Rise up this mornin’, smile with the rising sun
Three little birds pitched by my doorstep
Singin’ sweet songs of melodies pure and true
Sayin’, “This is my message to you”
Singin’, “Don’t worry about a thing
‘Cause every little thing is gonna be alright”
Singin’, “Don’t worry, don’t worry ’bout a thing
‘Cause every little thing’s gonna be alright”
- Bob Marley (1977)
In my oh-so-short failed attempt at learning to play guitar, one of the first songs I learned was Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”. What a great feel-good kind of song! At the time, I loved the simple lyrics although I couldn’t really relate to listening to the birds sing- I was never into birdwatching very much. And as far as I knew, there was just one species of bird (the kind with wings), and one bird song (“tweet tweet”). At one point many years ago I did put up a birdfeeder, but the squirrels always won the battle and ate more seeds than any birds, so I quit. But recently the all-powerful Facebook threw an ad at me for a “squirrel-proof birdfeeder”. (It infuriates me, but I always fall victim to their ads.) As Facebook had figured out, I thought maybe it would be fun to try putting up a birdfeeder again. I reluctantly purchased that squirrel-proof birdfeeder, and also put up an old suet feeder I had in the basement from years ago. The next day, it took me a while to find the birdfeeder, as it was dragged deep into the woods behind our house and emptied. And the suet feeder was never to be found again. I’m not sure if it was a squirrel or more likely a raccoon that was playing games with me, but I said “OK, this is war.” I purchased a new suet feeder, reassembled the birdfeeder, and secured them firmly to their trees with the solution to every problem- duct tape. I also bought a ground feeder, hoping that would keep the squirrels happy, and less likely to attack the hanging feeders. That pretty much did the trick. I even added another hanging feeder for thistle seed. I was all set. Now I could just back and watch.
Our property is ideal for birdwatching. Behind our home is a creek surrounded by dense woods. In addition to birds, we frequently see deer, rabbits, groundhogs, snakes, and other wild creatures. Sitting on the deck on a nice day, listening to the babbling creek and singing birds can be a relaxing escape. I’ve found that in my senior years, while I am trying to stay active, my body is telling me more and more to take it easy. Maybe this birdwatching thing will actually be a new golden-years activity to keep me busy.
So now the birds are coming. But what kind of birds are they? Of course I know the obvious ones- being a baseball fan, I know that blue jays are blue and cardinals are red. But then it gets tougher. What the hell is a “tufted titmouse” (do birds have boobs)? What’s the difference between a song sparrow and a house sparrow? Is a “catbird” a kind of cat or a kind of bird? I picked up a bird identification booklet at the hardware store where I get my bird food, and that was a good start. But my real helper was a phone app a friend recommended called “merlin”. You can take a photo of a bird and/or record its call, and the app identifies what type of bird it is, given the area where you are located. You can then track each species that you identify in a “life list”. I was all set!
While I was using a ground feeder to keep the squirrels happy, it had an unintended consequence. Across the street from us is a big pond, where you can frequently find a big flock of geese. Well. the geese got wind of my ground feeder and suddenly three geese families were visiting our property morning, noon, and night to feed, along with their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Duck. The baby geese were certainly adorable, but the amount of goose droppings on our lawn was increasing, and I was having nightmares of the goose parties getting bigger and bigger and bigger as they invited their friends. I was afraid they’d hop into our pool after eating for a relaxing swim. We did enjoy watching them, but I was determined to try a gentle deterrent to encourage them to look elsewhere for their primary restaurant of choice. I did some online shopping for geese deterrents, and opting not to get a dog, I went with the surefire sparkling pinwheels- guaranteed to keep those critters away. Needless to say, it didn’t work. I think they attracted the geese more than they repelled them. But we came to love watching the geese families as well as the other wildlife, so instead of trying to scare them away, we became inclusive and decided all are welcome here.
So far, aside from the wild critters, I’ve identified 22 species of birds in my backyard. A meager number for a birdwatcher, I know, but I’m happy with it. I doubt I’ll ever be the stereotypical birdwatcher travelling the world with my binoculars looking for new species to add to my count. I’m perfectly happy sitting on my deck enjoying the sights and sounds of the creatures in my own backyard. I must admit, however, that while I was working out at the Y the other day, I looked out the window and saw a bird I didn’t recognize, so I pulled out my cell phone in the middle of my workout, opened up my “Merlin” app, took a picture to identify the bird. I then breathed a heavy sigh as I realized I might be getting addicted to birdwatching. While the younger me had little interest in watching birds, I’ve found that nowadays relaxing outside with a beer in my hand listening to the birds singing “Don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing is gonna be alright” can be another nice activity to help me get through my golden years.
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