A Miracle!

...to me, at least. The neat thing about this pic is what you don't see. Blackbirds, starlings, grackles, and cowbirds. Last weekend I told my husband I was thinking about stopping feeding birds. "All I'm doing anymore is feeding blackbirds." It had gotten to the point they were emptying the feeder at an astonishing rate and scaring away all the little birds. And all I was doing was making noise and chasing them away like a madwoman.
As a last resort, I got on the computer and googled "getting rid of blackbirds at feeders". I got three results: one- learn to appreciate blackbirds, grackles, etc. okay... no! two- buy or rig a feeder with a fencing cage around it (sold to protect against squirrels)...larger birds can't fit through. Okay...pretty good idea, a definite possibility. three- try safflower seeds. Most small and songbirds love it. Blackbirds, starlings, etc. don't have a taste for it. Hmm...interesting. So I bought some, put it out Sunday night. Monday morning, no black birds. Tuesday, no black birds. It's Friday and I've seen maybe three or four at the feeder all week. They check things out and take off...not interested. It's absolutely amazing to me. The cost per bag is a little more, but I'm not going through bird seed at the speed of light anymore so it will even out in the long run.
How cool is that?!