The wind was out of the south at about 10mph and the temp was 31F. My "shooting lane" was to the south and I was sitting in a chair under a tree.
No deer were sighted but I did see a Fox Squirrel using a nesting cavity made from a five-gallon, plastic bucket and hung 12' up in a tree. He gave me the rough edge of his tongue as I passed under it.
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Black-capped Chickadee, year-round resident in my part of Michigan
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| Black-capped Chickadee range map |
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Dark-eyed Junco. I would have named it "Bibbed Junco" but what do I know?
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Dark-Eyed Junco range map
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The Song Sparrow is one of the more recognizable LBBs (Little Brown Birds) as it has a spot of darker feathers on its chest.
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Song Sparrow range map
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Tufted Titmouse
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Tufted Titmouse range map
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I also saw a flock of mixed, small birds. Most of them were Juncos with a smattering of Song Sparrows and Tufted Titmice. I didn't see any Chickadees even though they are common in those kinds of flocks, nor did I see any finches.
Even though the birds compete with each other for food, more eyes offer better protection from predators.
I am not sure what they were finding, but a few of them were working the seed-heads of Queen Anne's Lace (aka, Wild Carrots).
Today's project was to put up a bird feeder outside of one of our living room windows at the height of Quicksilver's eyes. I like to keep things simple. I fill them with black sunflower seeds which makes a lot of different bird species happy. In addition to the ones shown above, Blue Jays, Cardinals and assorted nuthatches and woodpeckers eat from the feeder while Starlings and Mourning Doves and chipmunks eat what gets spilled.
The Ravishing Mrs. TB loves her birdfeeder. Sadly we will have to take a break from that; the apartment has decreed that birdseed leads to rodents.
ReplyDeleteWe've got a large one in the yard that Cardinals and Chickadees hit all the time. We also have one of those suet cages hanging from it that makes the Woodpeckers happy. Every once in a while we see a couple of Yellow Finches at the feeder.
ReplyDeleteFor Christmas, our granddaughter up in Minnesota sent us one of those plexiglass feeders that you can stick on a window. Cardinals and Chickadees hit that one.
I buy the song bird mixed feed. It seems to attract the most birds. I tried straight Sunflower seeds one time and ended throwing most of it on the ground for the Squirrels and Chipmunks. Mourning Doves also visit the large feeder. They figured out how to land on the tiny ledge .
That's a great way to get QS to 'look' at the world, and will keep her occupied!
ReplyDeleteThank you Joe, now I know some of the birds that visit my feeding ground.
ReplyDeleteNow if they could just show up before the turkeys (feathered vacuumed cleaners)
Michael oddly anon today?
No, I don't think so. None of the comments "sound" like him. Maybe his wife caught him looking at the cougar post.
DeleteI hope he is doing OK.
LOL this Anon IS Michael. So I must have an internet Cold as I don't sound like myself. LOL
DeleteAlso, I did post on the cougar post. Something about keeping you wife close by :-)
Computer allowed me Michael earlier but not since noon?
We have two flat trays as well as a jar squirrel feeder. We buy sunflower seeds by the truck load and check and fill the daily. Between cats and hawks we run quite the buffet in our backyard. Juncos, chickadees and house sparrows mostly.
ReplyDeleteI don't let cats get to the birds I feed, I always have a trap set for them & they just disappear.
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