FeederWatching - Week #10

It was an exciting weekend of FeederWatching - the most productive weekend yet for this season with a grand total of 26 species counted.

Much of the excitement was caused by the Red-shouldered Hawks which were in courtship mode. The pair spent much of their time circling and swooping in the sky over my yard, calling noisily all the time.

In fact, it was a great weekend for hawk watching in general, because in addition to the Red-shouldereds, both of the other hawks that I know to be in residence here now also showed up. A Red-tailed Hawk spent a lot of time circling over my yard, sometimes flying along with the Red-shouldered Hawks. The Cooper's Hawk made several assaults on the birds at the backyard feeders while I was watching. As far as I could tell, he never actually managed to catch one, but he chased a flock of House Sparrows into the shrubbery and perhaps got lucky there.

I was also excited to witness a visit by a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It was the first time I had seen one in my yard this winter. I always look forward to their seasonal trips to this area.

Additionally, it was a very good weekend for doves in my backyard. Three of the four resident doves put in an appearance. Here is the complete list of birds counted this weekend.

Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Eurasian Collared-dove - 1
White-winged Dove - 1
Mourning Dove - 1
Rufous Hummingbird - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Carolina Wren - 2 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 2
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Northern Cardinal - 6
American Goldfinch - 27
House Sparrow - 10 

Seeds are being consumed from the feeders at a much faster rate these days. Even the nyger seed feeders have to be refilled often, and the suet cakes disappear as if by magic! The birds are hungry at mid-winter, but they repay us for their food bill by their entertainment value. Actually, I think I come out ahead on the transaction.