Yardbird appetites

A Towhee that hides along the brushline and hops in and out of leaf clutter was seen bathing last week in my birdbath. This Towhee is quite shy and will flutter down from the bath and away into the brush to hide if you even attempt to get within 20 feet of him.

I have to refill my sunflower seeds daily for the three bird feeders in my yard. It seems that the pair of Pine Siskin, Chestnut-back Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Junco's are feasting more regularly then I first thought. The decreased Junco population this spring (down from the winter count of 12 to 14) has not really affected the rate at which I have to replace seed. I have been replacing seed more NOW than during the winter. The appearance of a pair of Pine Siskin, who regularly sit for great lengths of time, may be the culprits.

Do two Pine Siskin eat more than twelve Junco? My unscientific study indicates, YES. I would like more information on bird appetites during the Spring to either confirm or dispel my newfound theory..... lol

Mr. Ed Newbold kindly sent me a free birdhouse for having entered into his Yard Bird Race in 2009. I was very excited to pick this up from the Post Office this weekend. A treat!

I have had a few woodpecker visits to the 1/2 eaten suet feeder. I've set out a new suet feeder that the Chickadees seem to enjoy. The suet seems more enjoyable on colder mornings and afternoons.

A strange band and two Bald Eagles

I have been watching a flock of Oregon Juncos mixed in with a few Slate and Dark Eyed Juncos feed daily here. I have mentioned earlier that I attempted to take a photograph of a Variegated/Varied Thrush, who is quite skiddish. Well, the Thrush flew INTO the flock of Junco's feeding yesterday. Normally, the Thrush feeds OUTSIDE of the flock. This was different behavior from this Thrush in the last week or so! ALSO there is one more Black capped chickadee now for a full set. The chickadee and the Red Breasted Nuthatch have been eating my millet and making quite the mess for the Junco's to eat below and the 4 squirrels to pick up afterwards. I have had much activity here with this flock of 30 or so Juncos all day!

*One note on the Varied Thrush. He has a second dark black band, the same width of his neck band, near his lower breast or tail area.*

There were two Bald Eagles to fly at a low altitude here yesterday. They were playing and calling out to one another - flying very near one another - darting in and out of one another at close range. They both flew Southwest of here.


Cross posted TWEETERS
NOTE: January 6, 2010

Flock of Junco's

Since my December 29th post, the various Junco's have been re-appearing. The usual flock of Oregon Junco's has grown from 12 to 30 + with a larger number of Slate colored and Dark Eyed Juncos in the
mix. The earlier and smaller flock had only two Slate colored Junco's feeding with them. The flock has grown to include 5 or 6 more Dark Eyed Juncos and several Slate colored Juncos. There is a lone Black-capped chickadee that feeds with them and will dart in to feed and fly up into the trees to peck at his seeds - once. I noticed yesterday that the Red-breasted Nuthatch was with them. He is also an infrequent visitor and will dart into the feeders in a rush to grab food and leave to break open seeds high into the trees. A pair of Varied Thrush has re-appeared at least 3 times this week, too. The flock of 20+ Junco's will feed on the North side and then they fly over to the East side of the yard. Their feeding patterns have changed position a little and are moving towards the feeders again. Normally, the Junco's will light on the feeders during the summer or lawn feed further away into the understory of my front yard (lately) and then move to the back, but since their numbers have increased substantially, they are feeding closer to my windows and away from the understory. I've noticed that they will alert one another, have most of the flock fly away, and leave at least 5 or 6 other Junco's to fend for themselves. The 5 or 6 Juncos remain feeding. Then the flock will slowly fly back, one by one and filter into feeding positions. They repeat this pattern several times even while the squirrels are feeding.


Cross Posted TWEETERS

Red breasted Nuthatch

The bird feeders here are strangely quiet as the Junco's prefer to ground feed now back in the area where the Merlin or Hawk flew in last week or so.  A change of position from last week under brushy cover.

A Red-breasted Nuthatch visited a little known feeder here.  One of this feeders first visitors since summer.

The Stellar Jays will hit the feeder near the bath so that he can eat the seed that falls - they have gobbled up 3 feeders full of seed in just a couple of days.  I've since stopped using the feeder and broadcast some seed, instead. The order of the "bath":  Junco's bathe, Stellar Jays (mainly to feed and do not bathe) and then the Towhee's.

There are a few different colored Junco's within the flock.  Some have dark eyes and slate colored heads, others have dark black heads.

A flock of European Starlings were feeding in a field down the road and a flock of Crows feed less than a 1/4 mile from them.

I noticed one day while visiting Puyallup that there are flocks and flocks of birds roosting between the commercial signage on the roadside.  I suppose that makes a good wind break and roosting between the opposing signs keeps them warmer at night.

Red-breasted Nuthatch - Left

Black capped Chickadee - Right

The Nutchatch that visited the feeder, had a more prominant black stripe across his eyes.  Did I mis-identify him?