Bird Feeder Visitors

Bird feeders can be busy places, especially in winter when food (especially insects) isn't readily available. This picture shows, left to right, a "confusing" chickadee [1], a Tufted Titmouse, and a White-breasted Nuthatch. Although I'm sure these birds meet in wild settings to forage for food, bird feeders are 1 of the few places there's sufficient food to bring numerous foraging birds into close proximity to each other. I haven't witnessed an actual fight at a bird feeder; they usually establish a pecking order that won't leave everyone happy but generally avoids physical altercations.

All 3 of these birds not only eats from the feeders, but they're also hoarders, taking food from the feeder and hiding it for later [2].

Chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and woodpeckers are often found foraging in the same area, probably for a couple of reasons:

  • They're looking for similar food.
  • Having more eyes on the alert for danger means it's less likely any of them will fall to a predator.
Though it'd be a stretch to claim these birds are friends, they might be analogous to coworkers in a non-toxic workplace.

January 27, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 263366678, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] One of our very similar chickadees, either a Black-capped Chickadee or a Carolina Chickadee, or a hybrid.

[2] Although this could be interpreted to mean they don't trust us humans to simply refill the feeder, in a wild setting hoarding is a good way to ensure they take full advantage of less renewable food sources.

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