I miss the birds

[Bmoboy]

We had multiple feeders and a very busy backyard at my old house.

Cardinals, Goldfinches, bluejays, sparrows, juncos, woodpeckers, finches, titmice, chickadees, mourning doves, grackles, cowbirds, catbirds, crows, even a Coopers hawk and turkey buzzards.

Now in my 55+ community, there are plenty of trees, a large community garden, ponds, and a few pollinator and butterfly gardens, but no bird feeders allowed.

I miss the drama, the colors, and the birdsong.

Maybe it's the climate change.

Sad, but the occasional flyer will have to do.

[Walleye]

1. I know how you feel. I'm on the second floor deck up in the trees.

A few years ago, I had a great feeder set-up going, but I think the neighbors on the deck below me complained and the squirrels were getting pretty bad so now I just have hummingbird feeders and finch feeders. The squirrel won’t eat the Thistle seed. But I definitely miss the large variety of birds. I see a new person moved in across the yard this spring and set up quite a few, so that’s good. I look forward to the hummingbirds returning every spring, they’re just about to leave now I think. I miss seeing all the seeders eaters. Chickadees, especially

[jfz9580m]

2. I felt it was rather overly silent

At some points during this year (2025). At other times earlier I used to think some animal or bird song just sounded a bit “off”.

But these are sense impressions and it’s so hard to know if it’s a human worry (or a bias developed over time) skewing your perception and making your overly sensitive or not.

I am going to casually track local wildlife rhythms in my DU journal. Technically, I should sign up for Cornell Ornithology Lab’s ebird. But DU has forums for everything. That’s kinda neat.

I heard chipmunks alarm calling and rufous treepies chattering away in the last hour and a half.

[mucifer]

3. I put up a little suet feeder on my balcony here in Chicago. Now

every day I see downy, hairy and red bellied woodpeckers on the suet. Sometimes I see a chickadee or a white bellied nuthatch.

Just started birding this year and live a mile from the forest.

I'm having so much fun. I can't wait until spring migration!

It's a whole world I never noticed. It was always there. Calms me a bit with all the evil going on.

[Dear_Prudence]

4. Can you get out at all?

Maybe a nearby park, cemetery, or green space would be a place to find birds. Maybe you could catch a ride or Uber to a park with a window and feeder? Since Xmas I have seen many of your birds at my feeders in Cincinnati, and also too many house finches, a few Carolina wrens, and those darn starlings are already back. I will probably see grackles, cow birds, and the occasional hawk when it warms up. I don't get crows or buzzards in the yard, although I see them nearby. I hope you are able to find your birds again. They are out there.