Bird feeder, part 2 🐦

(part 1)

Small birds like blue tits and robins can easily hold on to the fat ball holder, even while it's swinging. They take a peck, then look around for danger, compensating for the swing with their neck so that their head stays quite still.

Bigger birds can't eat the fat because it involves holding on sideways to a vertical thing and they're too heavy. Pigeons often perch and look at the food, but they can't figure out how to get it. You can almost see the cogs turning in their brains. Blackbirds are quite clever. They've figured out that they don't need to perch. They can flutter by the fat for long enough to take a peck, and they don't even try for a mouthful. They just pick up the fallen pieces from the grass. Magpies must have strong legs because they *can* hold on, but they're big enough to hoover up all the food, so I shoo them away.

All this I've seen because I've been at home so much in the last couple of years. Thanks, covid, but it doesn't make up for all the bad stuff.

#birds

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