I have lived in the area for about 10 years now, and if you asked me what kind of birds we had in our backyard I would have said American robins, the biggest black crows I have ever seen and hawks. On two special occasions I have seen the American bald eagle in the neighborhood as well.

We also have a countless number of very noisy songbirds, of which I have no idea what they are, but I do enjoy listening to them, sometimes. There has been the occasional early morning when I have yelled an obscenity and thrown a pillow at the open window.We of course have red throated hummingbirds by the dozens on warm summer days.This year in late winter I added a bird feeder to our back deck and have to admit to being surprised and thrilled by the visitors we have seen right outside our glass doors.First were the blue jays, none of which look like they are starving, in fact they are a very robust bird and frankly the bullies of the bird feeder. While the blue jays are around, only the northern cardinals are brave enough to sojourn to the feeder along with the occasional squirrel.But I was so happy to see the blue and red birds outside the window.As the days turned into weeks, you can imagine my pleasure as the many new birds showed up at the now multiple feeders on the deck.Early on I spotted downy woodpeckers and their relatives the red-bellied woodpecker. I had seen these in the area before and have most definitely heard them beating a tattoo in the woods surrounding our home. But these guys were now sitting on the deck selectively rooting through the bird feed to pick only the choicest of sunflower seeds before going back to their assigned trees.Mourning doves have now become an afternoon staple and love to whoo whoo while snacking on the various seeds and nuts. The doves also like to hang out on the clothesline, which had better come to an abrupt halt as the bed sheets take up residence there as the warmth of spring moves into theheat of the summer.More recently my newest visitors include the tufted titmouse, all gray with their pointy little heads. The late afternoon often brings by an American goldfinch or two.In the late morning the red-winged blackbirds, house sparrows and chipping sparrows bop their heads up and down as they fill their bellies. We have also observed the red-breasted nuthatch and his cousin the white-breasted nuthatch and a few tree swallows and northern mockingbirds.The newest edition is one of my favorites, the brown-headed cowbird. They are very cool-looking and are usually visiting the feeder at suppertime, so they put on a dinner show for me.Obviously all of these birds were here all along, but since there was no bird feeder, they sought their sustenance elsewhere. But they have me hooked, and I will be keeping the feeders full year-round to see who and what comes to visit us. And yes, I do put out peanuts for the squirrels as well, although the dogs are not very fond of them and usually bark at them and of course there are the chipmunks, but that is where the dogs draw the line - no chipmunks allowed.