Do you have any birdfeeders close enough to your windows where you can actually watch the birds cracking open the seeds? Here are a couple of short movies I took yesterday afternoon of a male house finch and a female cardinal working on safflower seeds at the feeder outside my dining room window. They really have to work to get those hard shells cracked open for the little seed inside. It's interesting to see how much more efficient Mrs. Cardinal's large grosbeak is at cracking the seeds than Mr. House Finch's small beak.
It was kind of windy, so you'll notice that adds a bit more to the entertainment factor for watching this dining experience (I liked watching Mrs. Cardinal's crest blowing around).
that yellow thing in the background is one of Sophie's flying discs--she leaves her toys laying all over the yard! The other brown things are corncobs that the deer and bunnies have eaten all the corn off of--yard clean-up chores planned for the weekend!Have a great weekend everyone!
11 comments:
Love that windy crest!
Weeeeeee!!!!!
I often watch the different birds crack seeds. I have an Amazon parrot and he's fun to watch crack seeds also.
HA! Love the cardinal's "hair" bobbing in the wind!
That is so neat - that little bobbing cardinal top knot.
It is so neat to watch those seed husks fly.
Am I hearing a wind chime?
My back yard is trashed. My poor hubby. There must be a dumpster load of peanut shells and corn cobs back there :0)
Enjoyed your movies! I thought I heard a wind chime, too. I hope you will have a relaxing weekend, also.
Mrs. Cardinal could eat Mr. Finch for dinner; she gets down 4-5 seeds to his puny little one.
Got here from Ruth's Body & Soul blog, and glad I came.
I love watching the birdies eat! Nice videos!
I enjoyed your bird eating videos but I enjoyed the wind chime even more, it has such a lovely melody. [I turned the volume up just to hear it]
Mom
I like the chimes, too. Wonderful sound. Your video are good, Ruthie. I always think female cardinals look cranky when they eat :o)
Have a good weekend!
Hi Susan,
Wheeeee is right! I'm always amazed that they can hang on in even the strongest winds.
Hi Meggie,
They are amazing to watch.....the ability to eat without hands is what really fascinates me.
Hi Lynne,
Those ruffled feathers don't seem to bother her much either (I guess she already knows she's beautiful!)
Hi Cathy,
I can't even crack those seeds with my fingernails--they must have such strong beaks!
The big chimes are hanging right below the window where I took the movie.
I picked up the empty corncobs, and then put out some new ones (my yard is never truly cleaned up)
Hi April,
Glad you enjoyed the movie.
Hi Femail Doc,
Welcome to my blog; glad you could stop by for a visit.
Mrs. Cardinal eats her seeds faster, but Mr. House Finch usually stays a lot longer, so they probably end up getting about the same amount of seeds.
Thanks Mon@rch! (I think you've had some movies like this too, right?)
Hi Mom,
It's almost always windy here, so we always enjoy the chime.
Hi Mare,
She does have kind of an intense look on her face, doesn't she? I felt fortunate that she stayed long enough to video, normally any movement at the window causes her to fly away.
Great video close-ups! I never manage to get my birds that close.-I should move my feeders closer to the house.
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