The Carolina Wren is a year-round resident bird for us in southeast Kansas. Although our yard isn’t “open woods,” they find several trees and a couple of brush piles to explore.
The wrens in our backyard have two broods each year, of tiny, adorable nestlings.
If you follow my blog or Facebook/Instagram feeds, you may already know that the Carolina Wren is my favorite bird to watch.
Look at that itty-bitty tail!!
The wren is a voracious eater, feeding primarily on insects. During breeding season, we typically have dried mealworms in feeders for the wren and several others.
One of my favorite aspects of the wren is that the adult wren pairs perform a duet, with the female chattering while the male sings. It’s a unique and beautiful performance! And if you didn’t know better, you would think it’s a much larger bird than these tiny ones!
I hope that you have the opportunity to see the Carolina wren and even hear their beautiful duet! For more on the Carolina wren, check this out from All About Birds.
The baby birds and their parents are visiting our backyard. This means my birdseed supplies are in danger of a stock out.
A juvenile American RobinA juvenile American Robin and Dad
Between the near-daily replenishment of safflower seed, suet cakes, berries, and sunflower seed, and keeping the ponds maintained, along with the birdbaths clean, it’s another full-time job!
A juvenile Brown Thrasher
But this is okay. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
A juvenile Common Grackle
It could be the Stay at Home orders, which first spurred this supposed increase in backyard birds. Could it be that the birds are also staying at home?
Or could it be possible they have always been in the yard, and we’ve been too busy to notice?
A Common Grackle fledgling
Either way, they are especially joyful to watch this year. From the Common Grackle to the inconspicuous Northern Cardinal, the variety of birds this year is huge!
A wet European StarlingA juvenile European Starling
The European Starling looks black from a distance, but in the summer, they are purplish-green, with yellow beaks. The Starling is typically a loud bird, traveling in large groups. But there is just one lone pair and their little family that hangs around our yard.
A young Shorty, “scaling” the garden skyscraper
And then there is this bird. Wait, that’s Shorty! Shorty blesses us with her presence almost daily. Shorty is a young, small squirrel with only a half-tail. She is unique in many ways, including her downright friendliness, from the beginning. Maybe it’s somehow related to the short tail.
Come to think of it … maybe this is how all of this extra birding began: setting up new “squirrel-proof” bird feeders—more feeders with more variety of bird food. And then suddenly, there are more birds.
A juvenile American Robin
The Robins love grape jelly and grapes. Even the juvenile Robins are eating grapes out there with Mom and Dad.
An almost-mature female Northern Cardinal
The pair of Northern Cardinals are less conspicuous than Shorty. Well, most every bird is less conspicuous than Shorty.
A Common Grackle juvenile with a male Northern CardinalA Ruby Throated Hummingbird fledgling
The hummingbirds are a joy to watch, however, they’re not always easy to spot! I found that it is more effective to listen for their buzzing than to try and watch for them. The hummingbirds are so fast!
A Carolina Wren fledgling
And the Carolina Wren. If forced to rank and choose, the Wren is my favorite bird. This tiny bird belts out a song that is the loudest of songbirds in our backyard. When listening, you would think it’s a big bird. And while the Wren is shy, if you set out suet feeders in your yard and look for the Wren in garden brush piles, you may see this little guy with a big voice.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this post on June Baby Birds! If you want more information on feeder types and feeding birds, check out Feeder Watch.
Spring is an exciting time for those of us who enjoy bird watching. Additionally, some of the world’s prettiest birds are right here among us in the Midwest and Great Plains areas! You won’t believe what these 5 Midwest birds have in common! Debra Gail Fine Art Photography Prints – Longhorn Wall Art – Western Decor – Rustic Bison
There is a simple strategy for attracting these five beautiful birds to your backyard! Read on for more about the identification and eating habits of these five beautiful birds.
