What's a guy supposed to do when an unexpected snowfall makes it almost impossible to fill the conventional bird feeders that hang by the fence?
My answer to this dilemma was to build a mountain with the newly fallen snow. Our #featheredfriends needed to eat and the snow mountain, filled with pockets of food, would make their lives a little easier.
I dressed up the mountain with hemlock branches and some blueberry branches that were nearby. As I erected the new feeder, Blacked Capped chickadees were all over the place, wondering what was going on. Moments after filling the pockets with birdseed, nonstop activity ensued.
One chickadee after the another would fly in, grab a Black Oil Sunflower seed, and fly off.
They would perch on the branches that were stuck in the snow. My presence didn't seem to bother them at all as I sat just feet away with my camera snapping off one picture after the next.
After a while, other birds started to notice all of the activity but were not as bold as the chickadees. I wondered if their hunger would override their cautious behavior.
After sitting there for a while, I watched the cardinal that was observing from the pine tree come flying in, landing on the handrail. He still didn't seem too sure about my presence and hesitated to come any closer.
The Black Capped Chickadees stayed the course.
After an hour or so, other #featheredfriends summoned up enough courage and joined in on the feeding frenzy that was taking place right before their eyes.
A few Red Squirrels joined in on the fun.
Blue Jays, usually very skittish birds, had also overcome their fear as they gobbled up seed, not five feet from where I was enjoying their presence.
I never did see the male cardinal make it to Snow Mountain. His partner must have blown him off and decided to go it alone.
Morning Doves also stopped in. They must have been afraid of heights, which is a strange thing for a bird. They stayed at the base on Snow Mountain, reluctant to climb to the top.
Shoveling snow has never been so much fun. Snow Mountain lasted for several weeks until I decided to clean the deck from the remainder of the snow. The family was coming for a visit and what was left of the mountain had to go!
