Snow Birds

No, not people who fly to Fla in winter, actual birds in snow. Specifially the birds who gather around my bird feeder. We get a wide variety, mostly finches, and other small birds. We get the occasional woodpecker, after the nuts in the mix I use, but the king of the feeder is a Cardinal who with his mate have joined the freeloaders.

I watched them this weekend. The ground was covered in snow, and the feeder was full. The male is very bold, flying up to the feeder and scattering the smaller birds, but his mate was more timid. She just couldn't bring herself to perch on the feeder. When she tried, another bird will fly near, and she will flee to the upper branches or a nearby bush. The male tried to entice her to the feeder, but she stopped even trying. She sat on the ground, under a bush. Then the male cardinal started pulling seed out of the feeder, and scattering it on the ground. The female hopped over and started eating. That became their system. He would take over the feeder, scatter seed for her, then she would eat on the ground, near the safety of the bushes.

It was amazing to me to watch this bird realize his mates fear, and figure out a way for her to eat in safety. All of which was immensely entertaining to our cat. The whole feeder set up is outside a bay window, where her bed is. It's like the cat version of tv.