Day 326: November 22nd – The Thanksgiving Feast

Sunny, mid 50s and calm

       An ideal Thanksgiving Day as the weather could not have been nicer.  I’m cooking dinner for all my family who will be here later this afternoon.  In the meantime, I figured I better provide a feast for my other family as well, the songbirds which call the area around my house “home”.  For the first time since last winter, I filled all the feeders with the delights of a Thanksgiving dinner fitting for all my feathered friends….sunflower seeds, mixed seed, Cardinal mix, nuts, fruits, and suet.  I had something for every bird’s taste. 

        This was all the invitation the birds needed.  Early this morning, the throng started to pour in.  Before I had enough light to photograph them, the juncos and the White-throated sparrows arrived.  The Tufted titmice were next and at first, they just didn’t want to share.  A chickadee looked on as if with disapproval at the attitude of the bird on the right.

       Fortunately, as the morning wore on, the titmice learned how to share and partook of the meal in a warm and friendly fashion.

       Also in attendance were two species of woodpeckers…the Red-bellied which preferred the mixed seed……

and the Downey who went to his usual choice, the peanut flavored suet.

       The Blue jay seemed to take a liking to the Cardinal mix I had put out and basically kept returning to this feeding station.  The jays often like to torment the other smaller birds, but this one busied himself with the nuts and seeds here and didn’t bother the others today.

       Of course the uninvited guest also showed up, but with me on the scene with my tripod and camera in hand, the rodents seemed to be a little reluctant to join in…a real rarity around these feeders as I’m sure you all aware.

       It was interesting to watch the White-breasted nuthatch come in to the platform feeder on a regular schedule.  I imagine that the posts holding up the roof of the feeder provided the perfect perch for his preferred feeding position…head down.

       I must mention that the regulars who think they own the exclusive rights to all the feeders are the House sparrows, and as usual, they let all their relatives know that there was a fine meal to be had at the Bakers’ home.

       Well, in closing, I hope that all of the readers of this blog will have as enjoyable and filling a Thanksgiving feast as did the avian dwellers at my home.  Happy Thanksgiving!