BirdCam Contest Winners!

BirdCam Winner #1

Wow!  Thanks, Michelle!

I have so many more odd little stories from this place.  I always
thought someday I might write a book, although it's likely only other crazy
birders might read it.  I'm so glad you liked my essay, and I was gratified that
some other people seemed to like it too.  Karla S.

Karla's Winning Essay

#4 Time to Leave Home
I have lived in the same house now for about 15 years, and my husband and I are getting ready to move away next year.  We’ll be accomplishing a long-anticipated dream of moving to Maine, but there are quite a few things I’ll miss about this place, and most of them have four legs or wear feathers.  As we’ve told our prospective house buyers, nearly everything here has a name, and many of them have a story to go with it.  When we first moved here, we didn’t see any birds or wildlife at all.  I started gardening our second year here, and I began to notice a few birds, a lizard, and the occasional preying mantis.  I decided to work my garden as naturally as possible hoping not to kill the few bits of wildlife I’d manage to find. After a couple years had passed, they began to come around.  I saw woodpeckers of all shapes and sizes, flocks of goldfinches bathing in the waterfall and small pond I’d created, and my favorite -  the titmice who insisted on building their nest in the ell of a downspout, even though the wind rushed through there and blew all the babies out.  All of a sudden, there were more lizards, a whole battalion of chameleons around the porch.  The best day ever was when the hummingbird feeder finally attracted a crowd.  It used to hang right outside my window, and every day I was treated to the aerial acrobatics of four male hummingbirds each trying to defend the feeder against the interlopers.  What a show.

Time passed, and in the way things seem to happen here, the crowd grew.  We had two does that would circle the property daily, and they’d have their fawns here each spring.  A big flock of crows moved in down the hill.  I know some people don’t like them, but there were a pair which would walk up the driveway together each day.  They’d come up to the house, turn around and go back, just like two friends on a daily walk.  And me, in the middle of it all…well, I’d go about my business, but I always made it a point to say hello to any I saw, and to leave treats for them, especially at Christmas.  After a while they began to know me, and to expect me at certain times.  I think they began to understand that I was in charge of the bird feeders as well.

Toward the end of our stay here, the relationship has grown.  Our big tomcat got curious about the deer, and made friends with one of the fawns.  It was amazing to see the mother waiting down the driveway, the fawn standing up closer staring at the house, and my old boy tearing down there to join them.  I watched them stroll slowly through the woods.  He’s gone now, but the descendents of the fawn continue to circle the property daily.  The lizards are really everywhere now, including tiny new ones wobbly with their oversized heads.  I’ve named them all Louie, except for a very large one who has visited my porch year after year.  He’s Mr. Louis.  The birds clearly understand who I am, and that my purpose in life is to take care of the bird feeders.  When the seed runs out,  I can almost hear them out there talking.  “Go tell the lady it’s empty.”  “YOU go tell the lady it’s empty!”  In the end, it’s always a chickadee who comes to my office window to catch my attention.  Are they the most industrious, or is it that they’re lowest in the pecking order?   The hummingbirds are the best at giving me orders.  I’d gotten used to having one hover at the window, looking for me when their feeder was dry, but I didn’t know they considered me responsible to fix every possible problem they might have.  I was summoned outside for a refill once, only to find that this was not the problem.  One of the lizards had climbed up onto the feeder and was happily drinking the nectar.  The hummingbirds decided this was something I could help them with, I guess.

 I didn’t mean to ramble on for so long, but you store up a lot of memories over 15 years in a place like this.  As I’ve been sorting through all our things and doing some packing, I’ve found many photos of happy times in this place, and decided I’d eventually try to scrapbook the great years we’ve spent here.  The only problem is that, while I have many photos of family and friends, pets, and happy holidays, I have very few of our wild friends.  Those moments just seemed to happen so spontaneously and quickly, it wasn’t possible.  It would be very nice to have the BirdCam at our new place, so I could document our new wildlife adventures, but the most important thing I’d do is to capture some last photos of the gang here before we have to leave in the spring.  There will be a big hole in the memory book without them.

Thanks for reading,
Karla

BirdCam Winner #2

Dear Michelle,

I just do not know how to thank you enough. I read all the stories and they brought me to tears. I especially understood the story about Hurricane Katrina. It almost devastated Biloxi and one of things I missed so much was the beautiful songs of our birds.  I read the comments about my husband and wish I could thank each one individually. There are some really rough days and when you read these types of comments they can make them so much easier. Thank you so very much for this. My daughter and husband will remember this forever and the smiles they will both have when using it will always remind me of your kindness. Thank you so very, very much.  Laura E.

Laura's Winning Essay

#6  Daddy's Little Girl
My daughter is 7 years old and loves birds of all kinds. My husband is the one who has taught her about the different species and every morning before he went to work they would both look outside and together watch what birds had "come to visit". It reminded me of my dad when he and I would do the same thing while I was growing up in Maine, including going out on ice cold mornings  to make sure the birds had enough to eat.

My husband is stationed in Afghanistan right now and of all the times my daughter misses her dad, which is all the time, the hardest is the mornings. She goes to the window and looks out and always tells me which birds have "come to visit". I try and take her dads place but I know I cannot. Yesterday it was so rainy and stormy and when my daughter went to the window I am not sure if it was the rain or her tears which were reflected in the glass. I would like to win this for her so she could share it with her dad and make the distance of the separation a little less far.  

L. E.
Biloxi MS

• Posted at Tuesday, October 30, 2007 07:59 AM
• In Wild Bird Feeding Category | Permalink