I’ve been watching the different birds that come to my Bird Lounge and go after the peanuts. It looks like each species has its own peanut ritual – very interesting, and very fun! Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) aren’t choosy – they prefer to be quick. They will fly in, look around, then dart to get a peanut and take off.

The Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) are not worried about speed at all. They will pick up a peanut, give it a shake, and usually put it down and choose another. It reminds me of how we choose fruit in the grocery store. Pick it up, squeeze it, smell it – and inevitably put it back and choose another. The Blue Jays almost always go through several choices before being satisfied. I can only speculate that they are wanting to make darn sure that their peanut is full, and shakes it to test the weight and heft. It doesn’t want to be fooled by one of those shells that is really hollow or missing a peanut.

The Tufted Titmice (Baeolophus bicolor) will usually peck a hole into the shell so that it can grasp it and fly off with it. I have seen the occasional Titmouse that can fit a smallish peanut in its mouth- now that is quite a mouthful. If I get a picture of this, I’ll share.

Just this morning, I witnessed a Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) visiting the peanuts. They usually don’t go for the peanuts in the shell, but I expect to see more of them at the peanuts as it gets colder. The cardinal I saw this morning worked diligently on-the-spot, to tear away pieces of the shell. When it finally extracted the prized peanut, he flew off. That was a lot of work, but I suppose the peanut payoff was worth it.

Of course my favorite furry friends, the squirrels, snag a peanut or two:

They can strip a shell away in seconds and get right to the good stuff. There is enough activity on the Bird Lounge so that no one bird or squirrel dominates the peanuts. Everyone gets a snack!