The Birdy Oasis

In the wintertime in our area of Utah we have several species of birds that come to visit. They come from higher elevations where they breed during the warmer months. When it starts to snow in earnest they begin to arrive due to the lack of available food at their summer home where in the midst of winter the snow depth can be measured in yards - whereas the snow depth at our elevation (5000') usually varies anywhere from a few inches to 1 to 2', which they can tolerate more readily.

We discovered this phenomenon of bird migration last winter when we decided to put out a bit of birdseed mostly for decorative purposes. I attached some grapevine wreaths to our stained cedar fence. Five of them. They had birdseed fastened to them and it added a nice look of fall to our landscape since most everything else on our property sheds its leaves or blooms causing things to look quite barren.

Whereas during the first two winters we spent here we saw very few birds and had somewhat resigned ourselves to this sad fact - after placing the wreaths and as soon as the heavy snows started, these birds showed up:

Dark-Eyed Junco (I find them particularly fetching with their black hoods)

House Finch (male) whose bright red plumage stands out vividly in the white snow.

We were pleased to find that they came by the dozens each day and feasted on our seed wreaths and seemed genuinely excited and appreciative. Soon the seed was completely devoured on all five seed wreaths so we purchased a bag of wild birdseed and set out an old rusty tray (a cookie sheet in its former life) filled with seed. I set it under a rectangular glass-topped outdoor table we have on our deck. This table shelters the seed from snow and rain and also serves to provide some brief protection for the birds as they eat.

As soon as the snow melted last spring our feathered visitors completely disappeared.

This year in anticipation of their wintertime arrival, and having by this time done a little research, we purchased a more favorable type of seed that is prepared specifically with these breeds of birds in mind. My sister-in-law in Arizona is also a wild bird fancier and as we visited her home we learned that she provides Nyjer Thistle seeds for several species particular to her area, in addition to the regular seed. This seed is placed in a seed sock which looks like this:

They are quite adept at hanging on the sock and picking the tiny, thin, black seeds out through the holes with their small beaks. I purchased one for our home this year and by so doing have enticed two new breeds to our 'birdy oasis'. The Pine Siskin (on the seed sock pictured he is at the top with his head down). The others are American Goldfinches. I learned today that the American Goldfinch have a brighter yellow coloring when they are breeding, which changes to a light brown with just a touch of yellow during the winter. The Pine Siskin and American Goldfinch are two species that like to 'hang' together. These two breeds seldom feed at the seed tray that is frequented by the house finches and dark-eyed juncos and vise versa. So there is something for everyone. I've noticed that the dark-eyed juncos and house finches are not very good at hanging on the seed sock to obtain their meal - although some did try it at first, they eventually gave up and went back to using the tray exclusively. They do enjoy the Nyjer Thistle dropped on the deck by the other birds.

Speaking of dropped seeds, I have also learned that the seed can be sterilized by baking at 250° for 15 minutes, so that which falls below the deck will not sprout. I spent an hour or more last year pulling up the sprouts down on my hands and knees. Its one thing to pull weeds, but quite another matter to have to pull weeds that you yourself helped to propagate! The Nyjer Thistle comes already sterilized. Even though the seed has been heat sterilized, it is still highly nutritious and enjoyed by the birds.

This winter, much to our delight, we have doubled, perhaps even tripled, the number of feathered visitors who frequent our home. The feeders are readily visible outside of the sliding glass doors in our dining room. The grandchildren who come to visit enjoy watching these visitors as well. In fact, the other day one of the children learned for the first time that birds do not have hands...only feet and wings. Another grandchild who has a highly artistic gene wanted to try his hand at drawing the birds he was watching with colored pencils and his efforts resulted in this:

Although we have a definite lack of verdant surroundings as well as beautiful flowers and other bounties of nature during the winter months we are provided with many hours of genuine pleasure as we watch these small creatures that come to visit.