A Few Birds

 I was sitting at the window the other day and was pleased to see a flutter of wings outside.  We don't see many birds here, so even a few common ones are a thrill for me.  I've been bird-watching all my life!

The first three photos are common Chickadees, the birds we see most often here.  You can easily recognize their black and white pattern, but I can identify them by their behaviour now.  They fly in a short bouncing flight, and at the feeder they pick up a single seed and carry it away.  They pin it to a branch with a claw and hammer it with their beak to open it, then it's back to the feeder for another.

The American Robin doesn't need much introduction.  One of our earliest spring migrants, it feeds mostly on worms.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is easy to identify by its acutely striped head, and by its upside-down behaviour.  As you can see there was definitely a pair visiting the feeder.

And finally we had a Dark-eyed Junco hopping around on the deck.  Juncos are ground-feeders, so they have pretty typical behaviour too.  In any case I was pleased to see the birds, but not happy with the photos.  I'm using my iphone for these, and I just don't feel they are very sharp or clear.