Saturday, September 14, 2013

In Our Yards

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Unfortunately, I haven't seen any Brown-headed Nuthatches in our yards this month, so it looks like they may have moved on. However, the peanut feeders that I put up for them are continuing to attract birds.

Downy Woodpeckers and a Red-bellied Woodpecker (below) love those peanuts.



Blue Jays, too, are partial to peanuts.



A couple of weeks ago Dee persuaded me to buy a blue ceramic feeder for the backyard. Having had bad experiences with brightly colored feeders in the past, I wasn't sure the birds would go for this one but I was proven wrong almost immediately.




Our American Beautyberry has started become laden down with berries. Unlike last year, when no birds expressed interest in the berries, this time one of our Northern Mockingbirds seems to have developed a taste for them.



Speaking of Mockingbirds, we were pleased to see that one of our pairs of adults has recently produced a chick. The other day the chick perched on our fence and screamed for food for ages while one of its parents seemed to be trying to persuade it to move to a less exposed location.




 

Meanwhile a Carolina Chickadee quietly watched the scene from a perch further along the fence.


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4 comments:

Dave said...

Lovely post Jeff. I always worry about gaudy looking feeders, but I guess its the food that counts and not the holder. I haven't had a woodpecker in the garden for months now, so will revert to scraping lard onto the tree trunk.... it works but upsets my partner ...lol

Jeff said...

I've tried gaudy feeders before, Dave, and they never worked. Perhaps blue isn't as off-putting to birds as red and yellow.
Woodpeckers keep coming for our peanuts. I used to smear peanut butter on our tree trunks but the squirrels would eat it all before woodpeckers even noticed it.

Jim Hermann said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jim Hermann said...

Where did you buy the green peanut feeder?