I tend to think ‘wind-up toy’ when I watch a woodpecker move. Tick-a, tick-a, tick-a.
A Downy Woodpecker. It’s interesting that this individual does not share – it jabs at any other bird on the feeder and continues jabbing until the other bird leaves.
During mid-summer the number of birds – individuals and species – that visit the backyard decreases.
Activity is picking up now, and these two Mourning Doves are among the birds that have returned.
I mix whole shelled sunflower seed into what goes in the feeders. In wet weather I watch how much of this I put out, since it spoils so quickly.
For American Goldfinches, it’s as attractive a food as the in-shell sunflower.
I happened to be sitting on the deck when this Baltimore Oriole made its first visit of the season to my backyard hummingbird feeder, which it prefers to the larger oriole feeder.
Faye had the better angle to capture this Rose-breasted Grosbeak waiting to approach one of our feeders.
This female Northern Cardinal blends in very well; only her beak betrays her presence.
A molting American Goldfinch clings to the nyger seed feeder.
I was fortunate to capture this Chipping Sparrow, a sprightly visitor to the backyard.
I have fed songbirds for about 15 years, 13 of which here at this home. I count birds for Project FeederWatch and this weekend have counted them for the Great Backyard Bird Count.
A large number of birds of several species visited yesterday, a little more than two days after a major snowstorm. There had been very little activity today, and early this afternoon I saw why.
Sometimes, I feed more than songbirds. A Sharp-shinned Hawk had apparently been keeping watch, and it pounced on a House Finch.
A very talented friend once used the phrase ‘Life feeds life’ as a blog post title. It seemed like an appropriate title for this post.
Although American Crows overwinter in the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands in my area, they rarely visit the backyard. This is the first one I have seen in the backyard in four or five years.
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