Feed the Birds

 I like watching life. I'd like to say I love all life, but then I remembered cockroaches, so yes, I am a bit particular on which lives are watch-worthy.

Birds are watch-worthy. I've had friends with pet birds before, but they seem mostly smelly and
confined [the birds, not the friends], so for Christmas I asked for--and received--a window bird feeder. We always hear birds chattering outside our window in the evenings, but it took them 3 months to notice the feeder was there.

And none of them are perfectly well-behaved. The cardinals chase off the smaller brown birds (I think they're a type of finch, or sparrow, or catbird?? I'm not a bird-watcher, despite watching birds) even though there is adequate room for both to feed. Meanwhile, the brown birds tend to sit on my potted plants (which by itself is fine) and pick off sprigs from my thyme plant (which is NOT fine. They don't even eat them, or take them for nest-making; they pluck them off and promptly drop them on the ground. whyyy???).

And I can't tell who is at fault for this, but I've noticed that various bits and strips of trash are left in the feeder. How I imagine this happens is something like:

                    

[female bird, to husband]: And don't forget to pick up materials to weave a nest on your way home.

--------

[husband bird, on a home-bound flight with some paper straw wrappers]: *sees feeder* Oooo, free food!

--later, at home with the female bird, not mentioning that he hung out at the new food bar in town with his buddies----

[bird wife]: Honey dear, where are the building materials?

[husband bird]: *panicked* I had it!! I must have put it down somewhere!?!

Notice the sprig of thyme just to the left of the wrapper