In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Learn more about the project and see all the 365 Nature posts.
Ever since I put our feeders up on Day 254 the birds have been returning in greater numbers every day. First it was a few House Finches and Black-capped Chickadees and not much else. But then I noticed the handful of peanuts I’d put out were gone. So I added more and again they disappeared while I was away. After doing this a few times I looked out front one day to find not one corvid, but three looking for food. The mystery of who had eaten the peanuts was still a mystery. In the past I had Steller’s Jays eating the peanuts until the crows discovered the feeder. Then I saw the Steller’s Jays no more. This week though, I had Steller’s Jays, crows and a brand new yard bird, Scrub Jays all in the yard at the same time. Since that first day I’ve spotted the Scrub Jays in our front yard nearly every day since then. They were visiting again this morning, along with a Steller’s Jay.
The seeds have attracted other birds as well and I’ve had a single Pine Siskin, Dark-eyed Juncos and recently, dozens of American Goldfinches. Yesterday when we arrived home, a dozen or so Goldfinches were perched atop a group of Rudbeckia flowers, nearly one per seed head, picking at the flowers. They also visit the sunflowers and feeders and seem to really enjoy the new seed mixes I purchased from Seattle Audubon.
