Birdfeeder Guests

I was at Ace about a month ago with my big boy (5 years old), and he declared that I need a bird feeder.  Can't argue with that.  We got a long plastic tube design (cheap) and I giant back of seed that claimed to attract all types of desirable birds.  

 

My son wanted to hang it on a tree, but I wanted to be able to see it from the house, so we duct taped it on top of a fence post (so classy).  Sadly, we waited over a week for a bird to find it but nothing came.  I had a theory that it was just too exposed for them to feel comfortable, so I bought a hanging plant stand and hung it from that in the middle of my butterfly garden.  SUCCESS!!

 

Here is my buddy, who I have named Cardinal Ratzinger.  He visits me daily and calls out so I can come on the lanai and say "hello".  All of these photos are taken through the lanai screen, so some are fuzzier than others.

 I've also had red-winged blackbirds (no good photos of them) and I am quite sure I saw an oriole, but no photo evidence of that either.  There's also this gray guy.  Some type of finch?  Too small to be a sparrow, I think.

 I find it funny that I started my garden primarily to have cut flowers, since I LOVE having them inside.  I've gotten quite into the gardening process, though, and I definitely grow varieties now that I couln't cut.  I still do enjoy bringing them inside, though.  I like unorthodox mixes of whatever is blooming.