A couple weeks ago I was writing at my desk when I heard
a tapping on my window. A Tufted Titmouse, eye to window, was reading over my
shoulder. Or maybe he was wondering where the heck the sunflower seeds were.
You see, Tufted Titmice hoard food – just like chickadees. The
Titmice raid the feeder, carrying off seeds one-by-one and storing them,
usually within 130 feet of the feeder. The Titmice around my house take the seeds
over to the forsythia bush … where the juncos and chickadees hang out.
You can find out more about the Tufted Titmouse at All About Birds - where you can also listen to recordings of their songs and calls.
If you've got titmice (and chickadees and nuthatches) and a bunch of sunflower seeds, try to follow them and figure out where they're taking those seeds. If they don't snack on all those seeds, you might find a sunflower growing in a tree next spring!
Head over to STEM Friday for more science resources.
That's a "wow!" photograph and a very fun story. Titmice are amazing birds.
ReplyDeleteTitmice are pretty cool, and I wish I could claim credit for the photo... I did, however, manage to catch some chickadees grabbing sunflower seeds from my feeder - I'll post one on Wed.
Delete