It’s good to know that some things work. But am I guitly of discrimination?

After spotting what Ithough was a greenfinch the other day I popped out and bough a nyjer feeder. These are what finches like, but I dont know why. How do they know? I didn’t know about them until last year, and even then I though it was a bit niche. They didnt exist when I was a kid. What’s with these new stange feeders? It must be something to do with hipsters or vegans. In short, I didn’t buy one. And one of the reasons was that it was an extra effort. The other reason was that I didn’t know if my feeders would be left alone by randon thugs. But as it turns out, not many people walk around the back of my block, because it’s a dead end. And finally, the visiting goldfinches seemed quite happy nibbling on the bushes and trees outside.

There was another, other reason – squirrels! But experience has taught me that chilli powder keeps them controlled. So I loaded up the new feeder with more hot stuff than I probably needed. The birds don’t notice, apparently. And a day after I put it up, I had a hit! And again today, with more of them.

I’ll take better goldfinch pictures when I know that they’ve settled in. But for the moment this is the best picture I have through my bedroom window, which is more than good enough for me. With a bit of luck, I’ll get a photo of the charm soon. This is a mini success for me. And it’s something I don’t want to give up. More than that, it’s not long before spring and the new batch of fledglings. I have to be around for that. And I have to wait and see if that really was a goldfinch I saw the other day.

Thanks for reading so far. Here’s a bonus shot of a woodpecker!

I’d like to think that birds didn’t need to be feed so much. They should be flying around without our help, but they need help or we’ll lose them. It’s nice to fee appreciated and you’re doing something good. They’re like foodbanks for birds, but they dont know abouth that concept and have no feeling of shame with a social stigma.

We don’t blame birds for not having and environment to thrive and we shouldn’t blame people either. Both of these problems can be solved if we really want to.