[Images: 4 photos of birds being fed in a snow-covered forested park. 1) Overhead shot of mallard ducks feeding. 2) Slightly lower shot of the mallard ducks feeding, a couple of the green-headed males are looking up at the camera with snow on their beaks. 3) A nuthatch with a peanut in its beak, wings spread, takes off the fingers of a hand holding out a mix of peanuts and seeds. 4) A chickadee alighting on the same hand.]Recently I went with a friend I hadn't seen in-person for a long time to go feed birds at her lovely local park! She's super knowledgeable about flora and fauna, and it's always a wonder exploring nature with her. She'd prepared several bags for the birds (the ducks got a mix of cracked corn, birdseed peas, and I can't remember what else... No bread here for sure!). The weather was pretty perfect - chilly, but far warmer than it has been the last few weeks. We had lots of bites, as well as very round squirrels eyeing us the whole time.The nuthatch, which I'm 90%+ sure was the same nuthatch the whole time, was by far the bravest. It was the bird that landed, tickling my pinky as it plucked a nut and darted off. Then it kept coming back to both of us repeatedly. It had a real feast! At one point it picked up a peanut from my hand and then immediately tossed it to the ground; it totally came across as a hilariously human-like rejection, and we laughed. My friend also had a lovely black and white speckled downy woodpecker land - the closest I've ever seen one, and so small (to my mind, I always imagine woodpeckers as much larger), but still bigger than the nuthatch and the chickadee. There were also several cardinals that were definitely watching us but they were too shy. A little girl and her mom also wandered by, and my friend gave them some feed as well to try.Later when we were strolling through the park, quite a ways from the feeding site, my friend was pointing something out to me as we chatted. Literally the second she raised her hand, a chickadee landed on her finger and stared at her, surprising both of us. It was like she'd summoned it! Haha.EDIT: Oh I forgot to include this photo of the nuthatch. I like how judgey it looks here, hehe. Like it's going "is that all you got?"[Photo of nuthatch clinging to the tips of my fingers with nuts and seeds in my palm. The bird is leaning back and its head is slightly tilted, giving it a skeptical expression.]

[Images: 4 photos of birds being fed in a snow-covered forested park. 1) Overhead shot of mallard ducks feeding. 2) Slightly lower shot of the mallard ducks feeding, a couple of the green-headed males are looking up at the camera with snow on their beaks. 3) A nuthatch with a peanut in its beak, wings spread, takes off the fingers of a hand holding out a mix of peanuts and seeds. 4) A chickadee alighting on the same hand.]Recently I went with a friend I hadn't seen in-person for a long time to go feed birds at her lovely local park! She's super knowledgeable about flora and fauna, and it's always a wonder exploring nature with her. She'd prepared several bags for the birds (the ducks got a mix of cracked corn, birdseed peas, and I can't remember what else... No bread here for sure!). The weather was pretty perfect - chilly, but far warmer than it has been the last few weeks. We had lots of bites, as well as very round squirrels eyeing us the whole time.The nuthatch, which I'm 90%+ sure was the same nuthatch the whole time, was by far the bravest. It was the bird that landed, tickling my pinky as it plucked a nut and darted off. Then it kept coming back to both of us repeatedly. It had a real feast! At one point it picked up a peanut from my hand and then immediately tossed it to the ground; it totally came across as a hilariously human-like rejection, and we laughed. My friend also had a lovely black and white speckled downy woodpecker land - the closest I've ever seen one, and so small (to my mind, I always imagine woodpeckers as much larger), but still bigger than the nuthatch and the chickadee. There were also several cardinals that were definitely watching us but they were too shy. A little girl and her mom also wandered by, and my friend gave them some feed as well to try.Later when we were strolling through the park, quite a ways from the feeding site, my friend was pointing something out to me as we chatted. Literally the second she raised her hand, a chickadee landed on her finger and stared at her, surprising both of us. It was like she'd summoned it! Haha.EDIT: Oh I forgot to include this photo of the nuthatch. I like how judgey it looks here, hehe. Like it's going "is that all you got?"[Photo of nuthatch clinging to the tips of my fingers with nuts and seeds in my palm. The bird is leaning back and its head is slightly tilted, giving it a skeptical expression.]