I hate to reference Motley Crue song lyrics while talking about birds, but I have have a ton of birds at the feeder so far this spring and I have to shout "birds, birds, birds"! To date I have counted thirty species. Now, this isn't the variety that I had hoped for (I guess I wanted 150 different kinds of birds at the feeder) but the number of regulars and now their offspring is pretty amazing.
Some of the steady feeders are blue jays, grackles and cardinals. At any point in the day one if not all of these birds are taking in a meal. Some of the smaller birds such as the Tufted Titmouse and the Carolina Chickadee pop in and out to enjoy some crushed sunflower seeds. The Carolina Wren and the White-breasted Nuthatch are harder to spot but when they are they are fun bunch - clinging to the trees and making quick decisions before grabbing some seed and flying away.
Away from the feeder while making casual observations I found some interesting characters that have made their way through the neighbourhood. A flock of Cedar Waxwings pummeled a fruit bush across from my house leaving nothing behind. The group consisted of, from my best cout, 28 birds. Their yellowish body with the sharp and intimidating black mask at the eyes, along with the blazing red wing tips and anlost neon yellow line at the tail feathers makes this on beautiful creature. I last saw them two weeks ago and I hope to catch and grab some nice photos to publish here.
Yesterday was quite a day as I performed a civilized duty to help a young Northern Flicker that had apparently fell fron it's nest . I discovered the helpless babe while I was refilling my platform feeder in the sideyard. As usual, some cardinals scampered of as I approached. I head this almost duck-like sound that was nearby. There on the ground was the tiny flicker. My neighbour supplied a box and off to the emergency vet we went. I hope all goes well for the young woodpecker; a few more minutes and it would have been cat food.
Here is a pic taken by my helpful neighbour.
