By Marla Lindstrom Benroth
Three weeks ago as I entered the gate to our side yard and headed for the backyard, a faint sound pricked my ears.
What was that?
It sounded like a thousand tiny pins dropping hard on concrete. I leaned toward the siding of the house.
Yes…it is nearby…but where?
It appeared to be coming from our big black barbecue grill. When I opened the lid, five tiny beaks, wide open, craned upward! Naked little birds (with tufts of fluff) not more than a couple of days old, innocent of any possible danger, thought I was Mama or Papa bringing food.
Even though this was our barbecue grill that we were planning to use for cookouts this year, I marveled at the ingenuity of the parents in picking a pretty darn good spot. With two bird hole-sized openings on either side, it was easy for them to pop in and out with food for the hungry li’l ones. And they had covered two-thirds of the inside on top of the grill bars with straw, thickly matting it. These babies had a very large area to grow into and stretch out on. Plus, the thick black grill cover would stand against any marauding neighborhood cat or fox.
Yes, very clever, Mr. and Mrs. Byrd. Determining we could do without that grill for three or so weeks, I welcomed our new neighbors who now lived just under my second story home office window. My husband, Chet, a hunter, simply tolerated them.
Bird-Watching the Byrd Family
I know very little about birding. I’ve always been too busy to pay much attention to the birds in our neighborhood, let alone feed them like many people do. But this year seemed different for me. I wanted to know all about them. I put a feeder out on our back patio and watched the chickadees fly in one at a time, in pecking order. 
For several days, curious about what kind of birds these barbecue grill inhabitants were, I observed medium-sized sleek black birds perched in branches nearby and wondered – Could they be the Mr. and Mrs? I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t want to scare the family, and certainly didn’t want to scare the parents away for good, so I carefully lifted the lid only about three other times. Early on, I moved the grill back a few feet into the shade of the house. The Colorado days were starting to get warmer and I hated to think that they could end up as truly barbecued chicks!
The second time I opened the lid, I could see that the birds were growing like crazy; fluff covered their bodies. Evidently, feeling a bit crowded, they had separated into two nests, one right behind the other in their barbecue home. They seemed more leery of me this time. The fifth baby was by himself and had died. Sad, I took him away.
This morning as I passed the grill (with the babies celebrating their three-week birthday), I noted all the droppings on the right shelf protruding from the Byrds’ home. And a little head bobbed near the opening. Saying a silent prayer, hoping not to disturb them too much, I carefully opened the lid. One teenager, fully clothed in brown feathers, flew low out on one side of the grill with a whirr-ing sound of a faint wind. I gaspedWould he be okay? Or end up on the ground? Evidently he had been slipping out and practicing quite a bit on the sly and he landed on our neighbor’s rooftop.
Another bird flew out in the other direction. And another! And then the last one left his iron home. All seemed very capable of evading neighborhood dogs and prowling kitties.
They’ll probably come back, I thought. But I wasn’t sure. When DO birds finally leave the nest for good?
Talking to a Bird Expert
Many questions about these little birds and the other prolific array of birds filling our maturely treed neighborhood – plus a deadline of today for my column! – drove me to seek out someone in the area who appeared to be an expert about birds to find out more information. I found a willing mouthpiece in David Menough, owner of the Wild Birds Unlimited store on 88th Avenue in Arvada (16 years) and a newer one on 120th Street in Thornton. Many of you may have heard him on KEZW 1430-AM or other radio shows throughout the years.
I described to him my Byrd family and their clever nest.
“That sounds like a starling,” he said authoritatively. “Their black feathers have a bluish-greenish tint.”
I was a little disappointed. “Aren’t starlings considered pests?”
He chuckled. “I am not a Bird Bigot. I like all birds.” He told me he makes accommodations for all sizes and types with bird feeders and homes in his own yard.
