About every day, I pause at one of our windows and watch the birds visiting my feeder. Coming up are some dates where I will be taking a pen and paper to make a list of all the different birds I observe. It is a chance to join in on the nationwide population research of our feathered friends. For four days in February, you can unite with fellow birders from your own home to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count at birdcount.org. Watch the birds for 15 minutes or more at least once during Feb. 16-19, then identify the birds you see or hear and share your observations.

Interested in comparing observations? Go to https://www.birdcount.org/explore-local-results/ and you can explore the counts of birders near you or find other resources for birders on the Great Backyard Bird Count’s website.

After just a few minutes of watching, I’m amazed at the diversity of the birds coming to my feeder. From the tiny chickadees to the huge Pileated Woodpecker, it seems there is no end to the variations.

When the feeder is empty and the suet cakes are gone, my local bird menagerie is right there, watching and waiting patiently from the branches of nearby trees and bushes. As time has passed, the birds have become more and more used to me, and far less fearful than when I first started feeding at our home in Moscow over 20 years ago.

Usually the first to greet me when the feeder has been refilled are the brave-hearted little chickadees. I marvel at the fact the tiny birds which are smaller than my thumb, can survive the ravages of winter. Even if they are well fed, it is amazing they are able to survive 15 degrees below zero and hard winds.

Next up, and coming for the suet blocks are usually the downy woodpeckers. These quick response rascals have even landed on the sunflower seed feeder within inches of my nose as I attempted to replenish the suet blocks.

Coming quickly as well, are the clowns of the bird world… the nuthatches. Chittering away and walking up and then down headfirst on the nearby tree trunks, they wait impatiently for me to back away just a few feet before swooping in to quickly snatch a sunflower seed.

I have a small table and chairs just a few feet away from the feeders where I can sit and watch the feathered menagerie come and go. Occasionally, if I’m quiet and still and don’t make any sudden movements, I’m rewarded when a Red-bellied Woodpecker or a Pileated Woodpecker comes to the suet blocks.

Nothing goes to waste as the bits and pieces of sunflower seed and pieces of suet are scavenged up by tiny sparrows.

The local squirrels get in on the banquet as they diligently search and munch all of the spilled sunflower seeds.

DNR Community & Urban Forestry grants

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Forestry has awarded $1.5 million in grants to nine communities to support tree planting and maintenance, workforce development, education, and tree inventory projects.

The projects were selected by the DNR’s Community and Urban Forestry (CUF) program and are funded through the USDA’s Forest Service Urban & Community Forestry program.

“Forests aren’t just isolated to big swaths of lands or rural areas,” said Jacob Roos, urban forestry director for DNR. “Indiana’s cities and towns are home to urban tree canopies that provide us all with clean air, better drainage, wildlife habitats, and an elevated quality of life. I look forward to witnessing the positive impact this grant creates for each of these communities.”

Communities and organizations receiving the USDA funds, which are set aside for underserved or disadvantaged areas, include:

• Canopy Bloomington, $239,399 for education and maintenance. 

• City of Jeffersonville, $63,500 for inventory and planting. 

• City of New Albany, $250,000 for tree planting and education. 

• City of Noblesville, $106,150 for tree planting. 

• Regreening Greenfield, $50,000 for tree planting. 

• Evansville Forest Alliance, $249,616 for inventory, planting, and education. 

• Indiana Arborist Association, $250,000 for workforce development. 

• Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, $239,457 for workforce development. 

• TREES, Inc., $75,000 for tree planting.

There are two projects based around workforce development. One is an arborist apprenticeship program which will train at least 15 individuals from underserved northwest Indiana communities for a career in urban forestry. The second will work with students to develop their urban forestry skills by maintaining and caring for more than 6,000 trees throughout Indianapolis.

To learn more about the DNR Division of Forestry’s CUF program, see on.IN.gov/forestry under Community & Public Help, call 317-234-6741, or email urbanforestry@dnr.IN.gov.

Contact the author by writing to this publication, or by e-mail to jackspaulding1971@outlook.com.

Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com in paperback or as a Kindle download.