Season’s feedings

The holidays are special for a whole stocking full of reasons. We see friends and family we haven’t seen in ages. Perhaps we take a special trip to somewhere warm. And we always hope that, when we arrive, our hosts will have set out that special treat we are so fond of. 

 

Winter is like that for many species of birds here in South Carolina, too. Some are year-round residents while others travel thousands of miles to winter here. And most of them seem very appreciative when they find the bird feeder freshly stocked with their favorite seeds.

 

Winter is a treat for feeder owners as well. Not only have some old “friends” returned, but the season offers less available food to birds, so many species seem especially drawn to feeders. The feeder hanging outside our dining room window has been overrun lately, and it is not uncommon to see two or three species using it at the same time. 

 

Here is a quick run-down of some common winter Daniel Island bird feeder guests.

 

The understated gray tufted titmouse and the brilliantly red northern cardinal share a similar, crested silhouette as well as a strong sense of home. They do not migrate and tend to live in one locale for their whole lives. The titmouse is odd in that it’s a fall and winter hoarder. It is frequently on and back off the feeder to go store its food somewhere nearby. These birds both share the feeder freely with other species.

 

The graceful mourning dove is generally happy cleaning up the seeds cast down by the more active eaters. They are mostly terrestrial diners and prefer picking seeds up off the ground to perching somewhere to eat a meal. They are often joined under the feeders by gray squirrels.

 

We have also been frequented by two aptly named Lowcountry visitors, the Carolina chickadee and our state bird, the Carolina wren. These are both very small birds. Carolina chickadees have conspicuous black and white heads while Carolina wrens are identified by brown upper bodies and heads, white eyebrow stripes and robust singing. The wren’s song is commonly described as being “teakettle, teakettle, teakettle.” While the chickadees are social with other birds, wrens tend to wait for calmer times to grab a bite, and are quickly gone again. We are also seeing house finches, several species of sparrows and several kinds of hawks, which are watching all of the activity with interest. We even have an opportunistic yellow-bellied sapsucker dining with us. She is quite a sight hanging off the bottom

of the tray while nearly upside down.

 

Finally, cleaning feeders periodically is critical. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources requested last March 8 that all South Carolinians take down their bird feeders until April due to a feeder-born sickness affecting pine siskins. There is ample guidance available online for keeping feeders clean and safe. Let’s do that, and happy holiday feeding!