You might have seen the meme with a photo of excited sports commentators looking as if they’ve just seen the greatest play of all time. Underneath in white text it reads, “People in quarantine watching their bird feeders like...” I didn’t create it, but I might as well have.
It all started when I noticed a few aggressive birds swooping low to torment my fluff-of-a-cat who had just turned one. She probably was infringing on their territory, so no hard feelings. After a few days of observation, though, I realized that my entire backyard — a humble postage-sized plot in a Phoenix metro suburb — was an ecosystem filled with flighty friends.
On the daily, I’ve got woodpeckers, owls, mourning doves, cactus wren, thrashers, and an assortment of other birds that fly in and out. Lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with a lake (quite rare for the Sonoran Desert), I even had a pair of flirting ducks swoop in to chill in my pool and literally shake their tail feathers at each other.
And so it was official. The absence of backyard BBQs with friends, evening bar hopping, a rich calendar of social events, and mornings tucked into a cozy coffee shop had been replaced by a sport I’ve poked fun of over the years: bird watching. I already had a hummingbird feeder I’d purchased long ago hanging in a quiet corner of the yard, but I was determined to make my space even more conducive.
I don’t claim to be an expert birdwatcher; I am rather more of a dabbler. If that sounds like you, perhaps the following doodads that’ve elevated my own backyard bird watching experience will do the same for you.
FOR THE HUMMINGBIRDS
FOR PURE FUN
FOR SOME WHIMSY
FOR SOME CLEAN FUN
FOR SOME EDUCATION
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