I feed the birds and squirrels year round.
I may have a bander coming to visit me the beginning of January to try to capture and band the Painted Buntings. There is new research going on here along the east coast of Florida to try to figure out what is causing the sharp decline in those birds here in the eastern USA. More information can be found at this website:
http://paintedbuntings.org/
I had a bander visit me in January of 2011 who captured and banded two female Ruby-throated hummingbirds for research to determine if we had resident hummers. (We don't.) The banding studies indicated that there were different hummingbirds in winter than in summer.
What frequents my seed feeders year round is bluejays, cardinals, red-bellied woodpeckers, lots of doves (white wing and mourning doves), and grackles. In Winter, I have Painted Buntings, Indigo Buntings, catbirds, and warblers. The warblers use the hummingbird feeders in Winter along with the Ruby-throated hummers. I plant a lot of nectar plants around my yard for the hummingbirds which is my number one favorite bird. The Painted Buntings are my second favorite.
And I also have the predator bird - Red-shoulder Hawk. They do score a lot of the doves. They even get the occasional squirrel and one time even got a bluejay. When I hear the bluejays pitching a fit outside, I know a hawk is nearby. I go out into the yard and try to scare it off, but that doesn't happen often enough (because I have to head to work in the early mornings).
I feed about a dozen squirrels every morning, too. And there are usually lots of butterflies flying around during that time. Action in the first few hours of the morning is quite busy! Always fun to watch!
At night, I get the Eastern Screech Owls. Unfortunately, the fruit rats are also attracted to my yard because of the seeds on the ground. It can be a delicate balance in my yard at times. Below are some photos taken this morning.
Male and possible female Painted Bunting:
Warbler drinking nectar from hummer feeder:
Juvenile Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird:
Red-bellied Woodpecker:
