the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs

star date: january 6, 2013

I have four bird feeders with three food options in a little corner of my yard. It is wise to keep the feeders together because the grass will be ruined and one must not care.

By happenstance I glanced out the front door window and saw the most beautiful scene. There were at least fifty birds flitting around the feeders, on the ground, on the trees around. The goldfinches (which are dull this time of year) completely dominated the thistle seed feeder. House and purple finches were everywhere, and some sparrows who don't mind eating off the ground. There was a titmouse with it shiny slick backed hood like a used car salesman and cardinals, male and female, who keep their color in the winter which makes them so photogenic in the snow. A line of mourning doves sat six inches apart on the wire above the feeders looking down with disdain. (An aside...did you know that doves are like squirrels and can load up their cheeks with food? I have seen a dove fill its cheeks so full that when it flies back up to the wire or branch its head is below its body, being so heavy. Greedy greedy!)

Some of my best little friends were missing - the chickadees usually make it to any good feast. They will come later I suppose. When the birds stay all winter I am pretty much guaranteed a lot of nesting activity around the house in the early spring.

But the gift of the morning was a red bellied woodpecker going after the frozen suet. This is one of the prettiest woodpeckers, with a florescent red ball of fuzz on its head and top of its back. The belly is slightly red and the back is covered in flecks. The bird is about 10 inches long and has a real regal look.

The little birds often fly off when a big bird comes to feed but the woodpecker didn't bother them, in fact, they were almost landing on top of him (it was a brilliantly colored male) so many was the crowd. A blue jay for instance, will dominate and scare off all the small birds but they were not afraid of the woodpecker... must be a kinder personality!

This was my view of holiness today. A glorious moment of nature, of generosity, of cooperation, joyful feasting and beauty.