Pecking Order And Funnies

Another page has been written in the bird feeding saga at the Donkey house. A squirrel was recently observed spreadeagled in the feeder tray, gorging on sunflower seeds, even reaching up into the tube of mixed seeds to select exactly what he or she most desired.

So now the pecking order is this:

Deer outrank squirrels.
Squirrels outrank blackbirds.
Blackbirds outrank bluejays.
Bluejays outrank finches.
Finches outrank chickadees.
Chickadees outrank mourning doves.
Mourning doves don't outrank anybody or anything except the seeds.

Which makes me a little sad, so I've been sprinkling some seed on the grass for them, which I will probably regret later in the summer when it sprouts. But I love the doves' cooing and the characteristic whistle of their wings as they fly, so I'm glad to see "our" pair dropping by every day.

I don't know where the crows rank because I haven't seen them at the feeder this year. If I had to guess, though, I'd put them right below the deer. Or possibly above.

On the bright side, with the installation of our new finch feeder, the finches have been removed from the rankings. They discovered their new buffet almost immediately, and have been loyal patrons ever since. And no one else is bothering them. Yay!

So now my challenge is how to get the blackbirds to stop hogging the regular feeder. I have a feeling nothing will change unless I get another feeder for sunflower seeds only, because the blackbirds pick those out and scatter everything else.

And to give the bluejays a chance, we probably need a feeder for peanuts in the shell.

Reminds me of cooking for fussy eaters . . .

Last week I forgot to mention the reaction of the blackbirds to the four deer at the feeder. They were not happy birds. One fellow was literally hopping mad and his language wasn't fit to print. What a scolding he gave them, but the deer didn't even look at him.

This video shows the goldfinches flitting back and forth to their new feeder. I wonder how many seeds it takes to power those little wings for hours every day?

You'll notice some of the goldfinches are brighter yellow than the others; those would be the males. I believe both the females and the non-breeding males are paler in colour, but I wonder if all ours are females, because there are consistently eight birds, four bright and four drab. I'm no expert but it would seem to make sense that there are four breeding pairs.


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And now a few funnies from icanhas.cheezburger, just because it's Friday:

 

Here in Canada we are going into our first long weekend of what we call the summer season (which starts in May and ends in October, thus spanning spring/summer/fall!) It doesn't FEEL like summer, or even spring, for that matter. In fact, there was a frost warning last night. However, that won't stop me from enjoying the extra day off work. In fact, since I don't like extreme heat, it might help me enjoy it more. My husband is going to be catching up on his job workload and I hope to get some decluttering and cleaning done. Or at least some reading :) I will still be hosting Poetry Monday on schedule; the topic will be "friendship."

What is your weekend looking like? Fun or work? Or a little of both? I hope there's at least a little time for something enjoyable just for you!