During the winter I am up long before the sun. Each morning I push back the window quilt over the bay window to look for early birds. Just before sunrise the first ones arrive to what is usually a well-stocked feeding station. If I've been paying attention there's plenty of seed and suet waiting for them. If not, I put on my coat, boots and glove and head out to the feeders.
The chickadees are always grateful for a freshly filled feeder. Before I leave the feeding station they start landing in branches beside the feeder. Thanks for seed...seed...seed!" Two and three winters ago I had a chickadee that tapped on the window if the feeders were empty. He didn't stop tapping until I went out. Tossing a cup of seed out the window wasn't good enough. He wanted the feeders filled. And being the well-trained feeder of birds that I am, I obliged. The bluejays aren't as polite. “NOW! NOW! NOW!” And what do I get as a thanks for filling the feeder? They throw seed to the ground while looking for the perfect sunflower seed. Ha! Joke's on them. They missed a lot of plump seeds, as do the rest of the birds. In the spring I find them germinating in my flower garden. Or is that joke on me? The garden is supposed to be filled with perennials!
The woodpeckers, sparrows, finches and juncos go about their business without paying me much attention. They sit in the tops of nearby trees and patiently wait for me to leave. By the time I've walk back into the house and taken off my coat they're eating. It's as though I were never out there.
We recently had the branches trimmed from the old maple tree that stands right outside the bay window. Soon, the rest of the dying tree will be cut down. The tree service came on a snowy day. They piled the smaller branches neatly on the lawn and let the larger branches fall where they may. Before we could move the branches to the brush pile at the edge of the woods the wet snow firmly froze them to the ground. The pile of branches has become a safe haven for the birds. The juncos and finches would rather search for seed under the branches than go to a large pile of seed on the open ground. Occasionally they'll land on the rudbeckia or purple coneflower stems and eat the seeds from last summer's flowers. I toss seed into the branches and let them scatter. Once they've had their fill these small birds will perch on a branch and sleep in the sun. They're safe from the hawks that hunt near the feeders.
There's more going on in the branch pile than bird activity. If you look closely you'll see tunnels made by mice. In order to see the tunnels you have to get to the pile before the farmcollies. They take great pleasure in hunting the mice. An ermine came to visit a few times. It was hard to see him unless I paid close attention. His shiny black eyes and tip of his tail give him away. He'd dart through the trees across the road, stop at the top of the snowbank, dash across the road and run into the branch pile. The ermine hasn't been here in the last week. I think the barred owl is responsible for his disappearance. The neighbor's tom cat has also stopped coming by. The farmcollies like to stand with their front feet on the window ledge and bark at him. He probably decided to hunt in quieter places.
When the snow melts in the spring we'll move the branch pile out back to its intended place. Until then, we'll enjoy the all of its visitors and goings on.