{"id":9961,"date":"2015-02-16T15:39:15","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T20:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/?p=9961"},"modified":"2015-02-16T15:39:15","modified_gmt":"2015-02-16T20:39:15","slug":"starlings-and-house-wrens-and-feeding-the-hungry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2015\/02\/starlings-and-house-wrens-and-feeding-the-hungry.html","title":{"rendered":"starlings and house wrens and feeding the hungry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We have several bird feeding stations on our deck: suet feeders, a seed cylinder, sunflower seed, and small seed (mostly millet) for our sparrows. In the summer, we trade out one of the 2 suet feeders for a hummingbird feeder, and add yet another. There are also 2 different-sized watering saucers — one deeper for the robins & mockers — and another shallow. Plus a tiny saucer filled w\/ pebbles for the bees, butterflies, & moths.<\/p>\n

We like feeding birds. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Our reward is a symphony of bird songs: the rat-a-tat-tat of downy & hairy &\u00a0red-bellied woodpeckers; the cacophony\u00a0of sparrows, the chirp of cardinals, the shriek of hawks who\u00a0prey on the smaller birds (& squirrels), as well as finches, blue jays, robins, and many many more. One of our favourites is the house wren, and we’re lucky to have at least 3 (maybe more).<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, we also have starlings. LOTS of starlings. Sigh. BIG sigh. The robber barons of birds. I try to think of their beautiful wheelings & soarings, the murmurations that are endlessly fluid & lovely in the wide Oklahoma sky. But mostly? I just see them monopolising the feeders, chasing off even our\u00a0stalwart mockingbirds.<\/p>\n

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I hate it.<\/p>\n

Every time\u00a0I see the starlings, I remember how much the seed cylinders cost, and how a chattering of starlings can clean out the whole feeding system in a matter of hours. Sheesh. So\u00a0I make harsh noises, bang on the window, and go outside and yell at them. Today I may even throw a snowball! Darn starlings. And still they return. Until finally I give up, and try to remember that even a greedy starling needs to eat in this cold cold winter. They have families, too.<\/p>\n

It’s the way, I’d like to think, that aggressive conservatives feel about feeding the poor: they don’t want the human equivalents of starlings to ‘eat’ what’s earmarked for the house wrens & mockingbirds of humanity. Except… I don’t really believe this, I’m afraid. Yes, there are those who take advantage (like the rapacious starlings). But while the anti-welfare and anti-WIC<\/a>\u00a0forces want to abolish feeding stations for ALL the poor and\/or hungry, I’m still feeding the blasted starlings.\u00a0I continue to put out food,\u00a0even though I know it won’t last as long.<\/p>\n

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Yes, the\u00a0starlings will gather and gorge. But\u00a0otherwise? How will our\u00a0house wrens, our\u00a0tiny chickadees and finches, the overwintering yellow-rumped warbler, and the flicker\u00a0make it through this heavy snow? What would happen to the mockingbird, the early robin who has taught himself to feed at the swinging seed cylinder? Or the utterly adorable downy & hairy woodpeckers who cling to the wire suet feeders?<\/p>\n

I will suffer starlings. If not gladly, at least w\/grace (well, most of the time). And I wish I could convince those who are in charge of human feeding stations of the wisdom of the same. Overall? The starlings are a fairly minor nuisance. I wouldn’t trade a single house wren for the lot of them. Nor would I want to see a single child go hungry, because someone might take advantage of the system…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have several bird feeding stations on our deck: suet feeders, a seed cylinder, sunflower seed, and small seed (mostly millet) for our sparrows. In the summer, we trade out one of the 2 suet feeders for a hummingbird feeder, and add yet another. There are also 2 different-sized watering saucers — one deeper for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[311,897],"tags":[1261,950,1215],"class_list":["post-9961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birds","category-feed-the-hungry","tag-birds","tag-feed","tag-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nstarlings and house wrens and feeding the hungry - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We have several bird feeding stations on our deck: suet feeders, a seed cylinder, sunflower seed, and small seed (mostly millet) for our sparrows. 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