Bird watching is such an interesting word. Sometimes it is spelled as two words, sometimes it is all run together as one word. It depends more upon the publication or author, it seems, than spelling bee correctness. Regardless of how you spell, it is an enjoyable pastime that is engaged in by millions of people around the world. Next time you drive up your street, or into your subdivision or neighborhood, count the number of birdfeeders and birdhouses you see suspended from tree limbs, nailed to a tree trunk, or on a free standing pole. They are everywhere. And that's only the ones you can see in the front yard. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, there is no way to tell how many are in the back yard. Also, consider those few who don't have a proper bird feeder, but still save bread scraps and such and throw it out the back door "for the birds."
Backyard birdwatching is not just for those living in houses. Many people living in condos and apartments have bird feeding stations set up where they can see them. I have a friend who lives in a second floor apartment on Fredericksburg Road. Martha has an aluminum pie plate tacked to the wooden banister rail of her balcony and keeps it full of seeds and delights in watching the sparrows and other birds that come by for a meal. I was visiting Martha one day and got a life sighting in her pie plate. A Brown-headed cowbird had taken control of the feeder and was having a feast. Martha's feeder is less than five feet from the door so birdwatching is pretty easy and no equipement, such as binoculars are needed. You can almost reach out and touch them. Oh, I ought to mention that Martha is in her 90's and fiercely independent. Like most of us, and like the birds we watch, she has good days and bad, but she is always an inspiration to those who drop by.
In our backyard, we've had a feeder for several years and enjoyed watching what came to feed. It's amazing because even birds like the Curve-billed Thrasher that don't normally feed at a feeder, come to the area because other birds are there. Lately, we've become more serious about our backyard feeding station. I had a single feeder hanging from a pole and my youngest daughter gave me tube type feeder and a bag of bird seed for Christmas. Since I had to hang the new feeder, I contructed a cross-shaped piece to fit in the top of the pole so I could hang a feeder off of each point. After I had hung the two feeders, I retrieved an old tube feeder from the garage that the squirrels had chewed up a bit, repaired it and hung it from the third point. On the fourth point I hung the hummingbird feeder we had hanging under the eaves of the house. I put a different type of seed or mixed seeds in each feeder and it has worked well.
This year we have a lot of American Goldfinches. Now, I know lots of people have had these for years but we haven't and lots of other people haven't either. Black-oiled sunflower seeds seem to be the big attraction. Also, a mix with a high percentage of millet seems to do real well. Since putting this new feeding station up, I've gotten two life sightings in my own backyard: Lesser Goldfinches and a Yellow Warbler. In addition, to these birds and the ubiquitous House Sparrows, we have also seen Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadee, House Finches, Bewicks Wrens, and a Tufted Titmouse. There is usually a mixed flock of White-winged Doves and the smaller Inca Doves on the ground under the feeding station pecking at the spilled seeds. I know that some people complain about those "big old doves" raiding their feeders and eating up the seed, but we happen to like watching them. In fact, I put up a feeding tray (a wooden version of Martha's pie tin) on a separate pole and keep it filled with Hen Scratch just for the doves. Hen Scratch is primarily crushed corn and maize and the doves love it. However, if you use it as your primary food in your feeders, you will probably get mostly doves and House Sparrows.
Our experience has been that This time of the year the two primary birds of interest to backyard birdwatchers are American Goldfinches and Purple Martins. The Goldfinches have been in the area since about Thanksgiving on their southward migration and will remain here until late April. The Purple Martins are just coming in on their migration northward. Attracting the Goldfinches is fairly easy while attracting the Purple Martins to your yard requires a bit more dedication. The favorite food for Goldfinches is Aftrican Thistle, a thin, black elongated seed of very small diameter. The thistle is most successfully served up in a tube type feeder with perches at each feeding ports. Since the seeds are very small, the feeding ports on thistle feeders are narrow slots. The Goldfinches sit on the perches and pick the thistle seeds out one at a time. The size of the perch and the narrow feeding slots discourage larger birds from feeding there. Goldfinches have stronger feet designed for clinging to limbs and such and are able to feed upside down.
According to Bill Svelan at the Wild Bird Unlimited store, using a tube style thistle feeder with the feeding slots below the hole will limit the feeder use to only those birds able to hand upside down and eat. In this area, that is usually the American and Lesser Goldfinches and the Pine Siskin. Of the three, the American Goldfinch is the most common but they are only here between late November and early May. The Lesser Goldfinch is here the year round but somewhat scarce and the Pine Siskin is very unusual here but are seen occasionally.