Winter Backyard Birds

We hang a seed feeder and sugar water feeder on our back patio in winter to assist the various seed-eating species and the Anna's hummingbirds that overwinter.

I sit inside and take photos of the action. The pictures below are through a window that hasn't been washed in a while, and the feeder is always swaying when birds are on it. Apologies that the quality is mediocre; it's good enough to convey what we see going on all day, which is the goal here.

Both black-cap and chestnut-back chickadees dart in continuous, choreographed motion between the feeder and the Western red cedar trees 20' away. They never sit on the feeder more than 5 seconds.



The song sparrows consider themselves pretty big stuff compared to the chickadees. They fly to the feeder and chase the chickadees off, then sit and munch for up to a minute at a time.


The dark-eyed juncos are less frequent visitors, and seem better-mannered than the song sparrows.


The red-breasted nuthatch always points down the tree or feeder. They are less-frequent at the feeder and are even briefer than the chickadees - a second and they are gone. They also hit the feeder harder when they land on it, making it sway more. I finally obtained a satisfactory image.


The spotted towhee is the largest bird so far to perch on the feeder. They seem more comfortable on the ground, and after retrieving a seed, fly back under a dense bush below the feeder.


The largest winter bird to frequent our yard is the varied thrush, a cousin of the robin (who appears in early spring). They are too large to perch, although they once in a while attempt it. Perhaps the attempt is merely to knock some seeds out onto the ground.


Our Pacific sooty fox sparrow, like the towhee and thrush, compete with the squirrels for seeds on the ground. I have not seen a fox sparrow attack the feeder, but they are active under it.