Tag Archives: Tufted Titmouse

Birds to brighten your day: April 18

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A tufted titmouse visits in a yard in Danbury, CT, April 2020. (Merganser Lake)

A Day on Lake Merganser X

Tufted titmice are a common occurrence in my backyard; perhaps the most common. I still appreciate the small birds, no matter how many of them I’ve seen. Titmice are not known for their vocal prowess, but I’ve heard a lot of different songs and calls come from them. They have quite a range of sounds. Yet another reason to like these little birds.

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

Lingering garden scene

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  • Photo by Chris Bosak Tufted titmice gather near a container with coneflower during November 2018.

Scenes like this are quickly fading as winter starts to creep into New England. These coneflowers have lingered into late fall because I purchased them at a box hardware store on clearance a few weeks ago. I’m hoping the flowers return next year, but until then I’m enjoying their later-than-usual blooms. The birds are, too, of course.

Another winter photo: Tufted titmouse in the snow

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Photo by Chris Bosak A tufted titmouse perches on a carabiner that holds up a homemade platform birdfeeder in Danbury, Conn., during the winter of 2016-17.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A tufted titmouse perches on a carabiner that holds up a homemade platform birdfeeder in Danbury, Conn., during the winter of 2016-17.

Just another leftover winter photo.

Leftover snow photo 2: Titmouse eyes a peanut

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Photo by Chris Bosak A tufted titmouse contemplates grabbing a peanut from a deck railing following a snowstorm in Danbury, Conn., Feb. 2017.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A tufted titmouse contemplates grabbing a peanut from a deck railing following a snowstorm in Danbury, Conn., Feb. 2017.

Here’s another leftover snow shot from last week’s storm. Titmice were the second-most reliable sighting in the backyard during and after the storm(s). Junco was the best most reliable with dozens in the backyard at any given time.

Titmouse grabs a peanut

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Tufted Titmouse tries to figure out how to pick up a peanut off a deck railing in Danbury, Conn., in the fall of 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Tufted Titmouse tries to figure out how to pick up a peanut off a deck railing in Danbury, Conn., in the fall of 2016.

I am entertained by birds doing just about anything, but one of my favorite sights in the backyard is watching birds grab peanuts and fly off to store or eat them. I put a handful or two of peanuts on a platform feeder or on the deck railing itself and wait for the birds to discover them.

If the Blue Jays arrive first, forget it, the peanuts will be gone in a matter of minutes. Same goes for the Red-bellied Woodpecker. One or two of them empty the feeder in minutes, too.

I like when smaller birds, such as the Tufted Titmouse above, go after the peanuts. Their bills aren’t large enough to simply fly in, grab the nut and take off. They need to pick the right peanut and position it just right to grab it.

If you’ve never tried offering peanuts in the shell to birds, give it a shot. It has great entertainment value.

This guy’s not happy about the hummingbird series ending

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Tufted Titmouse grabs a sunflower seed from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., summer 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Tufted Titmouse grabs a sunflower seed from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., summer 2016.

Yes, yesterday was the last hummingbird photo in the series. This was the reaction of this Tufted Titmouse when it found out the news.

But in all seriousness, I don’t typically feed birds in summer, mostly because by June all I’m getting are squirrels, chipmunks and House Finches. Every so often, though, I put some sunflowers seeds on a platform and see what will show up. It didn’t take long for the titmice, chickadees and nuthatches to show up.

More photos of birds using the homemade feeder

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Photo by Chris Bosak A White-breasted Nuthatch checks out a new bird feeder in Danbury, Conn., March 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A White-breasted Nuthatch checks out a new bird feeder in Danbury, Conn., March 2016.

As promised, here are a few more photos of birds using the feeder that my 12-year-old Andrew and I made last week. Here’s the original story in case you missed it.

More photos by clicking below.

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Today at the feeder

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Photo by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Black-capped Chickadee and Downy Woodpecker share the suet feeder, Nov. 16, 2014.

It’s been a particularly busy day at the feeder today. There haven’t been any out of the ordinary species, just lots of backyard favorites. Here are a few photos from the action. Not pictured, but seen visiting today are: American Goldfinch; Northern Cardinal; Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker; Dark-eyed Junco; White-throated Sparrow; Blue Jay and American Crow. No nuthatches today yet … odd.

(Author’s note: OK, got my nuthatch. All is good.)

More photos are below. Click on “continue reading.”

Thanks for visiting http://www.birdsofnewengland.com

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We need more Titmice

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Tufted Titmouse perches on a pole near a birdfeeding station, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Tufted Titmouse perches on a pole near a birdfeeding station, Oct. 2014.

Last week I posted a photo of Tufted Titmouse that I saw outside my window at my birdfeeding station. It kicked off a short series of photos I posted of common backyard feeder birds.

But, of course, I had more than just one photo of Tufted Titmice. So here are a few more photos of this small and lovable blue-gray bird. So far this fall Tufted Titmice have been the most numerous and reliable birds at my feeder. I can’t complain about that.

More photos below:

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Kicking off a celebration of our common backyard birds

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Tufted Titmouse perches on a branch of a fading sunflower before heading to a nearby birdfeeder.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Tufted Titmouse perches on a branch of a fading sunflower before heading to a nearby birdfeeder.

This photo of a Tufted Titmouse is pulling double duty. It accompanied my latest column in The Hour (Norwalk, Ct) and The Keene Sentinel (Keene, NH), which may be found here.

It is also being used on this post to kick off a celebration of our common backyard feeder birds. This is a great time of year for feeding birds as the feeders are active with titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals and other birds. Under the feeder, birds such as White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos have returned. So to celebrate that, I’ll post a series of photos highlighting some of our more common, but beloved, backyard birds.