The other day, when wind-chill levels dropped below zero, I noticed local school children had a two-hour delay, giving it a chance to warm up in the morning. No sense having anyone stand out on a cold morning like that.
As I looked out my window, noticing nobody was waiting for the school bus that morning, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the little birds that were crowded around my feeder, the one right outside my office window. You could almost see the food level dropping as the birds attacked it from all sides.
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Having that bird feeder just outside the window is also a source of entertainment for me – it doesn’t take much to excite us old folks – but it’s even bigger on the amusement list for our two cats. They love to watch the birds.
The only problem is they tend to scare the little feathered creatures away. A few have figured out there is a thick pane of glass between cat and bird feeder, but most are spooked and fly away as soon as one of the cats jumps up on the table next to the window.
The usual culprit is Simon, the smaller of the two felines. He thinks he’s sneaky, because he enters the room, sees the birds, drops into a crouch, utters a low chirp, twitches his tail a couple hundred times, and then charges the window. And, of course, the birds vanish.
His brother, Garfunkle – yes they are named Simon and Garfunkle – has a different approach. When he jumps up on the table the birds fly away. But he then lies down behind a radio I have there, hiding from the birds. Eventually, the birds begin coming back to the feeder. He just lies there and watches them … if he’s not asleep.
So the cats and I are entertained, but more importantly, the birds are getting some nourishment on cold winter days. We have other feeders the cats can’t see as well, so plenty of birds are eating undisturbed as well.
We saw a cooper’s hawk strutting around the yard the other day. I guess they (birds of prey) have to eat, too.
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