I am not going to copy facts from my Peterson's Bird Guide. There are ample facts on the internet if you want to pursue that. But maybe you've seen some of these birds and didn't know what to call them. Maybe you don't care what they're called. Whatever. . . .
Below is the Tufted Titmouse. These are common around the feeder. We like to make remarks about their spiked hair. For them, every day is a bad hair day, but some are worse than others.
Below is a Towhee. It's named for the call it makes, but that doesn't help me pronounce it. Sorry. This one's a male. The female has more rust-colored sides. You may know that males of many bird species are more brightly colored than their mates to distract predators (personally, I think peacocks go a little too far with the concept). Besides dining on the feeder, Towhees like to scratch around beneath it on the ground. Looks like this one could skip a meal or two, like moi.
Here's the Brown-headed Nuthatch, which often flocks with chickadees and sparrows. This is the one about which Amanda joked in my post about a week ago, "Dad, I think you just described yourself."
There are other types of chickadee, but the Carolina Chickadee is our very own. They are cute, active, and have a fascinating flight pattern that the books describe as "undulating." Look it up if you're curious. But if you watch a chickadee, you won't need to look it up.
Nope, that character below is not a cardinal. It's a Purple Finch. There's also a Scarlet Finch in my bird books, but I haven't seen one. This one looks scarlet, but the people that name them call it purple, and who am I to question them? This birds popular cousin, the Goldfinch isn't seen as often around here, mainly because the thistle seeds and other specialty seeds that attract them are a bit pricey.
Okay, here's the North Carolina state bird (and several other states), the Cardinal. If you don't know this one you are required to re-locate to South Carolina (not really, stop that sniveling). Cardinals are beautiful, showy, or gaudy, depending on your point of view. Their intelligence is also up for debate. Just watch them; you'll see what I mean. The males are very jealous. There might be several cardinals in the vicinity of the feeder, but it's rare to see them share it at the same time.
As a prelude to posting this blog, I brainstormed 18 birds we commonly see on our property, plus four more we have occasionally seen, including hawks. I bet you already know 10 or 15 common yardbirds (no offense, I'm not talking about your friends--that's yardapes). Watching them can be relaxing (okay, annoying for some people). If you actually want to attract them, it doesn't take much to lure them. If you have cats, hang your feeder at a safe height. Don't feel guilty if you like birds but don't want to fool with feeding them. All experts agree that birds don't really need our help to get enough food. Feeders are just our way of getting them in the locations where we want to observe them. Spring is coming and there will only be more and more aviary activity. Keep your eyes and ears open.
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