We are ornithologists. Now don’t head for the dictionary, it means we get paid to watch birds. How sweet is that? We have done bird studies from the tropics of south Florida to the lake country of Minnesota, from the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas to areas in Montana where we could wave to our Canadian friends, and south to the sand dunes of southern California. We have chosen to make our home in Portal, Arizona. It is a very rural area, but the bird watching is great!
Storm Clouds Over Cave Creek Canyon and Portal - Image Copyright Ed Bustya
You know you have the right job when you gladly take it home with you. When we are at home we start our day in front of the sliding glass doors in the family room. In most family rooms the chairs face the middle of the room or the TV, however in our family room the recliners face the bird feeders just outside the sliding glass doors. Now we don’t have just a hopper bird feeder or just a tube bird feeder. Oh no, we have the full array. The stainless steel thistle feeder, the recycled oriole feeder, a suet feeder and one of the Best 1 hummingbird feeders are hung from an H shaped pole we had a friend weld for us. It is placed beside the 4 tier pond and about 5-6 feet from a thicket in our yard. Just in front of these feeders is our tube feeder which is above a recycled platform feeder. To the left of these feeders is the cedar platform feeder. This feeder does not have a feeder above it. Some of the birds are a little skiddish to have something above them when they are eating. Just out side of the doors is a porch with Best 1 hummingbird feeders hanging from it. The number varies with the time of year.
- Indigo Buntings Enjoying Lunch
Now this is just one of four bird feeding stations we have in our yard. Nancy’s second favorite spot is the view from the living room. It too has the hummingbird feeders, a suet feeder, thistle feeders and a tube feeder. Nancy likes to watch the soccer games on TV and still be able to see the birds coming in. Tom gets into the games too much to keep a close eye on the feeders, but Nancy points out any really neat birds and Tom’s hollering at the TV alerts Nancy to watch the replay.
Tom’s second favorite bird feeding spot is just outside the kitchen window. Tom does the dishes and has a window mounted hummingbird feeder that he converts to a seed bird feeder when the hummingbirds leave.
Some people we talk to at various bird festivals doubt that we have tried the feeders we sell, but with the number of bird feeders we have we really do look for bird feeders that are easy to fill and easy to clean. After all bird watching at our house is our favorite hobby and should be fun. Being ornithologists is our profession-some people call it work!