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December was a bit slow for FeederWatch. Certain days had the feel of snow, but it was mostly rain and grayness. It was unusual as the count of birds and the variety seemed to drop, but that might have to do with some recent changes. It was towards the end of the month that our unusual visitor stopped by the feeder area - a wild turkey. Generally wild turkeys are not feeder birds, but that doesn't mean they don't occassionally visit to see what's on offer - expecially if you

Feederwatch has begun for this year. The birdseed finally came it, a little late is better than never. The feeders have only had nyjer seed in them, so of course it will take the birds a little time to realize that the good stuff is back. The weather has been a bit warmer than typical for this time of year, so many birds are still foraging naturally, but that doesn't stop the hoard of house sparrows from descending on the feeders. The unusual thing is that I haven't seen any

Not a lot new to report these weeks, many of the same birds are coming back to the feeders. We did have one new bird, that really confused Miss Renee this year. We had a Hairy Woodpecker at the feeders on week 8. Now they look much like the Downy Woodpecker, except for their beak and size. While the downy is about the size of a sparrow, while the Hairy is the size of a robin. It's not a huge size discrepency, which is why it was at first doubted that it was Hairy Woodpecker a

We've seen the most species on week 5 than we have seen yet this year, with 15 different species. The Carolina Wren has made it's first visit this week. There has been a lot of competition at the feeder, especially with the large number of House Sparrows, and the number of European Starlings has been growing. The feeders had to be filled more often and just like always the Black-Capped Chickadee was the first to arrive. It's also been a cold couple of weeks and the birds hav

Northern Cardinal The Northern Cardinal is the most recognizable male bird with it's bright red plumage it has year round. The females are a much drabber color, though they have the black mask and bright orange beak. It has also been designated as "the best holiday season bird" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, according to their Facebook post on December 9th. They are also a popular feeder bird, with a flexible diet composed mostly of seeds, insects and berries. Though mostly

Black-capped Chickadee One of the most recognizable birds we get to our feeders is the black-capped chickadee. A small round bird with the black "cap" on its head is known as the cute bird for being so small and compact but is also know for its curiosity. Chickadees will investigate and explore EVETYTHING in its terriotory, including people. (See picture below, Miss Renee was able to get up real close to this chickadee on the feeder). In fact chickadees are so curios and bra

We've seen some new birds at our feeders these last 2 weeks, and some long time visitors that have come back into the area. The dark-eyed junco and the carolina wren have rediscovered the feeders. An eastern bluebird has been seen occassionally at the feeders, for which everyone is excited to see that bright blue color. Though don't expect to see them whenever you visit, they're come to the feeder rarely. Our house sparrow population has exploded and we're pleased to see we'v

November 7th and 8th: 12 Species, 30 individuals: black-capped chickadee 5 house finch 3 tufted titmouse 2 american crow 1 blue jay 2 house sparrow 7 downy woodpecker 1 northern cardinal 1 white throated sparrow 2 american goldfinch 2 european starling 3 song sparrow 1 November 14th and 15th: 12 species, 39 individuals: black-capped chickadee 4 downy woodpecker 1 mourning dove 2 song sparrow 2 white throated sparrow 6 house sparrow 10 blue jay 1 american goldfinch 1 european