Our yards are swamped with birds at present. As we can see many of them from our living-room couch, it's making it hard to focus on the World Cup on TV.
We're getting through sunflower seed at an amazing rate. We have run out of suet and couldn't find any more yesterday, so the Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers probably won't be around much until we re-stock.
Two pairs of Blue Jays bring their young to our feeders several times a day. They and the N Mockingbirds seem to be the brightest of the many birds that visit daily.
Young Blue JayOur Carolina Wrens like clearly understand about balanced diets. They will eat lots of suet, then hop over to have some sunflower seeds, and then search the hanging baskets and plant pots for other seeds and bugs.
Our 14+ House Finches try to monopolize the seed feeders.
Some of the males have striking red plumage that positively glows when the sun hits it.
However, Carolina Chickadees nip in whenever there's a free portal. I thought the scruffier-looking Chickadees I was seeing were youngsters but now I realize they are worn adults.
Two adult N Cardinals push their way in occasionally while two young males, too timid to go to the feeders, spend a lot of time watching the feeding frenzy from the fence or the shed roof.
The squirrels often watch forlornly from the roof, too.
20+ White-winged Doves - including many young - are around all the time. The young Doves have beautiful eye markings.
The Doves really seem to feel the heat, as many of them perch with their wings slightly raised to help them keep cool.
Yesterday's drop-ins included 4 Common Grackles and a European Starling. We're hoping the Starling doesn't tell his friends about our feeders. The last thing we need is a bunch of Starlings muscling in on the scene!
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I have that feeder! It worked really well until the metal spring inside snapped. But the replacement is doing just fine.
ReplyDeleteThe starlings found my feeders but I don't mind. It means there are sometimes 20 birds in my yard. I like the company.