1:00 AM – Part two of the ‘Flock of Sparrows’ video. In this one the Sparrows share with a White Breasted Nuthatch and Purple Finch.
Red-bellied Woodpecker on the platform feeder. There’s a special appearance by a Brown Headed Nuthatch at the end of the clip.
3:30 AM – Our ‘wilderness cam’ hasn’t caught anything exciting yet, but we did get this Carolina Wren picking at the inside of a hickory nut. If we don’t feed them, they will no doubt find food on their own. You have to look close – the Wren blends in to the leaves perfectly.
Close up of a Red-bellied Woodpecker on the cylinder feeder.
3:36 AM – We put a kind of jury-rigged bird bath at the far end of the yard, hoping to capture videos of wild creatures at night. That’s a plastic gallon water jug cut down, with rocks to weigh it. Instead of exotic wild animals, our first customer was a standard variety Robin. We’ll see what we get at night.
This is about four minutes of various birds coming and going on the platform feeder. We have these birds coming and going and coming back again: Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, female Purple Finch, Purple Finch and a Sparrow.
4:41 AM – Red-bellied Woodpecker in the platform feeder. He leaves, and a tiny Chickadee comes in after him.
White Breasted Nuthatch is completely comfortable eating upside down.
3:46 AM – Typical action on the platform feeder, except for the Red-bellied Woodpecker. He’s just an occasional visitor, preferring the suet and compressed seed cylinder.
More platform feeder birds, this time Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Purple Finch, Sparrows and more Cardinals.
2:39 AM – A few days ago, in the morning, two Blue Jays looking for something to eat. We haven’t refilled the feeders yet, and so have a couple of disappointed birds.
The peanuts have attracted a variety of birds to the platform feeder and rail, including the Red-bellied Woodpecker. At the end of this clip, look for a bonus appearance by a Blue Jay.
1:58 AM – The squirrels have become very bold. Here’s one feasting on the platform feeder. When D comes out to shoo him off, he’s not impressed. When she’s almost close enough to grab his tail and swing him around he decides to make a break for it.
The missing Blue Jays have returned. We’re glad to see them, but it’s clear they only love us for our peanuts. Like this one. In the brief clip we see him tuck one away, then eat one and finally hop over a dove to the rail, where there are plenty more.
This Red-bellied Woodpecker is really mining the seed cylinder for something special. He gets it, too.
3:20 AM – We don’t know too much about the Dark-eyed Juncos. Wwe’ve only seen them with the other birds a few times. Today we found out they can be a little aggressive, at least toward Sparrows. We’re not sure they’d try this with a Cardinal.
Red-bellied Woodpecker is heavy enough to partially activate the anti-squirrel mechanism. He has to approach the feeding port sideways to fit his head/beak in. The Red-bellied is the biggest local resident bird that visits the hanging feeders – the Doves stick to the platform.
3:22 AM – We have plenty of current videos on hand, so we’re skipping the Retro-Sunday feature until next week.
Another ‘snow video’, this one some random birds eating during a lull in the snow fall. Although it snowed all day, it was not a very heavy snow fall. The birds were able to get out and feed throughout most of the day.
And, trying to drink from the frozen birdbaths. We put some liquid water in them, so every bird got their thirst quenched.
From before the snow, colorful birds on the Squirrel Buster – a House Finch and Pine Warbler.
2:16 AM – Video from the relocated Squirrel Buster cam. This feeder has a mix of bird seed with no sunflower seeds, This keeps the number of Cardinals down – actually, we haven’t seen any here. They prefer the platform with plenty of the black oil sunflowers. In this one a Red-bellied Woodpecker eats, then takes off. We slowed that part down to about quarter speed.
Some drama on the platform feeder. Mockingbird and Dove puff up their feathers at each other. Then some Dove on Dove excitement. Never a dull moment among the birds.