Brave Little Sparrow

Jun 30 2015

I fed the sparrows for 30+ years and they were used to me. For the first couple of years after I built my smoke deck they stayed out then more often they started to roost there overnight. Last year I closed up most of the roosting spots but then this spring they had found some more places and were making a mess. I had already stopped feeding them and the gold finches. Finch feed was getting too expensive and it attracted the sparrows too. Hummers are the only birds I feed now.

I got all the roosting spots covered now and my smoke deck has been bird poop free now for a couple of months.

Now my dog is not spoiled but he likes to eat outside in the summer. He will even beg ne for food when it is on the back porch until I take it outside. Then he gobbles it down. The sparrows have been stealing some of his food so I guess you might say he feeds the birds now. They will fly in and steal some even when I am close by.

Today an especially brave one beat all I ever saw. I was filling the dog bowl and my dog was waiting right there. This little guy ran around behind me and jumped up for a drink of water and then into the food bowl. My dog just stood there looking, maybe he was in shock! Then it hopped up on the deck and my dog finally chased it. Later it came back and almost got in my hand.

When I started smoking the peanuts today I had my camera handy and shot this of the Brave Little Sparrow. I shot this from the chair I was setting in so that's how close I was.