A Contest For Wild Birds

When my husband ( then boyfriend) came to live with me about 17 years ago he knew nothing about wild birds or birding.  His idea of wild birds was seagulls, crows, pigeons and blue jays.  He is right, they are wild birds but there are alot more birds than that I exclaimed.  He lived by the water so I thought he would know some water loving wild birds but I guess the area was too over populated and noisy for the birds that he never saw or noticed them.  My house is by the water but located in what was once considered farm country.  As I was interested in wild birds this was a great place to live.  The farm fields would be exploding in spring with all kinds of songs and birds.  Meadowlarks would be flitting by and singing while bobwhites marched through the grass calling bob bob white.  Plovers and killdeer would be in the freshly plowed fields. It was great!  Progress started to set in and many of the wild birds of yesteryear started to disappear and haven't been seen in several years.  So I decided to attract wild birds to my backyard by planting fruit trees and flowers.  When my boyfriend moved in the poor guy took over the hole digging and grass mowing.  He knew nothing about gardening except he was allergic to grass and some other environmental stuff ( hay fever ).  He learned and he learned alot though there was a great bit of protesting.  To make things a little more fun we decided to have a contest.  First with the flowers and gardening.  A list of plants and their purpose had to be proposed by both of us though separately.  Once done it went to an arbitrator who knew nothing about plants.  You had to argue the points and then she would chose the plants to be planted.  Whoever had the most plants on her list would win and take the other one out to dinner of the winners choice.  That contest worked  so well we decided to do it for wild birds but with a smaller prize.  We still do this contest to this day though the rules have been modified throughout the years.  This years rule is finding 10 new wild birds.  By new it is meant new arrivals to the area for the season or migrating thru.  Eight of these wild birds have to be confirmed the other two can be sightings on the honor system.  Now I have to admit I have had the advantage for many years because I knew my avian friends.  So I thought.  Wild birds such as robins, nuthatches, downy woodpeckers and mourning doves are not counted because they're here all year long.  So we're waiting for the "new arrivals" to come.  The weather must not be just right because our feathered friends seem to be late in arriving.  Wild birds and wildlife have a better understanding about timing than we do but they missed their arrival date.  Usually I start seeing them come May 1st  but that date has come and gone by several days.  Oh wait ... is that a Baltimore Oriole I hear?  Where are you?  Ah Ha!   He's on the nectar feeder so I'm one step closer to winning the contest because at this point my husband and I are tied at six apiece with different birds.   I figured he's fixing the pond so he's not looking for the birds.  Silly me.  He comes rushing in an hour later crowing he won! What?  How?  I thought you were fixing the pond.  He claims he was when a male and female Baltimore Oriole landed in the white oak above him.  I contest , that's my male Baltimore Oriole.  I saw him at the nectar feeder first.  Show me the female.  As if on cue she flies right past us into the cherry tree.  All right you get that round but not the male.  What other ones did you see?  Before he could say anything I spotted a purple finch which is new to our area and had been confirmed by other "birders" they were spotted. There I thought, I showed you.  He just shakes his head, he is so good natured I'm thinking; then he springs on me you still lose.  There are two of your favorite wild birds over on the side feeder that have been visiting all morning.  I look and there he's pointing to a pair of indigo buntings.  Not only that sweetheart you missed your other favorite one, " the dinosaur bird".  He is referring to the rose breasted grosbeak.  How he and my daughter arrived at that name I can not tell you.  It's making a nest in the rhododendron literally right under my nose.  I contest! I contest!  Not fair! I'm such a sore loser sometimes.  I truly don't mind losing to him in a contest of darts or horseshoes but this is my contest. I'm the one who taught you about wild birds and birding I'm thinking.  However, I do gracefully concede, for he won fair and square.  I'll just get him back when we have  our summer contest while barb-a-queuing and looking for the insect eating wild birds.  For tonight I reckon I'll be making butter pecan ice cream for his prize.  For wild bird field guides or for any wild bird products to help attract wild birds to your yard please visit my website www.WildBirdSeedMart.com.