Boy, the feeders were busy today. The birds know that winter is licking at their heels and they are pounding down the sunflower seeds and suet as fast as I can offer it.
After this feeder hung out there for 2 weeks, a male downy finally found it and partook of the woodpecker mix: peanuts, raisins, figs, sunflower seeds.
And a most welcome visitor who I wait for all year until Fall...our first dark-eyed junco!They are one of my favorites; 1. Because they are cold-weather birds, only here in late fall and winter and 2. They are so sweet looking and girly...pink beaks and feet.
The neighborhood bullies (the Blue Jays) cleaned up the peanuts I spilled in the mulch. Have you ever watched a jay stuff about a zillion peanuts in their throats to carry off and cache? Those big mouths aren't just for jabbering!
Sad for the feeder birds, great for the raptors:
A pile of mourning dove feathers...Geoff and I were alerted to a cooper's hawk flying over yesterday by its call, and I guess it got lucky...and perched in our crabapple tree, leisurely plucking a fresh, warm dove.
Yay! Raptor food!
4 comments:
"...winter is licking at their heels..."
Birds got heels? Who knew. I learn something every day!
I always feel just a little bit bad when I find a pile of feathers, but I too get a thrill when I see a raptor in the yard.
Hey- everybody's got to eat!
I just put a turkey in the oven! :)
Great bird photos! I know - it isn't easy to catch those little guys in photos. I can't wait to see juncos - and I like your description that they're girly! Yeah, I have the piggy Blue Jays here now, too.
Love the pics! We've had juncos for a few weeks now. Great little birds. But I'm most excited about our red-breasted nuthatches. We live in the city!! This is just unreal.
Did you get your woodpecker feeder from Drs. Foster & Smith?
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