My parents always have a cage of suet that hangs in the tree outside their window.  We see all kinds of wood peckers – from downy to red breasted to every kind in between – chowing down on the suet feeder.  It also attracts nuthatches and tufted titmouse.  When my Dad has sunflower seeds out, however, we’ll see tons of gold and purple finches and cardinals.  He’s backed away from using a lot of sunflower seeds, though, because the squirrels hit it pretty hard, too, and he has no desire to feed squirrels.

I think watching the various birds through the years has given me a real love of these winged creatures.  That’s why when I went outside today to take some photos of the “dusting” of snow we received, I found I took mostly bird pictures.

Okay, so I’m not the best wildlife photographer you can find, but I like the picture!  If you’re interested in setting up a feeder to help wild birds during the winter months, here’s a link that you might find helpful.