Bird Nerds

There is something wrong with this picture. Actually, there are two things wrong with this picture.

The Lonely Feeder

1:  The line of feed has not moved in days, and

2:  There are no birds here (not that they'd probably stick around while I took their picture anyway.)

This quiet, sad, lonely-looking bird feeder is usually the hub of our back-yard activity.  All through the Winter, and on into Spring.  Even after I drastically prune the Smoke-Tree Bush that they use as their staging area, while they are waiting for their turn to eat. (There's a pecking order they follow; the lower down the pole they are, the longer they wait to eat) Even when I forget to reopen the little holes, after refilling.  Oops! Apparently, Dark-eyed juncos are a very forgiving bird.  Or too lazy to look for food elsewhere.   

My juncos aren't a loud bunch, though they are chatty with one another.  Thus, I always know when they are around. I catch sight of them as I pass by the dining room window.  I watch them while I do the dishes. And I don't know how many times I have sent them scurrying away, in a panic, because I've rudely walked out the back door, without, first, announcing my arrival. 

So it seems strange, very strange, that they aren't here now.  It's too quiet.  We miss them.  (Oh dear, bird nerd detected) Especially Bombur. I don't ordinarily name the birds that come into my back yard, and I didn't name this one.  Nora Jane did.  And she named him Bombur, because he's fat.  Very fat.  Like Bombur, the fat dwarf in "The Hobbit."  But it suits him.

So where is Bombur?  Where have all the juncos gone? (I cannot read this line without singing it: Where have all the cowboys juncos gone?...If you don't know who Paula Cole is, or have no idea what I'm referring to, pardon this interruption) 

Well, we had an idea.  But since we weren't sure, we did what all good Bird Nerds do.  We turned to our "bird book."  Specifically, we turned to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest."  Unfortunately,  we only discovered what we already knew:  what they looked like and that they travel in flocks.  So much for our bird book. We moved on to the internet.  

And just as we predicted, it's baby time!  Mid-April is when big things happen in the sparrow world. After selecting their soul-mate, (these lovers are monogamous) the mamas (with a little help from the papas) begin to build a nest.  These ladies weave their cozy dwellings out of twigs, leaves, and grasses but prefer to line the interior with fine grass, moss, and animal hair. I like to think there are A LOT of babies staying warm and dry right now thanks to Jack and his endless supply of yellow-lab-fur. 

And then it's time to take a seat. For twelve to thirteen days, these mommies   will stay put.  Gotta rest up!  They need their energy because after hatching, they only have ten to thirteen days to get these babies ready for independence.   Yikes! (That's fast and furious!)  At which time they'll start the whole process all over again. And, these moms do not recycle; they do not reuse their nests.  Each brood gets brand new digs!  Ladies!  Come on....if it ain't broke....

But who am I to tell them what to do.  I'll just keep watching, waiting for them to return.  Until then, I'm going to check the list of ingredients on their feed bag.  I need to make sure it's loaded with plenty of millet since, according to juncos, millet tastes much better than that other crap sunflower seeds.

Yippee aw, Yippee yea!

S-

P.S.  All bird info gleaned from the following sources:

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest,

Animal Diversity Web (ADV), http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu , and

Cornell Lab of Ornithology, http://www.birds.cornell.edu

but any mistakes or misinformation are completely mine :)