SCOTT SHALAWAY Who's who at the backyard feeders?
I went to bed Christmas Eve expecting to awaken to a winter wonderland. Every weather forecast promised it. Instead, it rained all night. As I wrote this Christmas morning, temperatures and snow were falling. And it turned out to be a white Christmas, after all.
Meanwhile, I fill the feeders. Though more than 60 million Americans feed backyard birds, I suspect many more won't admit they do because they can't tell a chickadee from a junco. They enjoy watching birds in the backyard, but they have neither the time nor the inclination to buy a field guide and learn the birds' names.
Sound familiar? If so, this column's for you. Learning backyard birds is not nearly as difficult as it seems, especially in winter. Fewer than 25 species commonly visit winter feeders. The key isn't mastering a voluminous field guide, it's simply knowing which birds to look for.
Here's a list of common feeder birds and a thumbnail sketch of their characteristics. They may not all visit every feeder, and you may see others that aren't on the list, but by learning this basic cast of characters you'll be able to recognize 90 percent of the winter birds that brighten your yard. For more details, check out a field guide at the local library.
If the following short primer helps you identify some birds in the backyard and you enjoy the process, skip the library and buy your own field guide. You just might be a birder.
sshalaway@aol.com