The last two or three weeks of really cold weather and snow cover have limited my treks into my usual haunts in the Times News area.

Add into that the fact that my favorite areas to find waterfowl, like Beltzville Lake, have been encased in ice. The result? No chance at “picking up” a few uncommon duck visitors.

So these factors have kept me at home and enjoying more of the activity at all our bird feeders.

You may remember in a previous column that I introduced the term crepuscular. These are birds that are the earliest to become active in the morning, and the last birds to be active close to or after sunset.

Let’s call them the early birds.

The first arrivals at my feeders have been, as I suspected, a pair of cardinals. But at about the same time the dark-eyed juncos arrive en masse. With the heavy snow cover and frigid temperatures, I believe every junco within a half-mile of the feeders has found mine. They are hard to count, but I’m quite sure I have had at least 80 juncos at one time.

First, a single Carolina wren appeared next, but a second (maybe its mate) had joined. Mourning doves probably arrived next. To my surprise, since Feb. 2 a pair of Eastern bluebirds began feeding on my suet blocks and suet cylinder. They, just like in warmer times in spring, don’t sleep in either.

I know that some people are successful feeding them meal worms so I gave it a try. They gobbled up the live meal worms I had in the fridge. I then bought a bag of dried mealworms, and they liked them, too.

But, here come the sleepy heads.

Starlings become active a little later. Unfortunately, because of their size and aggressiveness, they become bully birds, just like the blue jays. I’ve learned quickly that if I want the bluebirds to get their share of meal worms, I put the worms out at daybreak. Sure enough, the pair was there very early, and those early birds … got the worms.

I have about eight blue jays eating the whole peanuts I put on the railing of the deck. In our backyard, they seem to be the sleepy heads. They are usually the last ones to begin feeding. Why? I really don’t know.

In late November this past rifle deer season, I noticed that the juncos were the first ones active in the morning. The tufted titmice and nuthatches seemed to wake later.

One morning, after watching a few deer meander by a few minutes after sunrise, four previously unseen turkeys flew down from their roosts. Were they making sure that one of the local coyotes had stopped feeding as it got light? Maybe their eyesight is better once the dimness of dawn disappears. Even the blue jays in that Franklin Township woods were up and about before them. I guess the turkeys are late sleepers, too.

Take a moment one morning and note when the different bird species arrive at your feeding stations. You don’t even have to “get out there.”

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: In mid-February, in our area, which one of these hawk species would most likely raid your feeders to prey on the birds there? A. Cooper’s hawk; B. harrier; C. peregrine falcon; D. red-tailed hawk.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Very cold temperatures play no role when “whitetail” bucks shed their antlers. But seldom do they keep their headgear after mid- to late February.

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com