Woman Puts Camera On Bird Feeder To See Who Comes To Visit

[catbyte]

Spoiler alert: They were all adorable.

BY LILY FEINN

When Lisa, who goes by Ostdrossel, moved from Germany to Michigan in 2012, the variety of wildlife in her backyard surprised her. She had moved to the U.S. for love — but never anticipated falling in love with her wild neighbors, too.

Like any new relationship, she wanted to capture every moment. So she started snapping photos.

“There was so much color and diversity, different from what I was used to in city life,” Ostdrossel told The Dodo. “I wanted to share them with my family in Germany and so I started feeding birds and taking photos.”



Ostdrossel began with a DSLR camera and tried out a few other ways of capturing birds up-close. Soon she realized that if she was going to get the secret moments she wanted, she had to build her own “feeder cam.”

Each night, Ostdrossel reviewed her photos and videos, and was impressed by the unique behaviors and expressions of the animals around her home. She saw birds that she had never seen before, such as the “exotic” hummingbird.



Soon, she was watching entire bird families raise their young. Her feeder even became a central part of the fledglings growing up.

“I have set up a nesting box for the Bluebirds in my yard which also has a camera inside and I have watched them building their nests and raising their babies for several years now,” Ostdrossel said. “They are very special to me and the best is when their babies are old enough to be brought to the yard by their parents and get taught how to eat mealworms.”



One of Lisa’s favorite times to watch the now multiple cameras set up around her property is during migration. “You never know who might show up,” Ostdrossel said. “One time, there was a Summer Tanager, then a Palm Warbler, birds like that. They are only passing through and it is exciting to spot them.”



And it wasn’t just birds that frequented her feeder: “The chipmunk just started showing up recently, I love the Opossum, [and] the Groundhog is a longtime resident,” Ostdrossel noted. “There is also a family of skunks each year.”



Wanting to share her sweet snapshots with fellow bird lovers, Ostdrossel posted her photos on a local birder group and made a public album on Facebook. It didn’t take long before her photos went viral.

"Watching the birds and working my garden in a natural and critter and bird-friendly way is something that calms me and balances me in these chaotic times," Ostdrossel said. "The fact that my photos and videos seem to have the same effect on other people, too, is a wonderful plus."



Not only has the project helped her feel more in touch with her adoptive country, but it makes her more aware of the creatures who inhabit it.

“The whole hobby with the birds has helped me understanding our impact on nature more,” Ostdrossel said. “And it made me want to know what I can do to help preserve it.”

https://www.thedodo.com/in-the-wild/camera-on-bird-feeder-backyard-animals

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. She is a woman with a great heart!

How amazing to set up cameras so she can see who visits the bird feeders and the nesting box.

She certainly has been rewarded.........and so have we.

[Guilded Lilly]

2. Kick! I absolutely love this post :) Thank-you!

[Voltaire2]

3. Our first bird feeder was a cat feeder.

Later we moved and the cats became indoor cats, so then we had squirrel feeders. A few years later the bear population increased, and everyone took down their bear feeders, because like that is cute for about 10 minutes, and then it isn't.

[MontanaMama]

4. We're not supposed to have bird feeders in our neighborhood

because of the bears. I still cheat and put them up in the morning and take them down at night in case a bear wanders through.

[csziggy]

15. I have to do that because of deer and raccoons

The squirrels and opossums are a bit of a nuisance but are not as destructive as the raccoons or as voracious as the deer.

[moonscape]

5. LOL! I have them on my bedroom balcony and

they became squirrel and mouse feeders so I took, um, measures. Sweep the tile =constantly=, mouse traps, and cayenne 'specially for the squirrels.

All calm for the moment with only birds. Temporary bliss I know.

[trof]

9. Mine became a squirrel and possum buffet.

[grantcart]

6. Fantastic

[dewsgirl]

7. K and R what a wonderful post.

[Tree-Hugger]

8. I love it!

I love birdwatching. Thanks for sharing this - I just followed her Instagram. Great pics!

[CaptYossarian]

10. These are great pictures.

I miss the birds that used to visit. I wasn't really surprised to read that we're losing 2/3 of all bird species by the year 2100. I thought I was doing something wrong, but it's the foolish climate deniers and their campaign donors.

[MatthewHatesTrump2]

11. Very Interesting!

Thanks.

[warmfeet]

12. A protector of life.

What more can one be?

Wonderful.

[demigoddess]

13. I loved seeing the interaction of birds in our yard. It was fascinating to see

that baby crows have their parents and older siblings to help them. Crows are terribly intelligent. And I saw Flickers that would allow other birds to have nuts before them, and then get some. And I watched two pairs of robins once take a bath in our bird bath. The females went first and were guarded by the males and then the males took their turn. And the way they spread their wings and dried them in the sun!

[Collimator]

14. I refer you all to another thread.

The discussion on what to do with nude photos after a relationship ends sort of tangents towards the question of why people feel the need to capture everything with a photograph instead of actually being in the moment.

The sort of photos that this woman has posted for everyone's benefit are an example of when a camera can open us up to new experiences beyond our ordinary reach instead of letting a camera close us off from the real experience of life lived for its own joy.