Woodland Birds on our Lawn

     For a couple of minutes one afternoon in the middle of this October, I was thrilled to see, by rare chance, a pair each of Carolina wrens, Carolina chickadees and tufted titmice at once at our bird feeder, bird baths and their bordering shrubbery on our suburban lawn in New Holland.  A pair each of these permanent resident, woodland species has lived in our neighborhood for years, but I never before saw both genders of all three kinds at once.  These species of small, handsome birds are neat to experience in their native woods and, especially, on lawns of trees and bushes, including ours.
     Our lawn is not a woods, or even near one.  But these types of lovely, lively birds are adaptable and flourish in less than woodland habitats, such as older suburban areas with tall trees and large bushes, including ours.  These birds, and other species, add intrigue to those human-made habitats, and are entertaining to watch going about their daily business of getting food and avoiding predators by sticking to the cover of trees and shrubbery. 
     The colors of the feathers of these attractive birds indicate where each species spends most of its time each day.  The wrens are warm-brown, which allows them to blend in with soil, fallen leaves and logs, and brush piles where they get much of their invertebrate food.  The closely related chickadees and titmice, however, are mostly gray, which camouflages them among the bark and twigs of trees where they seize tiny invertebrates.  Our Carolina wrens often frequent the crevices in our wood pile to hunt for food, as their kind does.
     The chickadees and titmice daily come to our bird feeder and bird baths to supplement their food supply with sunflower seeds, and to get water.  The wrens pick up invertebrates and sunflower seeds from the ground under the feeder and nearby shrubbery, and visit the bird bath.  Those activities were why I saw all three species at once.  When feeling threatened, all these birds zip into the nearby, sheltering bushes and hide until the danger is gone.
     These three permanent resident, woodland bird species are attractive and entertaining on our lawn.  They add more beauty and intrigue to it the year around.