More Cold Days at the Feeder Station

About a month ago I blogged that I wasn't seeing too many birds at my feeder. When I asked around, I heard similar reports by some, and yet others reported that the birds were flocking to their feeders and fighting for a perch at the breakfast bar. One person, who is considered quite expert, said that there was a lot of natural food available. Of course, birds only come to the feeder for a portion of their diet and prefer bugs and berries that they find naturally occurring in their environment.

As the weather became cooler and especially during the December snow days, the birds began to roll in to my feeder station. It was quite a mob scene at times during the snow days. As you can see from the count that I posted to Project Feederwatch this week, copied below, the numbers are up. I've noticed a lot of cardinals and I'm also seeing purple finches this year. I'm just getting the hang of telling purples apart from house finches by the shape of their heads and the extend of color patterns.

Project Feederwatch List for January 3-4, 2011

Mourning Dove	17
Downy Woodpecker	2
Carolina Chickadee	3
Tufted Titmouse	2
White-breasted Nuthatch	1
Carolina Wren	2
White-throated Sparrow	2
Dark-eyed Junco	14
Northern Cardinal	5
Purple Finch	2
House Finch	2
American Goldfinch	4

On Saturday, January 1, I attended the Greensprings Trail Boardwalk Bird Show with friends from the Williamsburg Bird Club. This is an annual event that those who list love because "every bird is a year bird." I took a VSO bird list from Shirley and hope I will follow through with listing for the year. I'm up to 18 species so far. I'm only counting a species if I get a good look and feel confident, so it may take some time to move through even the usual suspects. But this is fun so far and a good way to learn.

We were entertained for a while by a flock of rusty blackbirds, a species I wouldn't have been able to confidently identify without the help of birder friends. We also saw green-winged teal, mallards, heron, and other water birds. A pair of red-shouldered hawks posed for us in a snag. And two painted turtles warmed themselves on a log for the entire two hours that I was there.

Happy New Year and happy bird watching!