#1 – Woodpeckers
The Downey Woodpecker is stunning with its red head and black and white feathers
Woodpeckers are just a strikingly beautiful bird. Pure and simple. And a top favorite in the list of 5 Midwest birds to get to know.
The Woodpecker is a typical bird to find in the Midwest backyard as they flourish well in urban environments.
I like to put out suet and watch them line up! Additionally, they eat safflower seeds!
Furthermore, we have several types of Woodpeckers that frequent our backyard, including the Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, and Pileated Woodpecker.
5 Midwest Birds to Get to Know
#2 – Carolina Wren – My Favorite
Note the white band above the eye and the decurved bill
This sweet little bird, the Carolina Wren, often nests very close to homes.
They may nest in a planter in a garden shed or a hanging basket of petunias. If you place a nest box in a quiet area of your backyard, you may find a nesting pair there next spring.
The Carolina Wren is one of my favorite birds. These tiny creatures can sing loud! And when we’re on the patio, they will do a low and loud fly-by, as if to say “hello.” I just love being around these little birds!
Carolina Wrens love to feast on dried mealworms. We have a bright yellow trough feeder that they love to visit. They will also eat from suet-filled feeders. Furthermore, they love safflower seed chips!
5 Midwest Birds to Get to Know
#3 – Northern Cardinal
He’s showing off
The Northern Cardinal is a bird that we have year-round and another favorite of these five birds in the Midwest.
The brilliant red feathers of the Northern Cardinal makes them the most-watched bird and often the reason people become interested in bird watching. They move quickly, and in the spring, we often notice the male cardinals calling attention to themselves when there are other males in the area.
Their favorite food seems to be safflower seeds. They will check out other feeders, but always return to the ones with safflower seed.
A splendid thing about safflower seed is that Blue Jays and squirrels don’t bother with it!
5 Midwest Birds to Get to Know
#4 – Tufted Titmouse
With a black patch above the bill and gray feathers, the peach-colored wash down the flank makes this a beautiful bird
This small cutie is a fast bird and not easy to photograph at the feeder.
But if you want to photograph a Tufted Titmouse, you’ll need to set your shutter speed for around 1600. That’s just one photography tip! I have lots more!
The Tufted Titmouse likes to eat insects, berries, and nuts. We have a sunflower seed mix in this feeder that they seem to love! They also frequently feed at the safflower feeders.
The Tufted Titmice are commonly found across most of the central and eastern half of the United States. And for my friends in Canada, Tufted Titmice are rare species in Canada and found primarily in the southern Ontario Carolinian forests.
#5 – House Finch
My primary safflower feeder with sweet little House Finch families
House Finches are common in our area, but this doesn’t make them a common sight to watch! The social factor of these House Finches makes them one of the favorites of the 5 Midwest birds to get to know!
Other house finches always surround this highly social bird. And it seems that they’re at the feeders almost always! Specifically, the house finch spends a lot of time at the safflower seed feeder.
5 Midwest Birds to Get to Know
One seed type will bring many beautiful songbirds to your backyard.
Safflower Seed Wins!
It’s not just these five birds that love safflower seeds, but also Chickadees, Nuthatches, Grosbeaks, Doves, Purple Finches, House Sparrows, and more.
Well, there you have it!
5 Midwest birds to get to know!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post!
While the grape jelly is a big hit with several birds in the Midwest, safflower seeds are also popular! Buying and supplying just one type of birdseed is a simple strategy for attracting these five beautiful birds to your backyard! Put safflower seeds in your feeders, and you’ll attract these songbirds and more.
The fascinating aspect of safflower seed in the bird feeders is that “bully birds” like the Blue Jays do not eat it.
Bird Food Tips of the 5 Midwest Birds to Get to Know
Here is a complete list of what birds in our backyard love to eat:
Safflower seed
Grapes
Grape Jelly
Blueberries
Orange slices
Suet
Peanuts
Millet
Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower Seed Chips
Dried Mealworms
For more on birds and an excellent bird ID app, check out Merlin.
