The Seasons’ Not-so-Lone Rangers

Remember the Lone Ranger? Ever notice how he wasn’t really alone? He always had his trusty sidekick, Tonto at his side. Why? Because there is strength in numbers.

Well, there is strength in numbers in bird feeding, too.

During fall and winter, some nuthatches, titmice and chickadees search for food together in a “foraging guild.”

This results in many eyes looking for 1) the now dwindling supply of natural food and 2) potential predators. Birds in the guild recognize each other's alarm calls. This lets the guild keep a collective watch for predators and allows the individual birds to concentrate more on finding food.

Fortunately, chickadees, nuthatches and titmice are some of the hobby's most adored feeder visitors. They're small and cute, their movements are quick and erratic, and though they're gone from feeders just as fast as they arrived, it’s easy to be a big fan of these little birds.

Chickadees, nuthatches and titmice are also typically the first and easiest birds to attract to feeders in a wooded setting.

They have a mixed preference for sunflower (in and out of the shell), safflower and peanut pieces for caching (to retrieve and eat later), ingredients found in many of our exclusive seed blends, cylinders, Stackables®, Jim's Birdacious® BugBerry® Blend and more.

Visit us during our Bird Food Sale to save on all bird food. We’ll also make sure you have everything you need to see more of these not-so-Lone Rangers in your yard.