The Urban Pantheist

The view out the office window has changed dramatically. The addition of birdseed makes for a more interesting cast of characters.


Blue, here, seems to be taking his time making a selection.


Unable to scale the slippery pole, the peanut gallery settles for whatever the messy birds spilled from the tray.

An over-damp birdfeeder becomes a collection of cylindrical greenhouses for millet grass (Pennisetum sp. I surmise?)



A mite runs along the surface of a trash can liner.

(I observed this behavior myself, last week)

Bees and Bird Feeders

During the winter and early spring before the flowers are blooming, if temperatures reach 60 or above for a day or two, an interesting behavior takes place among populations of honeybees. Dozens, and occasionally hundreds of bees descend on backyard bird feeders filled with birdseed mixtures that contain millet, which, like pollen, is yellow. If people are able to view the bees up close, they report that the bees are continually moving the millet around with their front legs.

Bee experts believe that the warm temperatures trick the bees into leaving their hives to look for pollen. The bees search for pollen, which is also yellow, but, of course, none is available during the winter. They are attracted to the yellow millet and, believing that it’s pollen, use their front legs to try to maneuver the “pollen” into the pollen baskets on their hind legs.

There is no reason for concern, the bees will return to their hive when the temperature returns to normal and the birds will return to the feeder.

(composed by Linda Cocca, Massachusetts Audubon Wildlife Help Line.)