Every autumn, somewhere around Halloween, I have to accept the reality of the world and “go inside.” The weather stops being quite as pleasant, the days get shorter and I am back in school and busy with classes. Thus, I must say farewell to some of the feathered friends that I have made during the summer months and to others I must say, “Until we meet again.”
Winter is a long season of confinement and though I do keep an eye on things when time permits, it isn’t even close to the experience that I have during the warmer months. I am indoors and separate from the landscape. On those very rare and wonderful winter days that provide pleasant conditions for sitting outside, the birds can find it quite alarming to find me in “their” spot. These birds don’t know me, so these birds can be very skittish.
So, it is with the utmost excitement that I look forward to the arrival of spring and warm weather. The days get longer, which provides extra opportunity for sitting outside, and the conditions outside are generally nicer and nicer with every passing week. Evenings that might previously have been occupied by television are now filled with the sights, sounds and smells of nature. It really is wonderful to get outside again.
On April 1, I went outside at 9:45 a.m. and didn’t come inside again until 8 p.m. Sure, there was the occasional trip into the house to grab something that I needed, but I made sure that I did everything else outside. I cleaned up the yard, worked around the woodpile, cleared off the deck, planted flowers and even walked along my road and picked up three buckets of litter. All the while I soaked up the sun and fresh air. One of my last chores was to clear out the garage and it was during this chore that an old friend came by to visit.
I was sweeping the garage floor and turned around to start another pass when I discovered that there was a black-capped chickadee in the garage with me. The bird was surprisingly close to me and was extremely interested in what I was doing. I stopped, said “hello,” and watched the little bird as it explored all of the interesting nooks and crannies of this heretofore undiscovered country of wonders. Flower pots were examined, my bike was given a thorough examination and the chickadee even landed on the emergency rope for the garage door opener; seeming to enjoy a little swinging. Then, the bird left through an open window on the side.
Later that evening, sitting out on my deck with my journals, I had a visit from an entire flock of chickadees. These birds, more than most others, know me very well and seem to remember who I am. They approach quite close any time I’m filling feeders and often make impatient chatter if they feel that I have let the food supply run out. There are also several downy woodpeckers that are my very good “friends.” They are content to visit the feeders when I am less than 10 feet away and show little concern about my presence.
How is this possible? Time! I put in a LOT of time out on my deck and the birds eventually understand that I am just a part of the background. I mean them no harm, they get that message consistently and they respond. New arrivals like song sparrows and chipping sparrows may be a little cautious at first, but they learn. The comfort level of the chickadees seems to put many other birds at ease.
So, for better or worse we all have a lot of extra time on our hands these days. I encourage you to make the most of this opportunity to make some new friends. Get yourself a bird feeder of some sort, set it up in a spot where you can sit nearby and then try to spend a lot of time sitting outside. Read a book, start a nature journal, or work on a picture of killdeer for the 2020 Killdeer Challenge. You can even drink wine and play with a cell phone if you want. The birds don’t care what you are doing as long as you remain relatively calm. If you do this day after day, it will start to produce results. You may even be able to move your seat closer to the feeders after a while.
The main trick here is to get out and establish a presence before the birds arrive. If you do this with a hummingbird feeder then you may find that you become the object of tremendous interest and possibly even some teasing and bullying. On more than one occasion I have been targeted for destruction by juvenile hummingbirds that include me in some remarkable barnstorming maneuvers. If this happens to you just make sure you don’t laugh too hard or you’ll spill your wine.
Bill Danielson has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 22 years. He has worked for the National Park Service, the US Forest Service and the Massachusetts State Parks and currently teaches high school biology and physics. Visit www.speakingofnature.com for more information, or go to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.