Adventures in Feeding Birds (2)

Watching birds come and go at my feeder has been fascinating. More birds arrive in the mornings rather than in the afternoons. Alone and in pairs, chickadees, finches, jays, nuthatches, sparrows, titmice, and more feed daily. In the afternoon, a pair of squirrels (litter mates) come to the feeding table.

To attract the wrens and song sparrows, I set out dried grapes, millet, oatmeal, suet, and peanut butter. Although some wrens did visit to eat the fruit flies from the bananas, the song sparrows came more frequently. The suet also attracted Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice and nuthatches. I was surprised that they would leave their trees to come and eat at my table.

The most timid of birds, the titmice nervously check out my feeder. They hop on the balcony railing, then the chair, table, and finally the feeder. If one of us are moving about in the living room, they fly away. When another bird flies by, the titmice disappear. However, they do come back after scoping out the area.

In contrast, the English sparrows are cool customers. They do not care who else is there. Acting as if they own the place, these sparrows plunk themselves down wherever. As other birds come and go, they fluff themselves out and watch the parade.

A ladder-backed woodpecker comes to feed as well. Once she brought her fledgling and fed him on the railing. Wielding her beak as a dagger, this woodpecker battle the squirrels for food. Meanwhile, they twitch their tails and “chee” at her. Then the squirrels would move far away from the menacing woodpecker.

I enjoy the antics of the squirrels. Seemingly as if they flying in the air, the squirrels sail from tree to tree to the railing to the feeder. The one-eared squirrel will stare at me for more food. If I do not respond, she taps on the window at me to come and feed her.

Meanwhile, a young blue jay perches on the railing, squawking at me for more food. Daily he comes and he taps on the window when he cannot find the food he likes. I think it is funny that the young jay thinks he rules the feeder. Actually, the woodpecker with her stiletto beak is the true monarch.

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Copyright: Virginia Carper, Animal Teachers, 2008

Adventures in Bird Feeding (1)

Food Plans for Wrens and Sparrows

In my area of Northern Virginia, wrens (Carolina and house) and sparrows (song and tree) are common. Because I live in a semi-urban area, I decided that these birds would be easy to attract. On my small balcony of my condo, I have a table that I use to feed the birds.

Because wrens rarely eat anything other than insects, I decided to put bananas out to see if they would eat the fruit flies. Since wrens are fond of suet, bread crumbs, and dried grapes, I have put out suet and grapes for them. Insects and suet have protein for the birds, while bread and grapes provide their energy needs.

After researching about the needs of sparrows, I decided on millet to encourage them to come to my feeder. Since my area is rich in cardinals, I decided not to put out sunflower seeds because this food attracts these birds. Even though the sparrows like sunflower seeds, I want the smaller birds to get their share in food.

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Burton, Robert, “North American Birdfeeder Handbook”,Dorling Kindersly, New York, 1995.

Harrison, George and Kit, “America’s Favorite Backyard Birds”, Fireside, New York, 1983.

Bromley, Peter T. and Aelred D. Geis, Feeding Wild Birds, Publication Number 420-006, Virginia Cooperative Extension, April, 1998, 20 Sept. 2008

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Copyright: Virginia Carper, Animal Teachers, 2008