'Ello You NAG!

Date: July 5, 2007
Time: 7:00-7:20 a.m.

Weather Report: Fog, 64°F, 88% Humidity, Winds: From SSW @ 4 mph; feels like 64°F.

Location: The backyard of our home in the upstate New York city of Rochester.

Bird Species/Markings/Features: One male American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis), one Purple Finches (Carpodacus purpureus).

Sights/Sounds/Activities: While there is quite a bit of chatter emanating from around me, it is hard to visually verify that much of it is happening within our yard; it almost seems like the birds are "hiding" high up in the trees or in the neighboring yards. Due to the fog and dense low-lyng clouds, much of the auto noise from the nearby expressway is clearly audible--it sounds like I'm sitting in the middle of the street at times.

Notes: Often, when I'm in the kitchen which overlooks our backyard, I can see many birds flitting among the feeders and playing with one another, but what increasingly seems to happen is when I come outside to watch or document, I scare the birds away. While there was little to see today, I am confident that later this morning when I go to make lunch, there will be more meaningful bird behavior to observe. (Don't get me wrong--I enjoy watching the Purple and Gold finches, but its frustrating when one just knows there are more just beyond the cover of branches, to see!)

The picture at the top of the post is of the small area just outside the backdoor on which we "leave" our birding supplies: jugs with nyjer and black sunflower seed, as ell as gardening gloves for mixing in Squirrel Away, a product we purchased in an effort to minimize the amount of seed being eaten by the rather large population of North American Grey Squirrels, or NAGS, which inhabit our community.

The product has been considerably more effective, for our needs, than "guards" or other feeder add-ons, but (as evidenced by the pic to the left) the squirrels do still come around and pick at the shells and seeds which drop to the ground, or are not completely covered in the products active ingredient, capsaicin.