Winter Entertainment

Brrr.  That's all I can say.  My thermometer did not move above -30C today.  On top of that, there was a windchill.  The sun was shining which made the scene outside look deceiving.  It was a good day to be housebound if I had to be.

The loud squawking coming from the backyard got my attention.  I looked through the window to see what the noise was all about.  There was a feeding frenzy taking place.

  


The tray feeder that the blue jays frequent was empty so they were trying their best to fly in and hang on to the narrow ledge of a hanging feeder.  The feeder would swing back and forth wildly when they flew away.

The chickadees were forced to wait until the blue bullies left the feeder.  They fluffed their feathers to protect their bodies from the bitter cold as they waited patiently.  As soon as a jay would leave, three to four chickadees would come flying in to the seed store.  I watched in awe and wondered how those little creatures could stay warm in the bitter cold just by fluffing their feathers.

When there was room at the feeder, the redpolls would swoop down from the aspen branches.  A flock huddled in the upper part of the tree.  The blustery wind whipping around the corner of the house was making it necessary for those little birds to hang on for dear life.

 I ventured out and filled the tray feeder with striped sunflower seeds, raisins and some peanut butter covered bread.  It wasn't long before a  nuthatch showed up.  I've see them at the hanging feeders but this was the first time that I've seen one at the tray feeder.  It made numerous trips back and forth for nourishment.


The cold was forcing all the feathered friends to come out in droves.  They were messy eaters this afternoon; dropping many seeds to the snow beneath the feeder.  The seeds lured in some beautiful ground feeders.

I could hear the pine grosbeaks in the tree tops.  It didn't take them long to scavenge the seeds the fallen seeds.  Their colorful plumage stood out brightly against the white snow.

As I watched the feeding frenzy I realized that I had appropriately placed the stake that holds the bird feeders.  I could see all the action from my bedroom window.  It provided some welcome, afternoon entertainment on a cold winter day.