“We want to be good neighbors and want people to increasingly use our parks.”
John Virgint
Miami County Park District volunteer bird feeder coordinator
CONCORD TWP., Miami County – Not long after Curt and Bev Bechner combined efforts to fill a feeder at the Twin Arches Park, they were rewarded with visits by chickadees and nuthatches, among other birds.
The bird watching is the payoff for the Bechners, who have faithfully tended to the feeder and suet basket this winter as part of a new volunteer bird feeder program at Miami County parks.
More than a dozen people, many who are neighbors to the parks, are volunteering for the program, said John Virgint, Miami County Park District volunteer bird feeder coordinator.
They’ve been armed this winter with birdseed donated by Arett Sales in Troy, he said.
Virgint said the feeder program is a way to increase ownership of the parks, especially by people who live nearby.
It’s an opportunity for people not only to help the district but also to help keep an eye on the park properties. Volunteers taking care of the feeders also help free up park district operations staff for other duties, Virgint said.
“We want to be good neighbors and want people to increasingly use our parks,” he said.
The Bechners live off Troy-Sidney Road, not far from the Twin Arches Park north of Troy. They said they were happy to volunteer for the program at the park along the county recreational trail where they walk frequently.
“With the snow cover and ice, the birds cannot feed. This is helping them survive the harsh of winter,” Curt Bechner said.
During the coldest days, the birds would clean out the feeder about every day and a half, he said.
The exception was when the feed would vanish faster, thanks to visits to the feeders by squirrels, Bev Bechner said. Squirrel barriers, such as sheathing the feeder pole in metal, are being tested, Virgint said.
As the temperatures warm, there will be discussions about cutting back on feeding, he said.
When the snow fell during this first winter of their volunteering at the feeders, the Bechners were pleasantly surprised to find a path from the parking lot to the feeder, courtesy of park district operations staff.
“One of the things I like is ... the feed brings out the wild birds” said Curt Bechner, who mentioned the nuthatches, cardinals, tit mice, down woodpeckers and flickers among birds the couple has seen at the feeder.
His favorites include the cardinals and nuthatches. As for Bev Bechner, “I just like them all.”
Contact this reporter at nancykburr@aol.com or (937) 339-4371.
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