Monday, April 14, 2008

Bird amenities

Surely ours isn't the only small city that can support a shop strictly for bird watchers -- or a column in the local paper all about birds. But we do indeed have such a store, Jay's Bird Barn, over by the north Safeway; furthermore, the proprietor, Eric Moore, writes a weekly article for the Courier. But I shouldn't be surprised. I've been collecting pictures of bird feeders and bird houses and bird baths all over the area. There are ever so many. In fact, a US Fish & Wildlife Service survey revealed that over 50 million Americans spend some time watching wild birds. No reason that Prescottonians should be any different.

Many people buy bird houses for their yards; some even build them, tho I've never before seen such an extravaganza as this homemade residence on sale at Batterman's. I wonder if a bird ever alighted on the structure; my suspicion is that the architect probably kept thinking of new improvements to add and just never got around to mounting it. Besides, I doubt if any birds would bother to unhook those latches.

On the other hand, here are a couple of handmade homes situated high enough that they just might entice a small bird couple.

This bird abode was too far away for me to decide whether it was homemade or store-bought. Also I'm not sure whether it is really suitable for live-in birds or is merely yard decor, like far too many of the houses that I've seen.

Most often, the cute would-be nests are located within arm's reach; if I were a self-respecting bird, I'd stick to the trees for safety's sake.

I wonder if the apartment building above has ever had tenants. The unit below may have -- it was very high up on a pole.

Again, I suspect that some feeders are decorative rather than utilitarian.

But, again, locate the house (above) or feeder (below) high enough and customers should show up. Note that there are ropes so that the little nesting box may be cleaned out periodically. As for the feeder below, I walk under it every so often; it's so high up that a ladder is in order.

Some straight-forward feeding stations (above, below).

Of course, in our dry climate, water is a necessity for the birds, tho I don't see nearly as many bird baths. Probably because it's a lot more work to keep them filled -- and clean.

Then there is the cat problem....

Linkage: There's this big picture of me over at Pictures and More plus a song about Never Been to Prescott; what can I say, Steve, except thank you!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Me thinks a bird bath in the yard is a great idea. It certainly was Phoenix-like warm this past weekend.

With all of the trees in its area, I can see why Prescottonians love local birds and provide for them!

~Anon in AV.

Anonymous said...

Some of those looked like they would make great Squirrel feeders.

Catalyst said...

Great pictures of bird amenities, GJ. I have a handicapped friend who feeds the birds right outside his door but he's having a war right now with chipmunks and squirrels raiding the feeders. Yesterday he asked me to buy him a water pistol!

And you should hear the story about his midnight raid by javelinas!

TomboCheck said...

Nice post GJ! I wonder how many bird feeders and baths I walk by without ever noticing? Probably a lot!

Jan said...

granny j..you never run out of interesting ideas..thanks! :)

Granny J said...

anon av -- Yeah, I'd agree that it's the abundance of trees, both the pines and the deciduous trees along the creek beds...

steve -- excellent squirrel feeders. Wish we had some of the local squirrels in my neighborhood. Too many dogs and cats, I guess. So I'll just have to go with your little guys for my squirrel fix.

Cat-A -- I haven't seen a javelina for some time (nor heard any on my roof.) I suspect they're down by the streambeds. I envy your friend his chippies and squirrels.

tombo -- well, I can't top the local mountains like you can, so I need to concentrate on other things!

jan -- it's been a while... glad to be on your reading list.

 
Photo Blog Blog Top Sites Blog Directory for Prescott, AZ

Local Blogs - Blog Top Sites