I live in an apartment complex in Milwaukee (urban) but it is next to one of the broad swaths of forest, wetlands and river which wind through the county. Also my building has a broad lawn sheltered by big trees.
As I have written here before, I’m in a wonderful bird sanctuary. After work in the summer, I sit on the lawn and watch my feeder. Finches, cardinals, woodpeckers and sparrows eat up my hard-earned wages. Robins bounce around the grass hunting bugs and worms. Crows fly overhead, talking among themselves. Gulls soar on their hunt for garbage.
Something I learned this year is how finches alert their friends to food. My feeder was empty, and a single finch was peeping at me from a tree, seeming to tell me, “Feeder’s empty, dude. Get on it.”
I filled the feeder, my little yellow pal increased his noise, and within one minute four finches were feasting at my feeder.