Wild birds

I'm so excited today while watching my bird feeders a Northern or Common Flicker came to the suet cage. This is the first time that this bird has joined me for a meal. I get a great deal of enjoyment from feeding the birds, and yes the pesky squirrels in the winter get their share of seeds as well. Generally in the summer I have been successful at keep the squirrels at bay using a baffle however, with the high snow banks they simply jump from the bank top to the feeder pole, by passing the baffle all together !

I have many birds joining me at the feeder such as blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, nut hatches, hairy and downy woodpeckers, finches and hummingbirds. All of these different birds come to the five feeders I have hung from one pole. I feed a high quality mixed sunflower seed, shelled sunflower, suet, Niger seed and shelled peanuts. During the summer I also hang a hummingbird feeder, fresh fruit ( oranges and grapes ) as well as a small tray feeder of live meal worms.

The only thing I'm missing and will try to work on this year is a bird bath or water source for the birds. I can easily place a bath in the yard but must remember to keep it filled. I really would like to be able to run a hose of some sort to the bath to keep it auto filled with a nice heater for the winter and mister for the summer months. I'm still working on the details.

Also nice for the birds AND my yard would be a nice flower garden of native flowers. If done well this would be beautiful to look at and provide food and shelter for the birds in a more natural environment. Again something to work towards.