February was a great month at the feeders. Lot of species showed up that I haven’t seen for several months. Temperatures were all over the place, dipping down in the -20’s, and bouncing back up to the 50’s. Those vastly different temps make for vastly different bird activity. You might think the frigid cold would make the birds more scarce, but I find it to be quite the opposite. Birds need to eat to make energy to keep them warm, so feeding them is even more important during those colder days. The warmer days can sometimes make for less activity, as it isn’t as necessary to eat to stay warm, and food might be easier to find elsewhere. I had a lot of the same visitors I always do, but had some different ones as well. The Blue Jay, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, White and Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch and Sparrow, and Harris’s Sparrow have been extremely plentiful. But as for the more selective visitors, there were a few White-crowned Sparrow, Eurasian Collared Dove, Dark-eyed Junco, and finally, Northern Cardinal. Cardinals tend to be pretty rare visitors for me, despite hearing them all spring and summer long. I’m super excited for March and seeing what kind of early migrants will come down for some food.
Northern Cardinal
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-crowned Sparrow
Blue Jay
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
House Sparrow
House Finch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-capped Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Harris’s Sparrow
