As an ongoing effort, the Williamsburg Bird Club (WBC) provides bird feeders, seed, suet, and maintenance of all the Child Development Resources (CDR) bird feeding equipment. CDR is a critical provider of programs for babies and toddlers with disabilities or developmental delays or those at risk for delay. The feeding station is located just outside the large picture window of the Developmental Playgroup Room and brings birds to the attention and delight of children, staff, and parents every day. Sometimes the sight of the birds at the feeders provides a wonderful opportunity to expand a child’s view of nature, widens their knowledge base, and assists in building their language skills.
The CDR seed donation project is one of the special categories to which the WBC members generously donate each year when they renew their memberships.
This past summer the need arose for a new feeding station. Gary Carpenter of the WBC brought this to the attention of the WBC Board, and Melinda Cousins of Backyard Birder Seed & Supply generously donated a new pole and crook station as a replacement.
On Friday, August 16, 2019, Gary and Ann Carpenter replaced the old and worn feeder holder with the new pole provided by Melinda.
On completion of the installation, Marilyn Canaday (the CDR staff member who keeps the feeders filled) and another CDR staffer, Erica Marcinek, expressed their extreme gratitude to the WBC. They remarked that the children of the CDR really enjoyed watching the birds and they went onto relate that the feeders were one of the best “tear stoppers” they had. When Gary asked what they meant, they explained that when they encountered a very sad child, they would bring them to the window of the playroom and point out the birds at the feeders. The “up close and personal” sight of the wild birds almost always enchanted the distraught children and the tears quickly stopped. Such stories are, of course, very gratifying and make the WBC’s efforts on this seed project well worthwhile.
Backyard Birder Seed & Supply is proud to support the WBC, CDR, and many other local programs in the Williamsburg community.
Happy Birding, Williamsburg!
