Creature Feature – Familiar Friends

Over the winter, the birds we see with regularity often become our backyard favorites: cardinals, chickadees, titmice, finches, and woodpeckers, to name a handful. As familiar as they may be, it’s fun to learn new things about our feathered friends.

For example, although cardinals are common visitors to our feeders, they prefer to forage on the ground. In fact, one study revealed that cardinals spent 77% of their foraging time on the ground.

Did you know that chickadees usually mate for life? In the winter, chickadees live in small groups with a “pecking order” reflecting a dominance hierarchy, and each bird tends to sleep in its own roosting cavity.

You might be surprised to learn that goldfinches are 100% vegetarian, even in the summer months. As we edge towards spring, the male finches will begin to turn bright yellow, while the females stay dressed in subdued plumage.

Downy woodpeckers are North America’s smallest variety of woodpeckers. They have special feathers around their nostrils to keep wood chips out. Also, their bill is smaller than other woodpeckers – more like forceps at the tip – which enables them to extract insects and their eggs and larvae from within stems and other tight spaces.

Tufted titmice are among the first birds to warn others of a predator’s presence. The alarm call of a titmouse fades in volume to make it sound as though it is moving away, proving that this familiar feathered friend is more than just a pretty face!

Article & photo by Margie Manthey