For several weeks in June our birdfeeders sit nearly abandoned as the songbirds incubate eggs and gather food for their newly-hatched young.
Slowly but surely traffic picks up as the fledglings get bigger. Some parents stop at the feeder for a much-needed snack after hustling for insects all day long. Others bring their babies with them to the feeders.
Recently a Downy Woodpecker introduced his offspring to one of our peanut feeders. On the first day the baby didn’t even try out the feeder. He clung to the bird feeder pole and let dad fly over and shove bits of peanuts in his mouth. On the second day the baby landed on the feeder with dad, but dad still did all the work:
By day three the baby was pecking at the peanuts like a pro as dad clung cautiously nearby.