Montauk Pioneer - August 8, 2008 - 'Tauk to the Animals

"I realized that if I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes." Interview with Charles Lindbergh shortly before his death, 1974

I didn't always have bird feeders at my home; it's a relatively new thing for me. I did grow up with them around and with the knowledge that feeding the birds was a worthwhile activity. My grandfather was a great bird watcher and loved to have birdbaths and bird feeders all over his yard. When he and my grandmother retired to St. Thomas USVI he had to switch from seed to sugar water in order to attract the "sugar birds". He did so gladly and his Scottish heart seemed cheered that it was much less expensive.

My mom fed the birds in several locations at her house in East Hampton. A few winters before she passed away (when she was first sick) I stayed over to help care for her. The first words out of her mouth at 7am when I went in to see if she needed help getting up or wanted breakfast yet were "Did you fill the birdfeeders? It snowed last night, they'll be waiting." I reluctantly trudged outside and as I walked to the first feeder with a container of seed I uneasily looked up at the trees. The branches of every tree, which should have been bare as it was deeply cold and the middle of January, were covered with birds.

Being an avid Hitchcock fan I of course thought of the iconic scene from his film The Birds when the playground equipment is quietly taken over by large black crows. As I approached the feeder the birds became, well, all atwitter. They HAD been waiting and were obviously anxious for me to fill the feeder and leave. I did just that and made my way around the house, thinking that most of the birds had been waiting out front. I was wrong. As I got to the backyard another group of birds awaited me.

This just goes to show how much our feathered friends can grow to rely on us. Once you start feeding birds, it's tough to stop. It's also not really fair. When my mom moved on to a nursing home we kept up the bird feeding. She had a feeder right outside her window and I'd often get messages, "Ellen, the feeders empty, are you coming by tonight?" I did visit often and as if the desire to see my mom wasn't enough there was that pull of the birds. I couldn't let them down either.

Now in my own home my husband and I have what we call "kitty TV". This consists of bird feeders placed where our cats have a wonderful view and can enjoy the show. They often get quite excited chirping away at the birds and running from window to window. Our biggest challenge was finding squirrel proof bird feeders, not that the cats don't love watching squirrels too but... Good feeders are available (Internet search "squirrel proof birdfeeders") and frankly any feeder hung by plastic filament far enough away from the trunk or branch of a tree seems to stymie the squirrels.

Feeding the birds in your neighborhood is a wonderful thing. You get to watch some of the prettiest and most delicate creatures in nature and at the same time get the benefit of them being around to eat lots of bugs - in-between their bites of seed. For us, the benefits far outweigh the downside (so we wash the cars more often) and I always feel a bit like I'm carrying on in my grandfather's and mother's place.

If you're looking for an easy way to commune with nature and feed your soul I highly recommend you start to feed the birds!