Thank goodness for backyard birds

Cooped up at home for a couple of weeks after knee surgery, I’ve managed birding only by looking out the windows at home. I got a surprise yesterday when a Northern flicker parked on the suet feeder long enough for me to get my camera and take a few photos.

Flickers visit our yard with fair frequency, usually plucking in the grass or pecking the bark at the base of trees. What was surprising about this visit was that the bird clung to the feeder, something I can’t recall seeing previously.

As on most days, a host of house sparrows were pigging out at the suet feeder and the tube feeder. Through a window, I looked on the ground below the tube feeder and was pleased to see a white-throated sparrow grazing on the seeds that the house sparrows had slopped into the grass.

Blue jays, Carolina wrens, American crows, mourning doves and common grackles have stopped by the last few weeks. I’ve even spotted a couple of red-winged blackbirds and a single Eastern bluebird, both species of which come by only occasionally.

Thanks to thrice-a-week physical therapy sessions, I’m recovering quickly from the surgery and expect to get out into the fields again within the next week or two. Meantime, I’m grateful for the birds that come calling at home. It’s also great therapy. 🦅