I know many of you are not fond of the cold and snow, but you have to love the extra bird activity at your feeders. We have heard from many customers seeing Bluebirds for the first time at feeders. Is it because there are more Bluebirds here now, or has the inclement weather forced them to seek out “alternative” food sources more often? Perhaps it’s both reasons. We know that harsh winter conditions north of us can and does “push” many types of birds, including Bluebirds, toward us in the southern region. Many of you have discovered Bluebirds will eat seed if it is out of the shell. Sunflower hearts and chips, shelled peanuts, and suet become important to their survival when snow and ice eliminate insects totally from their diet for a period of time. Even those of you accustomed to feeding Bluebirds live mealworms have discovered they will eat dried worms, too, when conditions dictate.

Other birds being seen for the first time for many of you include Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned warbler, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-winged Blackbird, and one of my favorites that largely goes unnoticed, the Fox Sparrow.

I never see this bird in my yard unless there is a significant snowfall. They seem to appear only when snow accumulates. They, like most Sparrows, are ground feeders, searching and scratching the leaf litter on the forest floor for seeds, berries, and insects. One of my simple but effective feeding strategies with accumulated snow is to place a few pieces of plywood on the ground and sprinkle several kinds of seeds liberally on the dry surface. It only takes moments for Junco’s, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows, Cardinals, and Towhees to find the offering.

Click here to read more on the Fox Sparrow!

The Fox Sparrow have been described as the best in their family at “scratching”. They are larger than most sparrows and have large feet and unusually long toes and claws that enable them to dig deeper and more aggressively into the leaves and soil for food. The scratching action is very similar to the Towhee’s.

Fox Sparrows are about 7” in length. Most have a reddish colored rump and tail, and reddish wings with subtle white wing bars. The breast is heavily streaked with rusty, triangular shaped markings. Gray is apparent about the neck and shoulders and combined with the rusty red gives this bird a “foxy” appearance. So the next time you see several sparrow-like birds on the ground get your binoculars and take a closer look. It’s a real treat to see this bird.

Rose-breasted Gosbeaks

Every spring we are fortunate to see Rose-breasted grosbeaks visit our feeders for an all too brief time as they make their way north to breeding areas. The male is very handsome, sporting black and white plumage, with a v-shaped splash of vibrant red on the chest. The female’s plumage is primarily brown and white, with its underparts heavily streaked. On females you may also see the yellow wing linings. Both males and females have a large, triangular shaped bill. Some years they are scarce at the feeders but others we see small flocks of these birds settle in to feeding areas and seemingly remain for as much as three or four weeks. It’s very likely that you are seeing a daily exchange of at least some of those grosbeaks, though. Birds you saw yesterday may already have moved on to be replaced by new arrivals. They readily accept a variety of seeds, mostly sunflower and safflower, and most tube, hopper, and platform feeders accommodate them nicely. Let us know when and how many you see.

Indigo Bunting

Another very nice bird, although not as common in numbers at feeders as the RB Grosbeak, is the Indigo Bunting. A breeding male Indigo Bunting is blue all over, with slightly richer blue on his head and a shiny, silver-gray bill. Females are basically brown, with faint streaking on the breast, a whitish throat, and sometimes a touch of blue on the wings, tail, or rump. Immature males are patchy blue and brown. One may see them feeding on sunflower, safflower, millet, and finch feed. They are apt to visit hanging feeders as well as forage on the ground.

This small bright blue bird spends its winters in central and southern parts of South America, and can been seen across eastern North America in the spring and summer months. Indigo Buntings eat small seeds, berries, buds, and insects. They are common on the edges of woods and fields; along roads, streams, rivers, and power line cuts; in logged forest plots, brushy, and abandoned fields where shrubby growth is returning. A great local spot to see Indigo Buntings is along the Harpeth greenway that runs behind Ensworth high school and Warner parks where the field hits the tree line along the Harpeth River. They can be seen darting in and out of the tree line foraging for insects and small seeds in the fields and trees.

Like all other blue birds, Indigo Buntings lack blue pigment. Their jewel-like color comes instead from microscopic structures in the feathers that refract and reflect blue light, much like the airborne particles that cause the sky to look blue.

Baltimore and Orchard Oriole

The Baltimore and Orchard Oriole are not really common spring feeder birds but worth mentioning. They migrate through TN on the way to their breeding destinations, which tend to be north of TN. Some of my bird store associates in Iowa and Ohio do a very strong “Oriole” business because they are in the heart of Oriole breeding territory. Both species of Oriole are insect, fruit and nectar feeders.

We often encounter a customer that reports a Baltimore at their seed feeder which would be extremely unusual, but not impossible. After a few questions and shared pictures it is usually determined to be a male Eastern Towhee. There are similarities but when seen side by side very distinct differences.

The Baltimore is the more familiar of the two and is known for its bold orange and black plumage. Females are olive to brown above and burnt orange-yellow below. White wing bars are very noticeable. Baltimore’s are about 8” in length, long tailed, and have sharply pointed beaks.

The Orchard Oriole is slightly smaller. The male is a rich chestnut color on its underparts and black above. Females are an olive-green above and yellowish below, much like female Tanagers, but have distinguishable white wing bars.

Over the course of 25 years I have tried various proven methods of attracting Orioles to my yard with little success. Available information about Orioles suggests orange halves and jelly are the two most common food choices to grab an Orioles attention. None of my attempts with these offerings ever produced results.

The years I did attract them I did nothing specific to make it happen. A few times I had multiple male Orioles visiting hummingbird feeders, and other years it has been the moving water source (fountain) that is very popular with all birds. The times they decided to come to hummingbird feeders were likely a result of a lack of natural food sources they would normally be drawn to during their spring travel. Over the course of the few days Orioles were visiting my hummingbird feeders I also presented orange halves in plain view, because that’s what you always see pictures of them feeding on, but they showed no interest and seemed to be content with the sugar water nectar.

Snow Brings Out Many Different Birds