Believe it or not, my love of birds started with my desire to feed the squirrels. I know, sounds backwards. I love creatures of all kinds and like many people, enjoy the antics of the squirrels that play and forage in my backyard. One day the idea of putting some food out for the squirrels came to mind. I went to my local feed store and bought some corn-on-the-cob. It seemed like the logical choice and I had the perfect spot at a corner of my fence. I even had fun making my simple corn-on-the-cob feeder. It didn’t take long and I had many visitors, like this little guy:
After a short while, I started noticing that birds seemed to be interested in the corn as well. I had Northern Cardinals, Northern Mockingbirds and American Crows all visiting my ultra-cool corn-on-the-cob feeder. I was particularly fascinated by this crow’s technique:
The response to my corn-on-the-cob station sparked my love of birds in particular, and I became a “birder.” That was a little over 2 years ago, and I’ve been having so much fun ever since. I am now a member of my local chapter of the Audubon Society, the Native Plant Society of Texas, and I attend regular meetings of both.
I have learned a lot in the past 2 years or so, and the more I learn, the more it seems I DON’T know. The people I have met along the way are wonderful and I happily soak up whatever knowledge they share with me. I did figure one thing out for myself though…
…really, corn is not the best choice for feeding birds or squirrels if you prefer NOT to attract and feed rats!
