The Birds Weathered the Storm

Our house is not the only house on our property to be under some snow. Here are some of the birdhouses that we have in our yard. They all have a "snowcap" this morning. Late in the day on Tuesday, I looked out the patio doors and noticed that the bird feeders were getting down a bit, so I decided to fill them at night instead of morning. I thought that maybe I wouldn't want to go out and I really wanted the birds to find lots of food early in the morning.I had a mesh bag that our turkey came in, lying on the counter. We have a suet feeder, but I thought with the coming storm that I could make another feeder out of this mesh bag. I put a suet block in it and fastened it. Then I took the seed and this new "feeder" out to the deck. While I was outside, I was so thankful that I had stopped filling the feeders in the woods. We live on an almost acre lot...with the house right up near the road and a long expanse of lawn going back to the woods. This would have been a very long and maybe hard trek for me in the deep snow right now. The birds and little animals would have been used to me feeding them there and might not make it through the storm without their familiar food stations. Our feeders are all within easy access for me...just a few steps out the door. Right now...there's a mountain of snow out there, but we will hack away at a path for me today. Well, on to what I was saying....I filled the feeders and then hung the new suet feeder. Birds are really skittish...they don't always like something new. I see this in my canary, Tweety. She doesn't always appreciate changes in her cage. I watched in the morning for the first bird. It was a tiny Junco. This little bird was sitting on the feeder with it's feathers ruffled by the strong wind. The snow was blowing sideways and he could hardly hold on to the feeder. These little guys are my favorite little winter bird. They clean up the floor of the deck and under the feeders...but in times of need they will sit on the feeders to eat. These tough little birds just amaze me. They look so fragile, but come through the toughest weather. We have a huge blue spruce "Blue" right next to the deck. Blue was not doing well a few years back and we thought it might die, but after special treatment it pulled through and is thriving today. It is a special tree...home to so many birds and critters. I would imagine that it was prime real estate the night of the blizzard. I can only imagine the maybe hundreds who found shelter in and under this big tree. It is so close to the feeders, that birds can just take a short flight to the tray and back again to the safety of the tree. It is so big that it doesn't move much in the wind. When it does move....watch out it's going to be quite a storm. Later on more birds came to the feeders. Many of them checking out the "new" one, but not landing on it. The red bellied woodpecker landed on the old suet feeder, but hasn't visited the new one. I will watch throughout the day today, to see who is brave enough to visit. I am betting it will be a little Chickadee. They are so brave and quick. Whoever comes, may have it all to themselves. Sometimes it pays to take a chance.
Balisha