Accidental Bird Watcher
Posted on July 2, 2015 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
I’m a ‘bird watcher.’ I discovered this accidentally about 20 years ago. I was on a trip and found myself spending most of my time looking at the unusual birds (at least to me) rather than the normal tourist sites. When I came home it occurred to me that I could spend more time watching birds if they would just be so kind as to come to my own backyard. Simple enough. I lived in Ft. Lauderdale at the time and blue jays were one of the most common birds around, so I started with them.
I went to the grocery story and bought raw unsalted peanuts. I didn’t even buy a feeder, just threw a handful out onto the back patio. Blue jays don’t usually hang out in large flocks.
You’ll normally see them one or two at a time and that is how they started arriving. It didn’t take long however for the word to get out and eventually I would have 12-20 blue jays fly in every morning and wait patiently along the top of my fence for the breakfast buffet.
One jay in particular, who we’ll call Scout, seemed to be the ringleader. He was much braver than the others and seemed to be in charge. Some mornings I was clearly not moving fast enough for Scout. He’d flutter down from his usual lookout on the patio chair closest to the window and hop up onto the sliding glass door ledge. From there he could turn his little head one way and then the other so as to get a good look at me lazily sipping my coffee. If I was so rude as to continue to ignore him, he would start rapping on the window with his beak and then give me another beady-eyed stare. At that point I knew he was serious and I’d get up and head to the utility room to get the peanuts. Eventually he trusted me enough to do a ‘fly-by’ and steal a peanut right out of my hand.
At first the jays would stop on the fence, hold the peanut between their feet and hammer the end of it with their beak until it broke open and they could enjoy the treat. Subsequent treasures were usually taken to a secret area to be hidden for future meals. I also noticed — and this is absolutely true — that the birds would walk or hop from nut to nut hefting them up as if to test their weight. They would inevitably fly off first with the largest triple nuts and then come back for the doubles and then the smaller single ones until all the nuts were gone.
It turns out that bird behavior is fascinating. The more I watch them, the more amazed I am. Yes, they’re beautiful and it is fun to have the pretty and colorful ones flock to your yard, but watching what they do and how they do it is the true reward.
Janine Koslofsky, a Master Gardener since 2011 in the Capital City Master Gardener Association, lives in Fitzpatrick, AL. For information on becoming a master gardener, visit the website, www.capcitymga.org or e-mail capcitymga@gmail.com.
Capital City Master Gardener Association invites you to a
FREE LUNCH & LEARN
“Camellias, Our State Flower”
August 5, Noon – 1:00 P.M. — Armory Learning Arts Center
1018 Madison Avenue, Montgomery
Bring a Sack Lunch – Drinks Provided
For more information contact the Montgomery County Extension Office (334) 270-4133
