Return to Normal

I still don't know what "normal" is here, so maybe I should say the Bird Counts met my expectations this weekend with a total of 15 species and 66 individuals. A far cry from 3 species last weekend! The only bird missing that I would have expected is the White-breasted Nuthatch which seems to always come around with the Chickadees and Titmice. Perhaps it showed up while I was out.

Checklist for FeederWatch Missouri Birds

Mourning Dove	7
Downy Woodpecker	1
Northern Flicker	1
Blue Jay	3
Carolina Chickadee	3
Tufted Titmouse	4
Carolina Wren	2
Song Sparrow	1
White-throated Sparrow	4
Dark-eyed Junco	16
Northern Cardinal	3
House Finch	7 (0 with eye disease)
American Goldfinch	9 (0 with eye disease)
House Sparrow	2
Eurasian Tree Sparrow	3
Total Species/Individuals	15 / 66

The juncoes were here in full force with a total of 16 at one point. I've noticed that the birds tend to come in spurts of about an hour at a time. They'll be here, then disappear for a while. Guess they are visiting other feeders on the circuit, or a predator came into the area.

With heavily overcast skies, it wasn't the best weekend for photographing birds, but here are a few:

White-throated Sparrow

Tufted Titmouse

Carolina Wren

American Goldfinch

Downy Woodpecker

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