Merriest Wishes

Just a quick Merry Christmas to all the birders in Utah and everywhere. The birds bring us joy all year, and even now their cozy feathers and sweet songs decorate our yards and warm our hearts. Be sure to give something back -- an extra handful of seed, some tasty scraps, fresh warm water -- to celebrate the season with every creature.

Lighting Up

Despite the birds' initial protests, the outdoor lighting is complete and finally illuminated: nearly 5,000 multi-colored twinkle lights adorn every window, gutter, and eave of the house, along with each tree in the front, and more than two dozen smaller lit trees are placed around borders for the season. While a halogen streetlight in front of the house washes out some of the seasonal glow, our home is a beacon to holiday revelers just as it is a beacon to birds.

And yet, the birds must appreciate the lights as well, because as soon as the project was completed the guest populations in the backyard soared. In the past week, in addition to the regular house sparrow and house finch residents, dark-eyed juncos, American goldfiches, and pine siskins have resumed their regular visits to our tasty feeders, and Spook -- our sharp shinned hawk -- has flown by looking for some tasty feed of his own. A voluable flock of robins also paused for a respite in the yard.

While some days are more barren in the backyard than others, on the days when the feeder is popular it seems as though the small trees and the brush pile are decorated all on their own, with living, breathing ornaments with fluttering feathers and chirping carols. Tis the season.

There are only a few days left before Christmas: what birding gifts are on your wish list? Vote in the December poll!

High Flying Hazards

Over the past few days, my husband and I have begun stringing Christmas lights on our house -- this seemingly quaint holiday tradition is actually an enduring test of nerves involving a 28-foot aluminum extension ladder, more than 40 strands of multi-colored twinkle lights, countless binder clips and gutter hooks, frozen fingers, precarious balance, and more than one thought about the effectiveness of renting a cherry picker or scissor lift. This year, however, has brought a new hazard to the holiday season: anxiously agitated house finches and sparrows.

The west side of the house is perhaps the most difficult on which to string lights. The steeply angled roof reaches its utmost highest point there, right above a patch of particularly rocky and uneven ground that is less than forgiving to the intrusions of a fully-extended ladder. Furthermore, that western patch of scrub ground -- just a few feet between the house and the fence, guaranteeing the steepest ladder angle possible -- is also home to the birds' new favorite habitat, the brush pile.

Whether they were curious or furious is unclear, but it is a whole new challenge stringing delicate lights with dozens of small birds insistently flocking around your head, shoulders, and legs as they flit to and from their shelter. They whiz back and forth, chittering in a most uncivilized fashion, berating you for disturbing their very haphazard pile. Where's the holiday spirit, the appreciation, the good will toward man or bird? And I'd even refilled the feeders with tantalizing, rich black oil sunflower seeds.

Those birds have no holiday spirit. Yet most of my holiday list is filled with birding supplies -- feeders, treats, nesting material, and other objects I can't wait to share. Ah, well, at least they're keeping us company. Kind of like the relatives you see every holiday season whom you can't tell whether to hate or love, but you enjoy seeing them anyway. And I suppose that's the real holiday spirit -- tolerance.

Now, if they could only help put up the lights...

My holiday wish list has lots of birding items on it -- does yours? Share in the December poll!