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birds in my yard



Hi,

I haven't been to any bird walks or to any special places lately to see
birds, but I've just been watching the birds in my yard and enjoying it very
much.  I don't think my yard has any particularly unusual species, but I am
going to list them here anyway because I'm jealous of all the lists that
have been coming by.  They are in order from the ones seen most frequently
to less frequently:

house finch
mourning dove
mockingbird
cardinal
carolina chickadee
nuthatch (not sure what kind)
tufted titmouse
carolina wren
brown thrasher
robin
red bellied woodpecker
flicker
blue jay

I have had mockingbirds, cardinal, robins, and house finches fledging in my
yard, that I have seen.  I live in the middle of the city (Columbia, SC) and
have several feeders that I fill with safflower (so the squirrels won't
bother the birds).  I hoped for hummingbirds but have not seen any yet, but
I have planted some beebalm and other hummingbird plants so maybe next year
I'll get some.

I grew up on the edge of town where my parents house backed up to a wooded
area.   At my parents, I often saw towhees, hummingbirds (the woods were
full of trumpet creeper), pileated woodpeckers, and heard wood thrushes; I
miss those here.

I also don't remember seeing nearly as many, if any, house finches when I
was younger and now they seem to be taking over the world.  They far
outnumber all the other species at my feeders.

People here often mention Eastern Towhees - is that the same thing as a
Rufuos sided towhee?  Are towhees often seen in the city?

Also, for the past 2 to 3 weeks, I have seen male cardinals chasing each
other around my yard.  I don't recall seeing this in the past, but somebody
on the other side of town told me they saw the same thing in their yard.
One of these males has a fledgling he is feeding - he divides his time
between feeding/watching over the baby and chasing the other male cardinal.
Once I saw 2 male cardinals chasing a third at the same time.  Doesn't it
seem sort of late in the season for territorial disputes.  Does anybody know
what is going on there?

Thanks for listening to my random observations.

Shannon Douglas
Columbia, SC
monkeyself@email.msn.com