the bird tree

spring came and went again in mid-march at the haley holler. we were granted a brief respite from forty degree temperatures and rain. two weeks of shorts and tee shirt weather fooled all of us. i into planting flowers. the birds into coming back to the wooded countryside. i love the birds in northern ‘tucky. we all seem to revel equally in the benevolent warmth of springtime. it is a warmth that makes one forget that the air yet to come in late summer will drive us all into hiding with its choking, steaming humidity. still, though this fake spring induced fits of gardening optimism, i knew it was too early for the hummingbird feeders to go back out. even so, i found myself longing for birds. as a result, the tree in the front of my house has sprouted no less than three bird feeders; two with “song bird mix” and one just for the finches.
finches are not shy about visiting a well placed bird feeder, it turns out. they also like other seeds beside just thistle seed. on any given day, i can peer out my corner window at something like twenty goldfinches.
the songbird food has broadened the color range beyond the dandelion yellow of the finches. i got it hoping for cardinals, but i was in for a surprise. cardinals have come, but not as many as i thought might. in their stead, i have a faithful contingent of sparrows, cowbirds (a type of swallow with a dull brown head and handsomely glossy blue-black wings), mourning doves, and one lone blue gray nuthatch; ever amusing as his makes his way down the tree trunk head first to pick seed from the grass.
the real triumph of the songbird seed has been the woodpeckers. there are three magnificent orange headed, black and white backed “red-breasted woodpeckers” who delight me by hanging comically from the bottom of the feeders, craning their necks for seed. why they’re called red-breasted, i have no idea, since their breasts are white and their crowns red-orange, but that is what mr. audobon says, and i have no choice but to believe him.
i gave myself credit for a smart tactical stroke when i saw the blue jays had found the feeders. blue jays are big and often bullies for all their pretty coloring, but evidently three feeders in on tree are enough to satisfy even the greediest jay. they make the finches flit, but they don’t bestir themselves to chase anyone off.
perhaps my favorite bird of the motley flock that i’m currently feeding is the one i can’t identify. it’s the size of a finch, with a plain brown body like a common house finch. the delightful thing about it is its brick red head, complete with a tiny crest as though a cardinal and a wren had an illicit love child. true to form, i have only seen this bird once, and only one of them at that. perhaps the cardinal/wren theory is gaining strength?