Delaware's birds of winter

This fox sparrow uses thick vegetation at the edge of a yard. The scarce, beautiful large bird can be attracted to a yard with a seed feeder and dense cover nearby, especially during a snowstorm.

An Eastern towhee sitting under a dryer vent to keep warm on a very cold winter day.

The pine siskin is a northern finch that is being seen in Delaware this winter in higher than average numbers. They normally visit feeders with “finch mix” containing nyger and small sunflower chips.

A Carolina wren takes advantage of a feeding box.

A downy woodpecker feeds on common mullien, a non-native plant the woodpecker is probably pecking into it for insects.

The Northern flicker is a fairly common woodpecker that will visit a suet feeder, but also loves berries found on native trees and vines in the winter. Poison Ivy berries are a favorite food of this bird.

The hermit thrush is a scarce winter resident, but likes to visit backyards with dense vegetation and especially those with fruiting native shrubs like American holly and winterberry.

The song sparrow is a common year-round sparrow that prefers to hide in dense vegetation with lots of naturally occurring seeds/ They will visit bird feeders, too.

This white-breasted nuthatch was photographed at Bucktoe Creek Preserve.

A red-bellied woodpecker at Bucktoe Creek Preserve.

A mourning dove is a common Delaware winter resident that will come to bird seed on the ground.

A white-throated sparrow in State Line Woods.