GUARDING THE FEEDER

This tufted titmouse, and the other smaller birds, are brave to stop for an oiled sunflower seed. I’ve noticed the cardinals standing sentry on the feeder rim – in fact, I think they take turns guarding it as their feeder. Today the male cardinal actually dove at the smaller birds when they’d land – getting more protective of their food as it gets closer to winter. The tufted titmouse and the nuthatch are always fairly quick acting, but when a cardinal is there, they barely stop long enough to grab one seed, then off they fly. Interestingly, when the red-bellied woodpecker (a bit larger than the cardinal) flew in for a bite, the cardinal quickly flew away. So there you have the hierarchy at the bird feeder!

Today’s best shot was of a pretty little tufted titmouse, but this picture seemed to go best with the story, so I’ve posted the ttm on Flickr.

Thank you so much for all the congratulations on reaching my 200th Blip. I never imagined what a great experience Blip would be. I’ve become interested in things I never even noticed before, I appreciate your kind comments and I truly enjoy checking your wonderful photos and journals each day. Now on to 365….