One of my favorite parts of life on the farm is the amazing variety of birds I can (and will) see on any given day --- and often right outside of my kitchen window. Before moving away from Church Hill, I honestly never realized how many different kinds of birds there were in this area, nor did I realize how colorful the birds might be. I was a bit spoiled living in the metal building apartment (in the back part of the farm) for my first two years out here, at least in terms of bird-watching abilities. The bird feeders there were only about 8 feet from the apartment and I could use a telephoto lens from just inside the bathroom window very easily and get great images. Visit http://sarahsbirdreport.blogspot.com/ for a bird inventory I did a few years back.The new house does not (yet) have a great location for doing that kind of photography, although I an determined to find or create one soon. I did recently get a see-through birdfeeder for the window of my laundry room (see above), but the window is very close to the heat pump and A/C unit, so only the bravest of birds seem to have found their way there. Alternating between sunflower seeds and safflower seeds has helped --- and appears to to be getting a strong vote of approval from all my visitors.
For those who asked for details, I keep two feeders on my deck and they are filled most of the time with either sunflower or safflower seeds, plus one hummingbird feeder. There are additional feeders along the perimeter fences, but I don't worry about keeping them filled as often. I have one squirrel who visits on occasion, but not so often as to be a pest. After NOT seeing one single squirrel on the property for the first 4 years I was here, I still get a kick watching his antics.
