Yardbirds

Taking a cue from Marty, who made a list of the birds that show up in his Manassas yard when he puts the feeder out, I thought I would make a list of what we see out in the yard at Hawksbill Cabin. 

Now, I should make a note that we have three feeders going during the winter, especially when there is snow on the ground.  As soon as it starts to warm up in the spring, I take the feeders down since we'll start seeing young bears around.  No need to invite them up into the yard.

I use the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds Eastern Edition, to identify the birds we see.  Even so, there is one bird in the area I have not conclusively identified, and that is the type of hawk that we have in the hollow.  At times, I've thought this was either a sharpshinned or Coopers hawk - but the two species are very similar and even the experts have trouble with them.  For more on our experience with the hawks, check out the Hawks label at the end of this post - we had a pair that nested in the yard a couple of years running.

Starting with the perching birds, we get:

• Juncoes, eastern form
• House sparrows (a large and noisy flock shows up early in the day)
• House finches
• Gold finches (an intrepid, small flock of three or four)
• Cardinals (we have at least two pair)
• Blue jays (upwards of a dozen live in the hollow; they like the ground beneath the large feeder)
• Black-capped chickadee
• Tufted titmouse (there are quite a few of these, as there are with the chickadees)

Then with the tree clinging birds:

• Downy woodpeckers (there are at least two)
• Northern flickers (I've seen three around at once.  During the summer, they hang out on some of the dead trees over by the old beaver pond)
• White breasted nuthatch

Special guests - birds that don't visit the feeders, but I often see passing through the yard when I am outside:

• Pileated woodpeckers (there is at least a pair living in the hollow)
• Carolina wrens (there is a pair of these; I really love the song on those days when ours are out and about and have something to tweet about)

Someday I'll participate in the annual bird count.  I'd love to get a catalog on the population we're serving up all these black oil sunflower seeds to...