By Darial Weisman

As I wrote my summer column, I remember visiting with my husband about the lack of birds we were having come to our feeders. Of course, we knew the reason. It was nesting and rearing season. Then all of a sudden, it was as if a switch was turned on. We had songbirds everywhere. The adults had shown the youngsters where the “free” food was.

With our southern exposure of windows, we could look out at our feeding stations located only 15 feet from our view. The youngsters were probably 2/3 their parents’ size with very little color. From gold finches, house finches, young woodpeckers, pygmy nuthatches, black capped chickadees…they descended on our feeders. Somewhat skittish, the slightest movement sent the entire flock of birds into the nearby trees. It wasn’t long, and they were back down.

One of the feeders we did take down during the summer was the oriole feeder. During the rearing season, nothing came to the grape jelly, and it actually began to crust over. So, my husband took it down until mid-August. Within in a day, here they came; both adult and young orioles began to appear. Right away the adults slipped through the cage to get at the grape jelly. First, the young-of-the-year orioles sat outside the feeding stations and watched. Then they moved down to the two perches on the oriole feeder and peered longingly in at the grape jelly. Finally, the first brave soul slipped through the bars of the cage, and they were home free! They began to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Soon there would be several sitting on the other feeder arms, a couple on the outer perches and one or two inside the feeder gorging on the jelly. Yes, the jelly had to be refilled several times a week. However, it was worth it so we could watch as the youngsters matured and prepared for their trip for their wintering grounds. Then as quickly as they arrived, they were gone and on their way south.

By late August, the hummingbirds began their migration, and our two feeders were literally abuzz with the little acrobats. Yet, even though there were two feeders and room for more than one hummer at a time, very seldom did that happen. Instead, they spent more time chasing each other away than they did drinking the nectar. However, when a single one would arrive, it would zip in and hover several inches away, giving us the perfect view. Then the hummingbird would sit on the perch and drink its fill. Definitely picture time! However, we knew that this was a short window of time and in a few weeks, they were gone.

Now, as I write this November column, my husband and I have also moved on to our winter bird feeding. We have cleaned the feeders to make sure any old, mildewed seed is cleaned out. Although we shut down all of fountains, we still will retain our two bird waterers. It’s important to remember that, yes, our songbirds in addition to our bird seed offerings do rely on water. Both are heated waterers to allow water access on even the coldest winter days.

So, while we still reflect back on those wonderful summer moments, our time is now absorbed with the antics of our winter birds.

(photo by Darial Weisman) A pair of young orioles figure out the jelly feeder.

(photo by Darial Weisman) Young-of-the-year house finches surround the nearly empty brown safflower feeder.