COMMUNITY - Memories & Bird Feeders

We all know by now, as of September 1^st, we will not be able to use seed, corn, suet, or ground feeders within the community.  Birdwatching is a relaxing pastime after a stressful day and in retirement.  Even though I am a new co-owner, at the time of the discussion for the decision, it brought to my mind many experiences I had in my own life out of my father’s love of bird feeding. At the time of the board meeting, I had not lived in Leisure Pointe to see the destruction personally.  I trusted the experience and concerns being expressed by board members, along with the background information that was presented, as I considered my decision in the board voting.

Some of my fondest memories growing up were of my dad faithfully tending to his bird and squirrel feeders in our fenced back yard. In our suburban neighborhood our backyard butted up against sixteen others around our block.  Lot sizes and shapes varied with the location of the homes on the block, but the only thing separating our property lines were periodic fences erected to keep the neighborhood dogs and kids contained.   I would periodically hear one of our neighbors cussing out my dad because of all the critters destroying his large vegetable garden every summer.  His neighbor on the other side rarely spoke to my dad because of the damage regularly done to their exotic flowers and koi pond, by squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, and gophers. This went on for years, back and forth they would argue and complain about my father’s bird and squirrel obsession. My dad would just chuckle and ignore them and sometimes put up another feeder or corn wheel in response. 

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I loved my dad and enjoyed spending summers sitting in the yard with him watching the suburban wildlife. Fond as those memories are, as I grew up and had to help mow the lawn, I also remember the ruts the mower wheels would get caught in because of the uneven ground and holes from the moles.  Periodically I would find mice in the closet of my basement bedroom where they had chewed around the siding to gain access in the cooler months. I was constantly having to clean bird poop off the windshield of my first car—and one day found it on the seats of my second car, a VW Beetle convertible with the top down. The nostalgia comes from my relationship with my dad and his interests seemed ingrained in his character. I felt much differently about the critters once I was responsible for my own home and lawn, along with the maintenance and damage created by them.  Damage I most often did not find until it was too late to avoid and expensive to fix. 

I have since learned the reality about those critters so cutely depicted in cartoons my kids grew up with.  They have their place in nature but can wreak havoc on yards and foundations when invited in with a steady resource of free food and snacks we unwittingly provide for them.  Moles can destroy a lawn, damage swimming pool liners and underground sprinkling systems by creating tunnels and mounds. Voles dig trails through lawns and landscaping, sometimes killing plants, and often leaving small coin sized holes under steps, decks, and air conditioning units. If you see parts of a lawn torn apart and thrown about, odds are it was a raccoon digging for grubs. Before you ever smell it, a skunk can dig a hole the size of a half dollar looking for worms and insects, and once fed will wander off to its den under a building, brush, or wood pile.  

Chipmunks do not sing like Alvin and his brothers—like squirrels they love to dig tunnels and paths throughout large open areas of lawn creating snack trails for when they tire of flowers and plants.  Planners that they are, they will dig up patches to hoard their food cache for future use. We may look forward to the groundhog (aka woodchuck) not seeing his shadow--letting us know when spring will arrive--but before it hibernates for the winter it will fill up on flowers, garden goodies and shrubs. Since they are bigger in size when compared to other critters, the tunnels they dig are larger and most often situated under a deck, shed, or mound of dirt close to a water source. Critters are creatures of habit, will return and invite their friends when they find an easy to access food source. Then there is the villain in this menagerie of wildlife—the opportunistic snake that is in hiding and waiting to make a critter a meal of its own.

Our community is nestled in a somewhat isolated nature preserve that is peaceful and interesting if we can keep the wildlife from damaging our property and buildings. Not inviting nuisance animals to make our home their home, by eliminating easily accessible food sources, is just one way to discourage them and minimize unnecessary damage to our lawns, gardens, and foundation spaces. The simplest way to send the message to a critter to “not make themselves at home,” is to not make it easy for them to find food sources they might enjoy. The same goes for any critter’s food source’s “food source.”  We do not want them to thrive by unwittingly providing nourishment that will ultimately draw in more.

Seeds, corn, and suet left outside are not only an easily accessed food source, but even with the best of feeders, seeds and kernels will spill onto the ground along with the crumbs from the seed shells after feeding.  Once this lands, as part of the circle of life, this feeds the birds and critters food source of grubs. worms and insects. Nuisance insects like ants, flies, gnats, and cockroaches will also flock to available food sources meant for our feathered friends, but with other intentions.  The seeds left undamaged and abandoned on the ground will take root and thrive on their own, sometimes crowding out grass as it adds weeds and plants that critters also love to dig up and snack on. 

Nature has its own sense of balance that I do not always understand.  What I do understand is that we do not have to helplessly stand by to let it perpetuate damage that we can avoid by making simple changes in how we interact with it.  It starts with getting to know what you can and cannot control as you weigh your options against the outcomes. So, with fond memories of my dad and a love for birdwatching in mind, I will look for other food sources for the birds I watch from my sunroom, and I will let you know what acceptable options I find. Another co-owner told me that birds like grape jelly—I will be googling that and wonder if their preference is Welch’s.  

In the meantime, if anyone in the community has knowledge of acceptable alternatives, please share them with us! You can email me to post, or feel free to comment below.