Kevin, at home on Saturday while I was at the WA Democratic District Caucus, managed to catch the thief in the act…
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We hung a bird feeder about two months ago, and while the birds have been happy to pick up the seeds under the feeder, we’ve never seen one on the feeder. Possibly the wrong time of year, but still a mystery. This explains a lot. Kevin threw a pinecone at the thing right after he took the photo and the squirrel (apparently used to the numerous aggravating neighbours who feed them peanuts) scampered up. Kevin got a close shot.
I was all up in arms until a male/female duo turned up – our first birds that we’ve seen actually eating from the feeder. So exciting! I wanted to get a picture, but I more wanted them to stay (and it seemed like opening the door was a likely way to scare them away). They were teeny (slightly bigger than chickadees), and the male had a brown body with a bright red head — the beak shape and the tuft of feathers on the head looked like a cardinal to me. Kevin’s family gave me a bird book for Christmas, and it looks like what I was seeing was a either a pair of Purple Finches or House Finches. They were so pretty – I hope they decide to become regulars! And then I can get a photo and determine for good what they might be.