As of now, we have 13 assorted bird feeders up. That doesn't include the various trees, stumps and cut logs where I hide a little bark butter, a peanut butter mix that I get from our local Wild Birds Unlimited store. The primary source of insects still is within the whole garden and all its layers of plants, including the valuable leaf litter. We feed birds! And, we provide water for them in at least three places, all year long. It's good for the residents as well as any others who may find their way here.

On Monday, 11-26-18, I went out to clean leaves out of the bubbler basin and put out some bark butter. I turned back to the bubbler to see our first Pine Siskin of the season. There were at least two and maybe three that day. They came and needed it all. They are very striped with finely pointed bills and a bit smaller than an American Goldfinch. 

FOS Pine Siskin 11-26-18 House Finch and Pine Siskin 11-26-18 House Finch, Northern Cardinal and Pine Siskin 11-26-18 American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker and Pine Siskin 11-26-18

They were one-day wonders but we'll probably see them again this winter. They are considered to be in the group of irruptive finch species. We may yet see others in this group, it's a banner year for movement. Take a good look at this information and watch for these other birds at your feeders. The link will open a new page.

This Could Be The Winter You Get Evening Grosbeaks at Your Feeder

We still have Red-breasted Nuthatches, and I'm keeping a watch for Purple Finches, too. We've had a Common Redpoll and Red Crossbills show up, so they are possible again. White-winged Crossbills, Evening Grosbeak? Bring 'em on!

Like the finches, the Red-breasted Nuthatches also favor the black oil sunflower seed. I mix it with safflower, which many of the birds like, yet it seems to deter the Common Grackles. I've watched these nuthatches take bark butter, then a seed and fly to a tree further away, to cache the seed under the bark for later. Are they using the bark butter to plug the seed into the nook? Maybe one day I'll be able to catch them at it.

Red-breasted Nuthatch 11-23-18 Red-breasted Nuthatch 11-23-18 Northern Flicker and Red-breasted Nuthatch 12-5-18

As you can tell, they are quite small but unafraid of larger birds, like the Northern Flicker. Speaking of flickers, there have been four individuals here on any given day lately, two mustached males and two females. They hit the feeders and look for bark butter, but primarily will work in the leaf litter, probing for insect larvae, as one can see in the video below.

Northern Flicker finds bark butter on the stump 12-5-18 Northern Flicker at feeder 11-26-18 Northern Flicker female juvenile 11-26-18

Northern Flickers probing for larvae 11-27-18 Northern Flicker

A Song Sparrow has been around again, I have not seen one since April. It took a Groucho-like pose on the deck.

Song Sparrow 11-28-18

The forecast of snow always seems to increase activity at all the feeders. The birds sense the change coming. These House Finches dominated the new feeders in the west part of the woodland. The hanging platform accommodates several birds at a time with a shallow layer of the same seed mix in there.

House Finches and Northern Cardinal 12-3-18

There are two feeders for the finches like this one that contain a blend of sunflower seed chips and niger/thistle seed. American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, House Finches, chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers will use this feeder.

American Goldfinches 12-4-18

The water features can get busy with an influx of birds on the move. Six Cedar Waxwings took turns to bathe in the stream bed one afternoon when a flock of robins and grackles came in, and a Brown Creeper slipped into a corner of the basin a bit later.

Cedar Waxwings 11-23-18 Brown Creeper 11-25-18

So, keep an eye out during those pretty snowfalls. Wanderers of any size and shape may pass through...

Happy St. Nick's Day!