First, a flock of wintering American Goldfinches found the thistle feeder and mobbed the deck yesterday afternoon. They were so numerous I felt the need to put out another feeder in the form of a tray. Mixing thistle seed and sunflower seed met the needs of both the goldfinches and the chickadees.
Trust me when I say the goldfinches are not as colorful in winter as they are in summer. The winter plumage is more of an olive green mixed with the black and white wing.
The second new visitor was another of the ladder-backed woodpeckers: the Hairy Woodpecker. I spotted it this morning on the suet feeder. He only stayed a short time before heading back into the forest.
A group of four or five Blue Jaysarrived about the same time the Hairy decided to leave (coincidence?) and while not actually going to the feeders did alight on the ground to pick up some of the peanut hearts no one else seems to want. Although they have the reputation of a school-yard bully at the feeders, their bright blue is a welcome sight against the winter gray and white and green that predominates the hillside.
Aside from the soaring of two Re-tailed Hawk the drumming and call of a Pileated Woodpecker (I’ve seen him during the summer and once further down the hill but not around the house since September), and several American Crows in the pines, there is not much else to report from the Aerie.
At least there is enough activity on the deck feeders to get the attention of Shadow and her brother, Chester, who have become avid bird watchers.
Professional Bird Watchers
1 comment:
Does either Shadow or Chester chatter when watching the birds?
We had one some years back that you could hear "chattering" from 20 ft away when he watched the bird feeders. They are definitely fun to watch when they're watching the birds. :-)
A nice variety of birds you're getting there. I guess altitude does make a difference. And you also saw a flock of bluejays? I've seen that behavior and mentioned it to a neighbor and he said I was mistaken as they're loners. I let him slide on it, but darnit, bluejays will flock! I've seen it and you've seen it!
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