The sickly junco has disappeared, presumably dead after being attacked by its healthier kin. But it had plenty to eat up till its demise.

Being new to this whole feeding business, I had bought a big sack of grocery store birdseed, which is mostly the stuff my visitors turn their beaks up at. They pick out the good stuff, and favor the sunflower seeds, which are few. Until I popped for a 5-lb bag of nothing but. Now I’m saving up for the even pricier njer seeds, which attract finches.

The squirrel population showed no interest till they spotted the sunflower seeds. My feeding station is not the commercial variety, but simply a table with a board in the center, which is the buffet. This is located about two feet from where I work in front of a large window. Most of the birds ignore me, but if I decide to watch instead of work, sometimes they will turn their backs while chowing down. Except for the towhees, who startle if I make the slightest movement.

From time to time, I would hear a thump, then a squirrel would loom into sight. This always results in me getting up and chasing it away, usually all the way to the back where it runs up one of the trees. But as we all know, squirrel brains are highly attuned to human behavior. When I had to leave the premises, forgetting to cover up the table, I would return to find the shells of sunflower seeds everywhere. But it wasn’t just that they saw me leaving in the car. This also happened if I went to down the hall to tackle my ironing chores (more on that later).

But across the pond, there’s a solution, and an environmentally friendly one at that.