Backyard Bird Sightings

We have a squirrel buster bird feeder that we fill with an inexpensive wild bird seed mix.  We have squirrels that hang around, hoping for seeds to drop to the ground for a snack, and even though it goes against my better judgement, I feed the squirrels on the ledge of the back deck.  They get a sprinkling of seeds, stale bread, or leftover bits of fruit.  Currently they are sharing cornbread crumbs with a mourning dove.  In exchange, I get to get to know the locals, their cute antics, and I even give them names.  We have Dimples with a dark dot on each cheek, Fatso, Bat - pointy white ears, Tail - his tail is a bit slim on hair at the end crook, and Little Chicken, because she is small, quick and fearful.  They come and go, rarely sharing the bounty, and are occasionally chased up a tree by our ever ready little dog, Juliet, who loves her doggie door.

The purpose of this post is not to familiarize you with pet squirrels, but to keep a record of the birds we see on the deck and the feeder.  I plan to go to this blog occasionally with bird sighting updates, mostly for my own use.

I often go to this bird identification link.

1/30/14 - close to freezing weather today
tufted titmouse male and female
female cardinal
Carolina chickadees
pileated woodpecker, with its tufted red head
squirrels - Fatso, Little Chicken and Tail

2015 - I quit feeding the squirrels. They were bringing fleas and my dog was miserable!

Squirrels are My Dog's New Friends

I got a bird feeder for songbirds that holds only sunflower seeds and hung it from a metal pole outside the family room window. The birds haven't noticed it, but the squirrels love it! Juliet stands at the window and makes all sorts of noises, none of which are barks to scare the squirrels away. Regulars are Lumpy (he has tumors), Big Momma, Slim (he won't be for long!), Bubba (in the picture), and Grandma. The males eat and run, but the females are curious and will sometimes hang on the screen or sit on the window ledge to look at the dog. Juliet wants to play, and when she pounces on the window, the squirrels take off. The nice thing about this feeder is, they can only pull one seed at a time from the screen container, so it lasts. Last night a bear came and dumped our garbage can all over the yard and mutilated the seed feeder. Mark cleaned the garbage up while I bent the damaged feeder back into shape. Lesson learned, we'll bring both into the garage tonight.