Sunday, November 28, 2010

MIXING UP THE BIRD FEEDERS

I asked hubby to put the bird feeders away a couple of months ago, not a good idea, as I did not know where to find them. But, the up side of it was, that hubby had to go out in the ice and snow yesterday to retrieve the feeders for me.

Having filled the peanut feeder 'house' which holds an awful lot of peanuts, I gaily poured in mixed seeds to the remaining small feeders I had been given, which were....wide meshed peanut ones. What a mess, seeds everywhere except in a feeder!  Fortunately, I have a plastic tub into which I could sweep most of the misplaced varieties of seeds. There is no doubt I was distracted, dealing with unpacking food, travel bags and sorting out the washing. No chance of any of the washing going out on the line to dry in all that ice and snow and more snow.

The down side of the exercise was, I had to trudge outside in the ice and snow to find hubby so I could get the appropriate bird feeding containers. We'll have to fix up a two-way communication system. Calling never works.

The birds found the bird food today and we have seen crows waiting to shake the feeders to get seed onto the surface of the snow. Lots of little feathered visitors arrived too. Some birds are so small, sparrows and robins, for example, you wonder if they would survive a long hard Winter. Temperatures were below -17Celcius last night and it's only November.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

fortunately, their chances of surviving a long, hard winter must be greatly increased by the kind efforts of good folk like yourself.

still no snow down here though :(

ZACL said...

I hear from sprog, this afternoon following a visit to Milton Keynes, there's panic buttons being pressed for a dusting of snow in the softened South. Our snow falls are very definite and it's still snowing.

Our pleasure is seeing the way the birds behave around the 'trough' and the the arrival of an interesting variety of them, Chaffinch, Green finch, Dunnocks, Thrush, sparrows, and crows, which we can watch when the kitchen windows are not steamed up with soup-making.

Anonymous said...

A long hard winter certainly takes a toll on small birds. However it would be far worse for them if it wasn't for many people like ourselves who provide them with food and water. Flighty xx

ZACL said...

You're right there, Mr F. The birds do need the extras they can forage for and find.

We don't put water out in weather like we have at the moment, it would freeze. Presumably, some snow would be picked up with seed on the surface and provide for wetness. Then again, leaves would dampen at some point and droplets might on deciduous bushes etc.

keiko amano said...

ZACL,

Oh, I thought you've gone to the place in the photo by car. I didn't realize you actually live -17Celcius temperature. Wow! I've never been to such a cold place in my life. It's like the North Pole. But you and your husband seem very active there. I think I'll freeze and my fingers won't move to type a word.

To keep your house warm, it must be very expensive. In Japan, I use a tiny electric stove only. And I plan to stay in California the rest of winter. Probably, your utility bills pay an airplane ticket.

ZACL said...

Temperatures as low as -17C are not usual here. They can drop to -8 or 10 as a rule. We are having extraordinary weather at the moment.

At least in countries like Russia or Poland, where their temperatures regularly drop to very low levels in Winter, they also get a Summer - we don't seem to. I would not have liked the Moscow Summer temperatures this year, they were seriously high. I would have liked some period of warmth to help build up the immune system.

You make a good point about the cost of heating fuel. It is expensive. the same can be said for fuel for transport. These two factors combined, make the cost of living where I do, very expensive. There are other additional costs that can be added which are not an issue in less remote locations.

The first year here, I arrived in July and could not feel warm. I was wearing my Winter clothes straight away!

I am wearing many layers of clothing today and will add more I think.

keiko amano said...

ZACL,

About the Moscow Summer, Yokohama was similar. I heard 800 people died last summer in Japan. Because of the global warming, I don't understand why your area is getting colder. That's not fair. I hope temperature will go up in your area.

ZACL said...

The levels of snow so early and such low temperatures too, do make me wonder if the Icelandic volcanic eruptions have had a hand in the unusual conditions. It's just a thought.

Our Summer was not that great. I am glad though we did not have extreme heat. I sincerely hope we don't have more extremes of cold either. Humankind can be affected by so many vagaries of nature.