Give us this day our daily Birds, Part 2

Downy Woodpeckers, both male and female, are frequent visitors to both the suet feeder and the sunflower seed feeders. When they take seeds--or even a chunk of suet--they often head off to the trees where they will wedge their food into a crack using it like a vise. They'll then hammer away at it until it's gone or they can reach the kernel inside. Once in a while I'll catch a downy or a White-breasted Nuthatch using a crack in the deck posts in the same way.

Downy Woodpecker (female) hammers at the frozen suet.

A male Downy has his eye on the stick feeder hanging on the deck.
But there is a female already there. Gentleman that he is, he'll wait.

The only feeders the Dark-eyed Junco uses are the tray feeders. They are primarily ground feeder. On the ground, they scratch at the soil to find insect or seeds. Those that come to the deck are as likely to work the deck's surface like a clean-up crew. When they are on the tray they can be little bullies as they fiercely defend their food source from other small birds.

Dark-eyed Junco on the deck feeding tray.

American Goldfinches come in bunches. This year's numbers aren't as large as last year--yet. That's probably due to the lack of thistle. I've still got to purchase a bag of thistle and put out the thistle feeder. Once I do, I expect the current visitors to contact their nearest hundred relatives and we'll soon be inundated. One nice thing about Goldfinches is they serve as a calendar. When the males start to molt into their summer suits, usually in March, you know that warm weather will soon be returning even if there's still snow on the ground.

American Goldfinches occupy the stick feeder on the deck.

Look in the dictionary next to "ubiquitous" and you'll see a picture of the Chickadee. They also appear next to "friendly" and "curious." They buzz around the feeders like honey bees, darting in and out as they pick up a seed and bring it out to the woods. I've had Chickadees come to a feeder as I was filling it. I've not had one land on me yet, but others I know have had them perch on the shoulders and hats--even plucking at their mustaches--as they beg for seeds. Oh, they also appear next to the word "glutton." Often they stash their seed in the cracks and crevasses of tree bark, saving their booty for a rainy day.

Black-capped Chickadee grabs a seed from the stick feeder.