The birds have finally become regulars here at the house. Sometimes the only thing I can find to pass the time is to sit and watch as birds fly in and out from the feeders. Occasionally there is a red squirrel or two that come and grab as much seed as possible before running off, their engorged cheeks making them look like children trying to get away with one too many candies in their mouths before mom catches them.
There have been a couple of Nuthatches around since the beginning of spring. I always find enjoyment in watching them climb up and down, backwards and forwards, and upside-down on trees.
Along with them we've had a variety of woodpeckers, from the smaller Downy and Hairy to the elusive, and much larger, Pileated on occasion. Of course, we never see them at the feeders...but we've seen them chasing eachother playfully through the woods out back. They follow eachother from tree to tree sometimes passing a little too close overhead. The Pileated Woodpecker, though, is less sociable around us so I've only heard drumming on distant trees as it calls to others.
Blue Jays are not as common as we had where I grew up in Southern Vermont where they would be so abundant that we would be excited about seeing movement at the feeders but then turn away saying "oh its just another Blue Jay". We have just enough here that I don't get sick of looking at them. They are so under-appreciated.
And of course, we have the Chickadees.
I love the little Chickadees and their cheerful little antics. Sometimes I sit out by the shed enjoying the warmth from the sun and watch as these little birds hop along the ground looking for dropped seeds and then chase eachother around the feeder as if playing a silent, much faster, version of musical chairs...who will make it to the bar on the feeder this time, I wonder? Chickadees have such a familiar song that, for some reason, reminds me of childhood. (Although sometimes, I must admit, I forget that I'm not STILL a child; one of the perks of being young-at-heart I guess.) I think my favorite thing about these little black-capped songbirds, though, is the fact that they remind me of my Dad. He always says that they are his favorite and I sometimes wonder if I say that they're mine as well just because of him.
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