Hey birds! Fixed income here

A redpoll picks through the last of the seeds.

These feeders were all full to the brim Thursday morning.  The pictures were taken around 1 p.m. Friday (today).

This is always the first
one emptied.

While filling them, some quick guesstimate calculations came up with these numbers, the feed so far this winter:  black sunflower seeds, almost 90 pounds; sunflower chips, about 16 pounds; and thistle seeds about 5 pounds.  So, up until now these birds have eaten more than 100 pounds of feed put out for them.  Those are farm numbers for crying out loud.  Of course some of that poundage is what they spill on the ground,  but juncoes, grosbeaks and some redpolls, along with the grouse when they show up pick through those leavings.  Sometimes I will let the feeders stay empty for a day to force them to pick through what's on the ground.  Two days and they are gone for a while to somebody else's yard, I assume.  At times they can be
quite discerning diners.

A couple of redpolls aim at the remaining thistle seeds.

I remember years ago when in another climate we put out peanuts for the Steller's jays.  Several times we saw a jay land, puke up some sunflower seeds it had picked up somewhere else and then grab a peanut and take off with it.

Chickadees will come to the feeder while I
am filling it.

Today to refill the feeders, I opened the second 40-pound bag of sunflower seeds this season and another 4-pound bag of sunflower chips.  (The chips are expensive and go very fast so I only put a little out as kind of frosting for the rest.)

And what do I get for that?  I mean besides the pleasure of seeing them, and all the photographs I can find nothing else to do with except post them on here and facebook.

At this point it's a commitment. If I were to just quit filling them, I might have a real game of Angry Birds on my hands.

One thing I better get is well-fertilized soil when it comes to gardening in a few months.  That's why the biggest concentration of feeders is in the garden in the first place.

UPDATE: Just 24 hours later, had to refill them all again.