“Actually, there’s an interesting story of how European Starlings came to the United States,” he added. Apparently, all the European Starlings in North America descended from 200 birds released in New York’s Central Park in the early 1890s. They were released by a group dedicated to introducing America to all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. (Upon further investigation, I found out that, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, now European Starlings range from Alaska to Florida and northern Mexico, and their population is estimated at more than 200 million birds. Also, the European Starling is a fierce competitor for nest cavities, and frequently expels native bird species. Oh great! I thought when I read that. The Benroths are helping to propagate this “invasive bird” species! To my relief, however, according to the Cornell Lab, “A study in 2003 found few actual effects on populations of 27 native species.”)
Nevertheless, the Byrds were our neighbors and they’d always been nice to us. I asked David if I was hurting them in some way by observing them.
“Contrary to popular belief,” said the Wild Birds Unlimited owner, “it is not true that birds will abandon their nests if they smell humans. We have birdhouses in our store that allow you to lift up the back and watch the baby birds as they grow. It is even okay to pick up a baby bird and put it back in the nest; the parents won’t reject him because of any ‘human smell.’”
David added, “One of the most frequent calls we get is when someone asks about a baby bird on the ground. What should they do? It is actually better to just leave the bird alone. You can be sure a parent is watching nearby and will protect it. Also, it is hard to keep up with the feeding schedule of bird parents – once every hour during the day!”
As we continued to talk, I learned that our Byrds will be gone very soon.
How To Attract and Keep Birds Loving Your Yard
So, what are some ways to attract birds to your backyard? The average backyard may be visited regularly by as many as 15 to 20 different bird species. But if you “lay your birdseed right,” you could attract 60 species or more! David Menough says it is easy when you understand how to set up a habitat that is bird-friendly. The following tips come from him and the Wild Birds Unlimited Hobby Guide magazine.
- Offer the Right Bird Food. Many people don’t realize that the big bargain bag buried in the back of the pet food section is probably full of cereal grains and fillers birds won’t eat. These include milo, wheat, oats, barley, flax or rapeseed/canola. The very best kind of food for birds in our area in Colorado are the little black oil sunflower seeds, and the second best is white millet.
- Offer a Water Source. Birds need water just as much as they need food. Their high metabolic rate and respiratory system drains moisture from their bodies quickly, dehydrating them. They also use water to bathe in and for preening their feathers so they can fly well. Bird baths can be anything from simple terra cotta pots to elaborate and beautiful ones.
- Provide Protective Cover. Birds need it for rest, social interactionand as a retreat from storms and predators. The ideal wildlife habitat will include a variety of plants, trees and shrubs.
- A Place to Raise Young. Trees and shrubs can provide nesting areas for birds. But to attract more birds into your backyard, you may consider offering birdhouses for them. The qualities of a good birdhouse include:
- Not painted, or if you do, use only latex (non toxic), and light colors are better than dark ones
- No perches – they are not necessary and actually provide access to bird predators to snatch baby birds.
- Good ventilation – panels of wood or recycled plastic help provide insulation from the heat. Holes near the top of the house allow for the heat to escape.
- Good drainage.
- Sturdy – so the birds return to their same home year after year!
A Surprising Fact about Birds in Colorado
“A lot of people don’t realize this,” David told me, “but Colorado is the seventh best state in the United States for attracting birds.”
“Why?” I queried.
“Because of the Eastern Rockies North/South Flyway, or migration path. We can identify more than 480 of 900 North American species as they fly through the area.”
David Menough’s sheer joy in birding is evident. “We don’t have to know all the details about birds to enjoy them. But the more we learn how to attract a wider variety of species into our backyards, the more we’ll learn to appreciate the rich bounty of wildlife Colorado has to offer.”
When the babies leave our barbecue grill, I have a feeling I will always wonder when I see one of those so-called pesky starlings in one of our trees, my heart warm with memories: “Is that our Byrd?”
Copyright 2008 by Marla Lindstrom Benroth. All rights reserved.
