While Charlie and Chester the chickadees got their sunflower seeds from the sunflowers in the garden, Nathan the nuthatch found an easier way to get his share.
This jar of seeds is meant for the squirrels, but when they aren’t looking, Nathan zips in and steals a seed. He doesn’t linger at all, making it more of a Dine and Dash situation. At any time Jasper or Lincoln might come and put the run on him. It was hard to get a clear picture, zoomed in from the deck of the house, and needing to snap it quickly as Nathan only stays at this jar for a split second.
“Do you know who’s been into my stash?”
Nathan Nuthatch loves his seeds,
Not so much the work.
Squirrel food will meet his needs,
Though his theft might irk.
Jasper tries to guard the stash,
Lincoln also helps,
Nathan is afraid they’ll bash
In his skull, and yelps.
“Look how much you have to eat,
Yet you will not share,
Food laid out for you so neat,
This I just can’t bear.
“If the seeds you will not share,
I will have to steal,
Flying quickly I will dare,
But won’t stay to peel.
“In a pinch I’d get my own,
From the tall sunflowers,
But until my cover’s blown,
This will save me hours.”
August 16, 2021 at 9:12 am
Picture–poem–perfect. What a lovely start to my day.
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August 16, 2021 at 12:06 pm
Aw, that’s great. Thanks, Jacqui.
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August 16, 2021 at 9:51 am
So fun, Anneli! Lincoln is such a cute little dude. ❤️☺️
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August 16, 2021 at 12:07 pm
He is. And now he has company – his children, Jasper and Crispin, but they scurry all around the neighbourhood.
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August 16, 2021 at 12:41 pm
He’s been busy in that wood pile! 😍😂👍🏻
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August 16, 2021 at 12:47 pm
Oh, you should see the pile of sunflower seed shells!
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August 16, 2021 at 10:26 am
So cute, Anneli!
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August 16, 2021 at 12:07 pm
TY, Jill.
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August 16, 2021 at 10:48 am
Of late, it is mainly the deer that steal the bird food here!
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August 16, 2021 at 12:07 pm
I know how that goes too, Pit. It’s a real “theft ring.”
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August 16, 2021 at 6:52 pm
Unashamedly they come up to the patio close to the house.
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August 16, 2021 at 11:02 am
Cute poem, and those photos are STUNNING. Wow.
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August 16, 2021 at 12:10 pm
Thanks, Luanne. I wish they were a bit clearer, but I was quite far away and my hands are not that steady when I’m in a rush to take them before the models disappear.
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August 18, 2021 at 3:00 pm
To me they are VERY clear!
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August 16, 2021 at 2:41 pm
Clever bird 😊. As squirrels raid feeders, fair is fair.
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August 16, 2021 at 3:17 pm
Yes, it really is. A bit of payback!
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August 16, 2021 at 8:55 pm
I love seeing pictures of and hearing about your cute little menagerie. Great photo of the nuthatch – yes, they are so quick!
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August 16, 2021 at 9:37 pm
Thank you so much for that, Lynette.
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August 17, 2021 at 1:14 pm
You are amazing! (As amazing as Nathan, who is fast, but not as fast as Anneli the photographer and poet. Another poem (and photos) to file for your book!
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August 17, 2021 at 3:20 pm
Haha. I’m saving the poems, but I couldn’t do a book with so many photos. I’d have to mortgage the house to pay for so many photos. But I appreciate that you like my poems and are encouraging me to continue to torture my followers with them.
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August 18, 2021 at 9:26 am
🙂
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August 17, 2021 at 11:43 pm
Love your photos and the poems!
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August 18, 2021 at 7:20 am
Thanks a lot, Ursula.
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August 18, 2021 at 8:02 am
Great poem, but Oh the competition! We feed the squirrels, chipmunks, and birds, and sometimes the battling is fierce even though there’s more than enough for all. Great photo, Anneli, considering how hard it was to take!
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August 18, 2021 at 8:04 am
So true. And now I’m out of store-bought sunflower seeds, but the squirrels are cleaning off the filberts from our trees, and the birds are eating the seeds on my standing sunflowers, so maybe I’ll just let them fend for themselves while food is plentiful. I will feed them when times get tough, of course.
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August 18, 2021 at 8:19 am
Fending for themselves is good practice. 😀
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August 18, 2021 at 8:34 am
I agree. I try not to make any wild animals dependent on me.
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August 18, 2021 at 6:46 pm
Who doesn’t love Nathan and Lincoln? Wonderful, Anneli.
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August 18, 2021 at 9:39 pm
Your comment reminds me of when I asked my class what they thought about the animals in Charlotte’s Web. Did they think the animals were talking to Fern, or was she just imagining what they were saying. They ALL agreed that the animals really said all the things in the book. They really could talk. (After all, hadn’t I just read it to them?) So I guess I’ve just gone along with that way of thinking about my own animals here in the yard.
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August 19, 2021 at 5:04 am
I think that makes perfect sense, and is a wonderful thing. 🙂
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August 19, 2021 at 5:57 pm
Love this..makes me smile 😃
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August 19, 2021 at 7:00 pm
Thank you, Anita. That makes me happy.
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August 22, 2021 at 1:43 am
I love the stripy faces of your nuthatches. Ours are very similar, but no stripe, and are super-streamlined; I’ve heard people call them Concord birds. They also like feeding on peanuts while hanging upside down!
Squirrels and birds aren’t very good at sharing, are they!
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August 22, 2021 at 10:35 am
No sharing between birds and squirrels. Even among the birds themselves, there’s fierce competition. I saw a chickadee and a nuthatch have a really serious mid-air sparring match above the jar of sunflower seeds.
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August 22, 2021 at 8:30 am
Anneli, this funny story is so cute and makes me smile! There is also a Nathan in our garden, but there are definitely several. They like to come, because we always have delicious sunflower seeds.
Thank you, Anneli, for your lovely post! ☺️💝
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August 22, 2021 at 10:38 am
I’m so glad you are helping to keep your “Nathans” happy!
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