Each morning the daily special of nuts quickly sells out. Late-arriving hungry squirrels stand on their hind legs looking into the sunroom.Their eyes tell the story. They look disappointed. The blue jays are bewildered by the vanished supply of nuts, and loudly complain. But eventually the “truckers and cabbies” saunter off, except for the red squirrels who hang around the café causing a little ruckus before scampering off and disappearing along the fenceline into the trees.
Next to arrive are 30 to 40 “office workers” who descend on the two silos full of birdseed near the pond. These impatient customers, a diverse group that includes a wide variety of related, look-alike sparrows, all dressed in their business suits, can hardly wait to eat. They don’t stay around for long after their morning break, but they fill the air with their noisy chatter,flitting from one table to another or eating from the communal plate of fallen seeds on the ground. Many indulge in a cold shower in the birdbath, flapping their wings and sending water flying in all directions. And just like office workers everywhere,they rush off. A few hours later they return for lunch followed by their afternoon “seed” break. Some even return for dinner. It is not unusual to have to refill the tall seed silos every second or third day after multiple visits of these gregarious diners. They are by far my best customers.
Only two kinds of customers like eating inside. Tiny mice and chipmunks are the only ones to choose the food storage shed for their dining area. The mice, minding their own business and harming no one, quietly take up residence and build cozy nests in the rafters.Bustling, agitated chipmunks make numerous visits, and often spend their whole day transporting seeds to their permanent home under the sunroom. Food storage seems to be their main mission in life. Chipmunks, although adorable, are not too bright, and so are easily ambushed by wandering cats. Squirrels would dearly like to have access to the food shed, and dine there as well, but cannot squeeze through the narrow openings.
Two other wingless creatures periodically make their way to the café, more by accident than by design. Skunks visit at night or just before dawn, looking for compost leftovers rather than seeds. They seldom stay long as their strong smell attracts unfriendly barks by neighbourhood dogs.The most surprising guest is the unsightly opossum who appears in the pre-dawn hours to quietly consume scattered seeds under the feeders.This solitary creature appears to be oblivious to the world as it munches on the fallen seed. If disturbed, it will climb the wooden fence and lie stretched out on top for several hours, as if in a stupor, before quietly departing. In fact it goes into a faint and emits a foul odour from its anal glands that resembles the scent of a dead animal. This strategy keeps predators at bay.
The highlight of the day is the arrival of the celebrity crowd in the late afternoon. Half a dozen brilliant red,northern cardinals, along with their pale-coloured mates, eat from the perches,or stand about on the ground.They are often joined by the handsome, gentle, mourning dove.Chickadees are impatient, fussy eaters. They race in, grab a bite, and leave.Soon the bright yellow American goldfinches arrive, vying for a perch on the silos. Once in a while a rose-breasted grosbeak, a bluer-than-the-sky indigo bunting, a red-winged blackbird, or a scarlet tanager enters the café to add lustre to the gathering. It is particularly strange that the tanager would drop by, as it is an abstainer when it comes to seeds and suet. It will eat only insects and fruit, but maybe it likes the company. Suet is the favourite of the white and red-breasted nuthatches that arrive in their classy blue-gray uniforms, white cheeks, black caps, and black eye stripes. They are real fashion plates!A rare guest is the eastern bluebird in its sky-blue coat and rusty-red belly.
The sleek, orange and black northern oriole is a regular customer and popular with other guests because it is so polite and modest.The lovely, gentle robin drops by, but it doesn’t eat with the rest of the crowd. It prefers its own food-juicy earthworms, snails, spiders, and fruit from around the vegetable garden.
