This poem is spillover from the December 6, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Dreamwidth user Wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "Seeds" square in my 12-1-22 card for the Wonders of Nature Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. "Birdfeeding" The feeders hang in the trees and jut from the ground: thistle socks and hopper feeder, the metal tray with its umbrella, suet cages and fly-through feeder. Every time the house door opens, the birds fly away to nearby bushes where they lurk, watching the feeders to see whether new food will appear. Then the sparrows descend in all of their numbers, flapping and squabbling. The colder it gets, though, the less they fight over the feeders in favor of stuffing their faces as fast as they can. Most days are only one-bird cold or two bird cold, full of fussing and pecking. Some days are three-bird cold, when icicles hang glittering from the feeders. When it's four-bird cold, they all huddle together in balls of fluff, sharing what heat they can. House finches and goldfinches come too, clinging to thistle socks. Cardinals make scarlet spots against the white snow, like red paint on a clean canvas. They like the fly-through feeder, and so do the mourning doves. Downy woodpeckers come to the suet feeders and the hopper feeder alike. A red-bellied woodpecker makes occasional appearances. Dark-eyed juncos are snowbirds, with sooty backs and white bellies, who like to scratch for spilled seed in the slush under the birdfeeders. Then the mourning doves strut through their little flock, sending the juncos scattering out of their way. Squirrels raid the hopper feeder for sunflower seeds, hanging upside-down to reach into it, and sometimes they sit inside the fly-through feeder. They cling to the corncobs hanging whole from a branch, pulling loose one kernel at a time then sitting up to chew it thoughtfully. Now and then, a hawk or an owl perches in a nearby tree, watching for an opportunity to swoop down. Underneath the trees they leave pellets filled with tiny, delicate bones. The squirrels watch them right back, chattering and lashing their tails. Some days, after a fresh snowfall, there are pheasant tracks across the yard and under the feeders, leaving their silent evidence of pheasants never seen, hidden, yet still present. * * * Notes: Illinois birds and squirrels are easy to attract. Different types of birdfeeders provide different types of food to entice a wide range of birds and other wildlife.