Bird Watching

I enjoy watching the birds that come down to sample the seeds from our feeder.  Each type has its own personality. Their interactions are curious and intriguing.

The occasional painted-bunting shows up. These guys are so colorful that I'm not even sure if they're real, or some animated Disney cartoon version of a bird

Finches and titmice are timid. The black crowbirds are individually cowardly, but they invariably arrive en masse, using the 'strength in numbers' principle like an urban street-gang with a hive-mind. Bluejays are bullies.

Cardinals are cool, they just wish the bluejays and blackbirds would leave them be.

Woodpeckers are the undisputed kings of the feeder.  When a woodpecker swoops down, the bullyish bluejays suddenly realize they're not so tough.  Even the gang of mini-crow blackbirds scatters. The woodpecker doesn't even seem to notice them.

Then there are those mockingbirds that have perfected the noise of a cat's "meow". It continues to trip me out when a bird meows.And once, I saw some huge-ass fuck-all hawk-looking bird take a few bites from the feeder. It could barely hold him.

Weird. I wouldn't imagine raptors having any interest in seeds, nuts, berries and raisins. Don't they usually eat squirrels and rabbits, whole?

The funniest part was the little sparrow on the feeder, who wasn't the least bit scared. He moved out of the way, but remained perched atop the feeder until the raptor left.