Ha, there was a red headed woodpecker eating seeds on the ground on the driveway!

Very cool Rita!

The other day I had one cowbird out eating the seeds, today I see a bunch of them. At least 5. So now I have cowbirds mixed in my flock of seed eaters,. Usually only see cowbirds in the spring so am surprised that they are here.

They are not doing any harm this time of year as no nests to be raided.

Rita,
We had the same thing here during a snow storm in March. They came in flocks and ran some other birds off the feeders. I got a couple of pictures out of a back window, but they were grainy because of the snow and wind. They seemed aggressive and hungry. We had a lot of snow in the ground at that time. I haven't seen any this fall and winter. Here's the best shot I could get. I saw Ann's thumb down, and I tend to agree, but as you said they have done no harm. They are usually ground feeders when the snow is gone.

Mine are in a mixed flock of birds that feed on the ground here where I put out my birdseed. They are not aggressive or fighting with anyone.

A chipping sparrow just hanging out resting. I thought he looked so cute.









Here are the goldfinches Tara

The Cowbirds are back today eating on the seeds. Lots of other birds also including the Morning Doves, Blue Jays, Juncos, and lots of different Sparrows.

After I scattered corn and sunflower seeds beneath the pole feeder this morning, a whole flock of mourning doves came to breakfast. I counted 14 (with difficulty, as they kept moving around), which is the most I've ever seen together.

I don't get to see many Mourning Doves here, only 1 or 2 during the summer. The past few years we have been getting more and more of the Ringed Doves, they are starting to annoy me, they do a lot of fighting amongst themselves and they end up scaring the small birds away. Yesterday I saw a Norther Shrike try to get one, crazy, they are so large compared to it.

June, nice flock of Morning Doves. I have a lot of Morning Doves here myself.

Margaret, sorry about you squawbly Ringed Doves. I have never seen one of those.

Lots of birds here eating the seed I put out. The usual gang.

We had a rare visitor on the suet feeder a couple of days ago: a red-bellied woodpecker. We have my DH to thank for the photo, which he took with his hi-tech zoom camera.

Most of the woodpeckers we see on our feeders are hairies and downies. They have an annoying habit of completely emptying a sunflower seed feeder by pulling out the seeds one at a time and dropping them onto the ground uneaten. I don't know how much the ground-feeding juncos and doves are paying them to do this.

Nice looking woodpecker.

After the doves had fed and gone, the turkeys arrived.


Then some testosterone-fuelled fighting broke out.

The trouble-makers were sent away, leaving the grand old man in charge.

Handsome woodpecker. June the flickers do that here, drives me crazy to see the seed being flung all over the place.

That is why I don't use feeders. I just put my seeds on the driveway. When I tried feeders years ago the silly birds just emptied and dumped them. No more of that. If they want the seed on the ground then I will just put the seed on the ground!

June, those turkey are really something. Must be exciting to see them come around. Do you just feed them bird seeds? Seems like they are such big birds that they should be eating horse feed!

Rita, those big turkeys love corn and sunflower seeds. I havn't tried giving them horse feed. I don't know how such a large bird can find enough to eat in the wild in winter (which is probably why they are all in my yard now). The freezing rain we had recently (two episodes, each laying down one-quarter-inch of ice) must have made it really hard for the turkeys to reach any food on the ground in the surrounding woods and fields. The layer of ice on top of the snow is so resistant, I have to jump up and down on it to break through, and I'm a 170lb woman.

Cracked corn is a great winter feed. I use it myself. It comes in different grades of fine, medium and course. Seems to me that the course would be perfect for feeding the turkeys.

I buy whole corn now, as the cracked-corn I used to buy contained a lot of dust that was useless as food and just made a mess.