Alvin and Friends

I'm probably dating myself to bring up Alvin and the Chipmunks, but it was one of those shows that you just never forgot - or the silly songs.  I loved it all!

I have nicknamed my friendliest chipmunk Alvin, although I think it's really a girl.  It's usually busy gathering nesting materials and dashing off to the nearby brush, while the others are stuffing their cheeks with sunflower seeds in the bird feeding area.

There's never a dull moment on the decks as an occasional pitter-patter of little scampering feet runs under your deck chair.  I'm not sure if they know I'm there or just don't care.  Sometimes if I move suddenly they'll leap into the air and run the other way.

Fortunately this year there are no stray cats hanging around!  Knock on wood, as it is usually the case that about the time the wildlife area gets stocked, something bigger on the food chain will come along.  One year it was a young black bear, last year a coyote and a cat.  So we'll see how long I get to enjoy all of them.

I couldn't help but catch this chipmunk in action yesterday as it nibbled on some apple peels I threw out after using the apple-peeler-corer, making for one long string of peel, pretty cute.

Enjoy!!!! 

My Feathered Friends

This week I had a rare afternoon free and the weather was tolerable, so I took the hour long drive up to my favorite shop in Gardiner, WA.;  WildBirds Unlimited.  Do you have one in your area?

This one is truly a treasure, equipped with everything you could possibly want in your backyard wildlife sanctuary.

What's really unique is their landscaped, bird friendly area with a large pond and waterfall.

On this visit to WB I got an extension for my bird feeding pole system I bought there a while back, which came with two extensions for hanging feeders. 

Currently I use one for the WB (lifetime guarantee) blackoil sunflower seed feeder, and the other for their woodpecker friendly suet feeder made from recycled plastics.

My new third extension will accommodate my newest feeder, the (also lifetime guarantee) thistle feeder.

 

Right now I have mostly hooded juncos, towhees and purple finches.  One or two flickers have visited the suet feeder as well.

A couple of days after I put up the new thistle feeder I noticed the juncos had taken a liking to it!  They are primarily a ground feeding bird.

Today my first pine sisken of the season has arrived.  They are usually the reason I put up a thistle feeder at this time of year.  Also when the goldfinches arrive they will feed on thistle too.

I often refer to my Backyard Bird Sightings tracker to see who is arriving on time and who might be earlier, or later, than previous years.  So far everything seems about normal even with the late snows we had in March.

My first hummingbirds began arriving last week, and the first Rufus of the season arrived just two days ago.  Soon I will have to put up a second feeder to accommodate all of them!

I moved the swallows nesting box this year to a safer location, so I hope they like it and decide to stay.  They should be arriving sometime within the next month.

I also put up a new nesting box on the back of the house in hopes of attracting the chickadees, who usually get voted out by the swallows for the first box.

This year I'm also hoping to get more and better photos with a couple of new accessories;  another tripod and a remote shutter, as well as a couple of new spots to set up and shoot from.

What birds are returning to your area?