Forget tranquilizers, booze, pot, illegal drugs, and shopping therapy. If you want to add some tranquility to your stress-full schedule, just go outside and listen. Especially if you’re near a tree-filled walkway, or a park, or a lake, or – well, you get the idea. Outside!
Scientific Reports recently published a report suggesting that listening to birdsongs can relieve stress and give us a sense of inner peace. You can’t say that about a Taylor Swift concert. The one just held in Seattle caused “seismic activity” in the neighborhood.
Taylor Swift is named after a bird. The one above is a white-throated swift. In case you’re not familiar with swifts, it’s probably because, like Taylor, they’re always in flight going somewhere. Accomplished aerialists, a swift can be in flight 500 miles a day. (Unlike the songstress though, when they do return home, some of them live in chimneys, and most likely, she doesn’t.) But while those astronomical ticket sales might suggest it – Taylor is a good singer but she cannot sing like a bird! Only a bird can do it, guys.
There’s no two birdsongs alike, but even if we don’t know which bird we’re hearing, we can still tune into its melody. Several of the birdies can mimic the songs of other birds. Probably the champion mimic in North America is the Brown Thrasher which can sing up to 2,000 different songs. And that rascal, the European starling is also an accomplished mimic of other songbirds, but also just about anything else such as motorcycles or tea kettles.
Once upon a time, in my backyard in Seattle, I had access to a bird concert like Taylor Swift can only dream of. On any summer day, about mid-afternoon, I’d be exposed to 20 minutes or so of the bird world’s version of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It would start with the voice of a single little bird. And then another would chime in. And then another, and another. Pretty soon, what sounded like a hundred birds were singing their hearts out and like the volume dial got turned up so our whole neighborhood could hear it. It was magical.
I suppose you’re wondering how such a heavenly floor show chose my backyard for its performances. Therein lies a sad and rather embarrassing tale which I will now have to reveal to you because I believe in full disclosure and because I hope you’re nosy enough to read on.
It all started with a single humble little bird feeder that son-in-law Brad mounted for me on a post where I could see it from the kitchen window. I bought a little box of birdseed and poured some of it on the feeder’s little platform. Went inside and forgot about it.
A few days later, I started noticing a bit of activity. A couple of sparrows were busy on the feeder, munching down the seeds like there was no tomorrow and scuffling the seeds all over the place. I noticed the birdseed was mostly gone, so the next morning, I refilled the feeder.
Wasn’t paying much attention, but as time went on, I eventually noticed the sparrows as well as some of their friends or family kept visiting the feeder, and also a finch and a robin or two. It was very nice to watch, even when there were a few tiffs over “sharing” the seed.
The day came though, when I knew I would have to step in and make some adjustments as to the pecking order. Thanks to Octo-woman’s well-known executive leadership, she was able to make a creative resolution of the problem. She bought another bird feeder on amazon.com so the smaller birds wouldn’t have to fight for their share of the birdseed.
And then later, a third one. Pretty soon, it seemed like there was a whole lot more activity going on in the backyard! And so, okay, to make it short, and in keeping with my lifetime mantra than anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-to-excess, eventually I had 8 bird feeders going at the same time in the backyard. By then, I was buying the birdseed in 50 pound bags at a pet food store, storing it in a big garbage can in the garage, and then hauling pitchers of it out to supply the bird feeders every morning.
It was so fun to watch what went on. The visitors were usually just sparrows, finches, chickadees and robins, but sometimes a more exotic guest would drop in. And the chorus in the afternoon would have knocked your socks off! But, sadly, a few crises were raising their ugly heads, and I couldn’t figure out a way around them.
For one thing, we had a cat in out neighborhood who turned out to be the Arnold Schwarzenegger of bird terrorists. She was a mighty hunter who favored nice plump little chickadees, and when she discovered the palatial bird restaurants I had arranged in my backyard, she quietly showed up every morning and took up hiding under a shrub near the kitchen bird feeder. She could wait for hours if that’s what it took. But then – you could see her leap straight up 3 feet in the air. There’d be a loud snap, and down she’d come with a chickadee firmly locked in her jaws. Then, ignoring me, she’d casually saunter home with her new bounty to enjoy her version of a fine meal after a long day on the hunt.
It happened nearly every day and it was pretty horrible to watch. But, I reasoned, this is a part of nature. The cat must be higher on the food chain than the chickadees are.
