Thing Two has become an enthusiastic bird watcher lately, thanks to Bestemor’s collection of toy Audubon birds. We’ve always seen birds passing through our yard, but we thought it would be fun to put out some bird feeders and really observe them: just how many different kinds of birds would we see? The Gimlet was happy to take on this quick project and set up a 4×4 cedar post for two types of bird feeders: suet and a large tube for seeds. Most of the birds in our area will eat one or both types of food.

The feeders have been up for about a month, and the response has been great. Black-capped chickadees discovered the seed feeder within hours of its installation, and have been our boldest, most frequent customers. The rarer chestnut-backed chickadees seem to prefer the suet, and confine their visits to the afternoon. House sparrows are our second most-seen birds, but they are much more skittish, flying away if we approach the window. So far we’ve identified over a dozen different species of birds, much to Thing Two’s delight. When the feeder is busy, he can be found by the window, bird book in hand.

About a week ago a hummingbird buzzed the window, as if to ask when it would be his turn to be fed. The weather was nice enough today for a few outdoor projects, so the Gimlet installed a smaller post outside the kitchen window for a hummingbird feeder and a thistle seed feeder. We’re hoping the thistle seed will tempt goldfinches into making an appearance.

So far we haven’t had any problems with squirrels, crows, or other animals. A squirrel has been eating the seeds which have fallen on the ground, and we’re happy to let him clean up the area; we’ve also seen it once or twice on the post trying (and failing!) to grab seeds directly from the feeder. So far the baffle and squirrel-proof design of the feeders have been successful, but we think the crows and raccoons may have hitchhiked to the big box home improvement stores to buy wire cutters and a blow torch.
Exploring Further:

• Seattle Audubon Society (or search the National Audubon Society to find your local chapter)
  
• BirdNote radio programs on KPLU 88.5 FM
• Chickadee Nest Webcam, courtesy of the Seattle Audubon Nature Center. A volunteer at the Nature Center told us that there are 7 or 8 eggs in the nest!

Suggested Reading:

• Birds of the Puget Sound Region. This pocket-sized guide features a handy list of commonly seen birds at the front of the book, a checklist and space for notes. Highly recommended by Thing Two.
• Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.
• Welcoming Wildlife to the Garden: Creating Backyard and Balcony Habitats for Wildlife.
• For general North American information, see Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Backyard Wildlife published by the National Wildlife Federation. The magazine Birds and Blooms is also a useful resource, with a variety of region-specific and general articles.

Editor’s note: The Gimlet’s recent business trip happened to be (1) near Walt Disney World and (2) during Thing One’s spring break holiday from school — an irresistible combination. Thing Two is still too small to enjoy an amusement park (or be patient in the lines for the rides) so he stayed home. We had a grand time at home. In the snow. Really, we did.

For work, I had to go to Orlando for a conference. Since I would have quite a bit of free time, and the Gaylord Palms Hotel was convenient to Walt Disney World, it made sense to bring Thing One with me. With our four day passes to the parks, we were ready to have a good time. Unfortunately, it was spring break for most of the USA and we had thousands of other people there to enjoy it as well. The dollar devaluation seems to have resulted in many tourists from Great Britain.

Since I grew up the Los Angeles area, I was very familiar with Disneyland. Before our annual trip to Disneyland I would memorize the map and make a plan of attack as to which rides we would go to first. On March 29 we went to the Magic Kingdom in the morning. My childhood memory worked pretty well, but things are in slightly different places, and a few rides seemed to be missing. I learned through the rest of the days that the rides are all there, but spread out throughout the 4 parks. Thing One’s favorites at the Magic Kingdom were Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. I like those as well, but I am partial to Pirates of the Caribbean. The addition of Captain Jack to the ride is a lot of fun. The animatronics Captain Jack really looks like the actor.

Since I was in Orlando to attend the conference, I had a late afternoon meeting I had to go to. The meeting coincided with the alligator feeding at the hotel, and Thing One took the camera to take pictures. After my meeting we went to the Disney’s Hollywood Studio since it was open late. We enjoyed the Star Tours ride and the Muppet Vision3-D movie particularly. My only comment here is that generally speaking Hollywood is a “fake” place. I spent the summer between by Bachelor’s degree and law school working on a Hollywood set. It was really strange walking down a fake Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd in Florida. I was in a “fake” Hollywood. It was double fake.

The next day we started out at Epcot Center. We really enjoyed the test track. We had to stop by the Norway showcase and enjoyed the Maelstrom ride. (I am partial to all things Norwegian including your usual narrator.) I then had another meeting in the mid-afternoon. Following that meeting we went to the Animal Kingdom hitting the most popular rides and then finished off the night in the Magic Kingdom. (Wow, were we tired after three parks in one day.) On the ferry between the parking lot and the Magic Kingdom I spoke with the father of a family from England. It was interesting how many people traveled to Orlando from England. Their non-stop flight was only one hour more than the flight from Seattle. Since we had a layover in Dallas, we actually took longer to get to Orlando from Seattle than the flight from London to Orlando.

The next day was spent returning to all four parks and hitting rides we missed. We had lunch at the Toy Story pizza place. Thing One is a big root beer fan and wanted a root beer with his pizza. I said okay and ordered it. The lady in front of us in the line was from England and turned and asked what root beer was. I said it was a caramel flavored soft drink. She said she was relieved because anything with “beer” in the name in England is alcoholic and Thing One does not look old enough for alcohol. I laughed and we then had an interesting conversation about housing prices in the U.S. Because she had been watching the DIY network in her hotel room, she was amazed at the home you could get for the bargain price in Texas. I explained that Texas housing prices are very low compared to Seattle, Los Angeles and most Northeastern cities as well. We ended that evening at the Magic Kingdom again.

On April 1 we were flying out at 5:00 pm. We still had time to go the Animal Kingdom in the morning to hit the dinosaur ride and Everest rollercoaster again; and “It’s tough to be a Bug” theater for our only time. In early afternoon we went to the Hollywood park, hit the Aerosmith roller coaster for the 2nd time (rock & roll and loops in the dark), and saw the Muppet 3-D movie for the fourth time. (Thing One’s favorite attraction overall was the Muppet 3-D movie.) Then off to the airport. The terminal we were to go to was closed because a guy from Jamaica decided to pack materials for an explosive device in his bag. Fortunately the incident was resolved and the airport was re-opening when we arrived. Texas barbeque in the Dallas Airport was the last meal of the trip. Home at last. Tired and ready to stay home for a while.

Just when we left Team Gimlet teetering on the edge of Kilauea (check out what’s been happening since we were there - wow!), Thing One’s homework, cello practice, and musical practice schedule really picked up and has been taking most of our free time. But I’ve resolved to bring the blog up to date. Upgrades are available for the blog and photo gallery programs, so expect a little down time while those are installed. The Gimlet and Thing One went to Walt Disney World for spring break, so look for a post and some photos; meanwhile, Thing Two’s new interest in birds led us to install bird feeders in the yard, which has made bird watchers out of all of us.