For the birds. And Butter.
Jul 9th, 2008 by Waffles
Butter got me this awesome birdhouse bird feeder (Thanks, Butter!) for my housewarming after I moved into a new fancy place. And — lo and behold — there is a hook right there for it! I’ll keep you informed on if any birds actually visit it. Maybe we can hold bird identification contests. You in, Dave? 
I will admit that I don’t like bird all that much. I really like ducks, and would love one as a pet (if it wasn’t for my bear-cat), but I’ve always been skittish around little birds. I don’t know if I’m afraid they’re going to fly in my eye or something, Fabio-style. But they are extremely pretty, and since I don’t go outside all that often, I’m looking forward to be able to look at them out the window.
Psst… Is a bird feeder. Is only a house if someone lives in it. (Although with as often as the squirrel is out at ours, it almost qualifies.)
I think the birdseed I got you has sunflower in it, so expect some cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). At this time of year you may see a juvenile; we have a Mr., Mrs., and Baby Cardinal that come to ours daily. For a while the Mr. was still feeding Baby, but that seems to be over now. You’ll get House finches (the ones with red heads, Carpodacus mexicanus), and maybe goldfinches (Carduelis tristis), although the latter seem to like thistle seed better. Mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) will constantly be on the ground underneath cleaning up what’s dropped. You might see a few Chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina; you can tell them apart from the ubiquitous Old-world House sparrows [Passer domesticus] by the rufous crown), and in the winter, if you keep it filled, you’ll have Dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) by the bucketful.
It’ll be interesting to see, since you live closer to a body of water than I do, whether you get any species that we don’t see as much of at my place. Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), maybe. Or you may even have mallards poking around in the spring, looking for nesting sites.
Happy birding!