Another problem that began rearing its ugly head, was when I started seeing a Norway rat or two in the backyard, I was not happy about that, but then, I put the Octo-woman good-reasoning hat on and decided, well, the rats weren’t hurting the birds, were they? They were just helping themselves to some scattered birdseeds on the ground. And after all, everybody’s gotta eat, don’t they?
Meanwhile, we were having a problem in the house. It appeared we were having an infestation of grain moths. Multiple times, I cleaned out the kitchen cupboards, discarded all grain products, and had a Terminex company come in to eliminate the little darlings and their larvae. It was frustrating. Each time, the grain moths showed up almost as soon as the white coated exterminators left the house.
One day, I was at the pet supply store buying another 50 pound bag of birdseed, and I found myself brushing a couple of insects away from my face. They were grain moths! Oh, no!!!!! I went straight home, marched into the garage, opened the green garbage can where I stored the birdseed. And there they were. Populating like mad. Obviously sex-crazed. It was pretty nauseating as I recall. Bravely, I managed to pull myself together. This is okay, I reasoned. I can fix this. It’s a small price to pay for all those wonderful but hungry birds in my backyard.
But then came the last straw. One day I had a call from the Seattle Department of Health. “Mrs. Ford”, said a very regretful-sounding male voice, “I’m so sorry to report this to you, but one of your neighbors has made a complaint against you for maintaining a bird feeder that is attracting rats to your neighborhood”.
After I recovered from the shock and my chagrin, I knew exactly who the complainant must be – and it was – the cranky old man who lived around the corner!
The male voice continued on: “Is there some way” he asked gently, “that maybe you could lay a tarp or something down under the bird feeder, and then remove it so the rats couldn’t find the birdseed?”
At that point, I wisely decided that this might not be the right time to mention to that kind-hearted civil employee that there were seven more bird feeders out there and that the entire backyard would probably need to be “tarped” and that that most likely wouldn’t work as a solution anyway, because, listen, I am here to tell you that Seattle’s Norway rats are way too smart for such a dumb idea to work.
It was so sad. By the time the phone call was over, I knew I would either have to dismantle and remove all the bird feeders, or face the consequences and possibly the wrath of my whole neighborhood should that crabby old neighbor sic them on me.
First though, I frantically went online to search for some other solution. I quickly learned that rats are a common problem for people who like to feed birds at birdfeeders. I found all kinds of hopeless solutions that are presented, but my favorite was this one: “Madam, about the neighbor who objects to the bird feeders in your yard, — shoot the sonofabitch!” Those were my sentiments, exactly. And I was full of righteous anger as I went about my mournful efforts to remove all the birdfeeders.
I still miss seeing – and hearing – all those happy little creatures who shared my backyard with me (not counting the murderous neighbor cat and the Norway rats). But in the weeks that followed, I was to learn a painful lesson. Still feeling abused at what I had had to give up, I kept prowling the internet trying to figure out what might have been a workable solution. I learned a lot more than I bargained for. And I guess I got a little wiser.
What I learned, boys and girls, is that Mother Nature stocks her cupboard full of healthy food for our winged friends but she expects them to forage for it. Not just birdseed, but a balanced diet that might include stuff like worms, and insects and bugs and stuff that’s lower on the food chain but aids in their nutrition.
My bird feeding exploits were great for my own entertainment, but they were the equivalent of feeding your kids pizza or burgers and fries every night in front of the TV or video game console instead of a balanced meal at the family table.
For the good health of all those remarkable birds out there, we should only use the bird feeders when there’s been heavy snow, or serious drought when the birds can’t otherwise find enough food to survive. Making a birdbath or other water available to them is always a good idea though, anytime.
Meanwhile, how about I leave you with a little memento to help you out on a hard day?
P.S. The old grouch who complained about my rat pack moved out a few months later. So did the rats. I think the neighbor cat kept harassing them.
Your gardens were gorgeous. Have you started new one at the ranch yet? If so, pics, please! I wish I had your many talents!
I loved that garden! I bet you miss it. Thank you for the link, I enjoyed the bird symphony. It got me thinking – did the European Robin and European Goldfinch fly from Europe on Delta? And did the other birds at school make fun of the Great Tit and the Blue Tit? Kids can be so cruel you know.