the birds in their backyards every morning. And that's what I've always done for all the years that I've lived in a house. At the very first Christmas Open House party that my husband and I hosted in this house, the party-favor that I gave to everyone as they left was a small bag of birdseed. I went out and bought a large bag of mixed seed and a box of sandwich-sized baggies. Then I scooped out about half a cup into each baggie and used a twist-tie to seal it. Then I wrapped each plastic baggie in pretty holiday paper and tied it up with a bow. After each of our friends signed our guest book, I handed them a little wrapped bundle of birdseed and asked them not to forget to feed the birds for Christmas.

Every morning before I have my own breakfast, I go out to the backyard and put some birdseed into the feeders. I've tried to have my own breakfast first, but that never works. More often than not, there will be a blue jay out there screeching at the top of his little birdy-lungs, demanding his seeds. So I always give in to the screeching, so I can have my own breakfast and read The Chronicle in peace and quiet.

Living where we do, I really can't buy feeders big enough to hold a few pounds of birdseed because then I'd have a round-the-clock buffet for every raccoon, field mouse and possum within 15 miles. Plus, the heat here will continuously bake the birdseed in the feeders, making it toxic to some of the smaller birds. So I just put about half a cup into each of the backyard feeders every morning and by the evening, just about all of it is gone. I've seen a field mouse in the feeder from time to time, usually around 6:00 in the evening. Which makes me laugh, considering we have two cats who go out in the backyard around that time. And I've seen AngelBoy (my middle cat) sitting on one of the lawn chairs, just staring up at the mouse as it nibbles away on the seeds. Now wouldn't you think he'd want to catch the mouse? Or at least give it a try?

Usually, the feeders are hosts to sparrows, doves, mockingbirds, blue jays and cardinals, and an occasional chicadee or two. And we get lots of hummingbirds at the sugar-water feeders. This morning, however, there was a huge brown and white hawk in the yard. He was too big to actually get on or into the feeders, which are made of wood and shaped like little houses. The hawk was on the ground, picking at the seeds that had fallen down from the feeders. Huge bird, with dark speckles on the white feathers that coated his legs. Given the size of his body, I thought his head would be bigger than it was. His legs looked longer and thicker than I thought they should be, and his neck and head were shorter than they might've been. Poor design on this bird, in my humble opinion. But, as they say, you can't argue with Mother Nature, so I'm sure there's good reasoning behind the proportions of his body.

The hawk didn't stay in the yard too long, and as soon as he flew in, all the other birds took off for trees unknown. I watched the hawk for a few minutes, then went out to the screen-porch to get a closer look. I saw the hawk watching me as I walked from the breakfast room to the porch, and he stared at me as I stood at the screen. He let me watch him for about half a minute, then he spread his wings (tremendous wing-span for a bird that size) and up into the oak tree he flew. He sat on one of the larger limbs and just watched me standing in the porch. I waited for the other birds to come back, but they didn't. I guess they knew the hawk was still in the yard, and given the size of the hawk, I guess they didn't want to be on his breakfast menu. Will a hawk capture and eat a smaller bird? I've no idea.

The hawk flew away as I walked back across the porch. He landed in a palm tree in the house behind us. All morning long, I didn't see the usual birds at my feeders, so I guess the hawk was still too close for birdy-comfort.

Aside from the potential menace of that hawk... I still believe in my grandmothers' old Italian saying: "Nutrimento alle uccelli sta caldo il cuore." Translation: "Feed the birds... it will warm your heart."