bird feeder garden

The veggie garden has been transitioned to a feeder garden for birds and pollinators.  This year --  among the tomatoes, beans, peas, and squash -- I planted more native flowering plants.  We watched as the nesting birds nearby brought their juveniles to the feeders and taught them how to feed themselves rather than gaping and begging.  Now, with seed feeders and suet cages loaded, we'll start FeederWatch in a few weeks; we'll enjoy watching the birds that gather here and report our counts for ornithology research.

chipmunks and sparrows

Stripes in the grass!  The chipmunks Tamias striatus often hang out beneath the feeder tray.  They can hide among the raspberry canes and safely dart out to gather seeds that the birds fling over the edge.  The stripes on the chipmunks' backs give them away when they think they are being stealthy.
(They love tomato juice -- in the summer, they chew holes in my garden tomatoes and suck the juice.)
This week migrating White-throated Sparrows Zonotrichia albicollis joined the chipmunks gathering a meal, kicking among the grass to find each seed.  Both species display stripes as part of their camouflage outfit.

Eastern Chipmunk

White-throated Sparrow

autumn harvest

female Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis on birch

The winter "guild" of feeder birds is forming.  The adult birds in the wild wild woods have molted into their new feathers; their offspring juveniles have learned to fly and hunt on their own.  As the leaves change color and insects are less abundant, birds instead harvest the ripe fruits and seeds on shrubs and trees.

travel ready

The hummingbirds have been filling up on nectar for their migration south in coming days.  This is the latest date I've seen Ruby-throated Hummingbirds still in Minnesota.  But then, the climate has allowed flowers to bloom later than usual too.