We just put our house up for sale. I will miss all the creatures here. We live in NE Ohio, on 5 acres. The House backs up to a wooded ravine, and from my desk I can see the birdfeeder and down into the opening of the ravine.
We feed the birds oil sunflower seeds. Well, actually we feed the squirrels and chipmunks, and the birds manage to steal some. Depending on how ambitious I am, we feed between 400 and 700 pounds of seeds each winter.
We have Cardinals and Blue Jays, Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse, Morning Doves and House Finches and sparrows. Four or five kinds of woodpeckers. We've spotted Bluebirds occasionally, and Baltimore Orioles, and Scarlet Tanagers.
We have a birch tree, and in the early summer when the seed pods are ready, we have had as many as 30 to 40 Goldfinches swarming the tree at once, eating seeds.
We have Red-winged blackbirds and Nuthatches. Wrens and Thrashers. And Robins. The Robins appear in the spring and seem to be monstrous birds after looking at Chickadees all winter.
We have Cowbirds and Grackles. Juncos and Rufous-Sided Towhees. Evening and Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.
And we have Hawks (actually, I'm not sure if they are Harriers or Kites or Accipiters or Hawks), but they are large birds that occasionally swoop in and snag a chipmunk for lunch. Or, I will look up and see them perched atop the feeder (with no other creatures in sight!)
We have bats and owls. Years age, my wife and I were sitting on a bench which overlooks the ravine, and spotted on a branch in a tree no more that 6 feet away three juvenile owls, lined up like three bumps on a log. Just sitting there, maybe sleeping. Just last month I have seen a large owl sitting on top of the feeder at night.
Other creatures: Besides squirrels and chipmunks, we have skunks, moles, opossum, groundhogs, rabbits, raccoons and an occasional fox. We don't see many deer.
Summertime we feed the raccoons. [Note: all farmers should not read the following paragraph!!!] We use really cheap dogfood (which usually is corn and not much else). We toss the food on the ground and sit on our deck; at dusk they come and munch away. As summer wears on, all the momma raccoons start to bring their new babies to the big show. We have had as many as 6 or 7 different mothers trying to bring their brood to feed at night. Nothing is cuter than a wee little raccoon.
I will miss all the creatures when we move. |
