Birding or Slogging ??

Have not done a bird count in a while. Today is part Sun and 55degrees - very nice! I was going out for a 5 mile slog but my Garmin was dead (any excuse is a good reason to hit the porch early.Pilsner).


In the last hour these friends have shown up for a snack. Backyard birds will begin to increase as Winter arrives.




- Tufted titmouse

- Chicadee

- House Finch

- White-breasted Nut Hatch

- Gold Finch

- Blue Jay

- Purple Finch

- Song Sparrow (first one this year)

- Chipping Sparrow

- Dove

- Brown-headed Nut Hatch

- Pine Siskin

- Cardinal

- Red-winged Blackbird

- Red-bellied Woodpecker

- Ruby-crowned Kinglet

- Carolina Wren

- Downy Woodpecker




I only get a couple 'Song Sparrows' each Winter. It is a beautiful bird, very active. They are ground birds, prefer to hunt food under leaves. At the feeder they just eat millet. This bird loves bathing, no matter the temperature, should be named the 'Song Duck'. The quick ID is the dark spot on the breast, tried to show it in this photo.

It looks kinda like the female Red-winged Blackbird in the 2nd photo which I rarely see but is here today. 3rd photo is a male Redwing. 4th is some Pine Siskins. Last is a friendly squirrel. I enjoy watching my few squirrels as much as my birds.



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That is an amazing list. We are getting more birds now as there are lots of bugs in my natural area and in the old rotted wood pile I keep just for the birds. I will soon start stocking all the feeders and keeping the water supply going and making sure they have lots to eat over the winter. I slowed down putting out food for a while but now I have about 100 pounds of slightly different foods. Since I am stuck at home and I sit all day by the back windows in the den I can see lots of birds as they are around. I have a big pile of grass clippings in the natural area and the deer like to move it around a little and sleep there. The decomposing leaves and grass give off heat so I guess that is what draws them. My yard is also safe. The fence and the bushes etc give them some cover.

It sounds like you have a great place to hang out. Those baby deer you had prove that.
Different foods attract different birds.
Birds in the South have better choices than feeders, so Winter is best for us watchers. Action will be picking up by January.

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Originally Posted by Marty Gass

The decomposing leaves and grass give off heat so I guess that is what draws them. .

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Winter ground birds are arriving. The White-throatd Sparrow, the Song Sparrow, and the Junco are all common here in Winter and prefer to jump around on the ground in old leaves as the bugs are there. Our ever present Towhees are the same as to that. Millet falling from feeders to the ground is what they like. If you have a feeder where they can hop around in, that is a plus.

That is a good list and my yard has some of the same. I also saw a couple of Juncos feeding on the ground beneath the feeders. The numbers of birds are increasing and the demand for seed is also increasing.

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Originally Posted by Tony Presley

That is a good list and my yard has some of the same. I also saw a couple of Juncos feeding on the ground beneath the feeders. The numbers of birds are increasing and the demand for seed is also increasing.

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Juncos are one of the most common and most fun birds. I had lots in Matthews. Here I will get one, but only in late Winter. I don't know why that is.

The way the feeders are set up, the small seed ends up on the ground and you can watch the little ground feeding birds having a good old time flipping up the leaves. It is fun to watch. I have not seen the big hawks from across the street in a few weeks. They were hanging around my yard for weeks when I was over run by doves and squirrels and they killed one in my yard and I watched him eat it. I checked back an hour later and the rest had been carried off. It was the biggest male hawk I have seen in years.