The Flying Circus in our Back Yard

Junco

We live one street away from the National Capital Greenbelt and during the winter months I like to watch the wildlife circus playing in our back yard from our kitchen bay window. In early December I put up a pole feeder to augment the finch feeder we have year-round to attract gold finches. Even though the finches rarely show up in the winter, other species of small birds eat the niger seed during the cold months.

I get a kick out of observing the birds flit in and out all day long, picking at the sunflower seeds and bread crumbs I place in a tin pan set on top of a greased pole. A small flock of grey and white Juncos have been daily visitors. These little birds, blue-grey on top with a white under-body, have a definite pecking order as they alternate between the niger feeder and pole feeder, competing for food. When one has been too long at a feeding station, another will buzz it off.

Every now and then a few Chickadees will drop in, pick up a few seeds, then fly off somewhere else. These bold little birds are the only species not startled when I go out to refill the feeders. If I hold my hand out, they will often land on it looking for seeds.

 

Frenetic Freddy

The daily appearance of a beautiful pair of Northern Cardinals has been a special treat all winter long. The red male in his bright plumage and his dun-coloured mate take turns at the pole feeder. One patiently waits in our pear tree for the other to finish, before changing up positions. If a Junco is on the stand, the arriving Cardinal will dive-bomb the feeder, driving the smaller bird away. The largest party-crasher to arrive are the Blue Jays. They usually announce their arrival with their screeching call and snitch all of the peanuts in the mixed feed, then depart for another high-grade feeding opportunity elsewhere.

I’ve Vaseline-coated the pole to act as a deterrent against the voracious squirrels. The greasy pole works well on the big greys and blacks that climb part way up, only to slide down under their heavy weight. The biggest grey is the dominant female I’ve named Big Bertha. A couple of blacks and another smaller grey compete for her attention. This past month they've been running around in circles up and down the maple tree trying to get some action. It appears one of them has been successful because Big Bertha has been attempting to build a nest in the small ornamental umbrella tree just off our deck.

I don’t want any more of these tree rats populating our back yard, so every time Bertha heads to the umbrella tree, I shoo her away. I’ve threaded Lysol-sprayed bamboo stakes through the interwoven branches to make it more difficult and unattractive for nest-building. 

I get some help from a little red squirrel I have nicknamed Frenetic Freddy, who rules the roost around the property, driving away bigger squirrels. three times his size. Freddy runs helter-skelter over the snow and has tunnels underneath it leading to the feeder.

He doesn’t tolerate any squirrel competition, but doesn’t mind the birds. Freddy has also mastered the art of pole climbing.  I’ve caught him at the top munching on seeds, although I haven’t seen how he gets there. When I open the back door, Freddy flings himself off the stand and high-tails it for cover.

A coyote was crossing this field
 not far from home as I drove by 

It was -21 Celsius on Monday morning, but today it has hit 8 Celsius. The the big melt is on and it’s supposed to be getting warmer for the weekend.  The NCC has declared today the last day for the Rideau Canal Skateway to be open after a 56-day skating season. That fact, plus the back yard cardinal belting out his shrill whistling call to his mate is a sign that spring is truly now on the march in Eastern Ontario.