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 have platform, ground level feeders and you have cracked corn. This time of year though its a bit unusual, normally we see the turkeys earlier in the fall, before the FeederWatch count begins. In fact this month we've had 2 visits from turkeys (same one one, who knows). It's always nice though to add a new species to the FeederWatch list.
December Count:
12/5-6: bird species: 8; individuals: 39; mammals: 0
house sparrow 30
black-capped chickadee 2
tufted titmouse 1
northern cardinal 2
white-throated sparrow 1
song sparrow 1
downy woodpecker 1
dark-eyed junco 1
12/12-13: bird species: 9; individuals: 32; mammals: 1
house finch 1
house sparrow 20
black-capped chickadee 2
tufted titmouse 2
northern cardinal 2
white-throated sparrow 1
song sparrow 1
downy woodpecker 1
eastern bluebird 2
squirrel 1
12/20-21: bird species: 6; individuals: 32; mammals: 1
house sparrow 25
black-capped chickadee 2
tufted titmouse 2
downy woodpecker 1
dark-eyed junco 1
wild turkey 1
squirrel 1