In central NYS & I’m into it as well , every morning I go out with birdseed scattered on the ground , and I also fill up the feeder and I have a suet feeder as well , currently what I’m seeing are Blue Jays , Cardinals , morning doves , dark eyed junco, tufted titmouse, blacked capped chickadee , crows come around as well , and of course squirrels & some sparrows , The downy woodpecker and the red bellied woodpecker hit the suet
I feed the birds here everyday, around the same time. They sit and wait for it if I'm late. I get sparrows, black birds, crows, blue tits, pigeons, starlings, thrushes, robins and sea gulls. There's a definite hierarchy among them. Seagulls seem to be top dog.
Owls are my rare sight. The only reason I'm even paying attention half the time is my Husband always looking up jn tree canopies, claims he needs fancy Bushnell "birdscopes: and this for his birthday
I love birds/bird watching.
I have a small fenced yard and also put food out in the winter. Mostly, i get finches and a Ladderback woodpecker couple. The finches are jerks, but also pretty entertaining. But they learn pretty quickly not to interfere with the woodpeckers when they’re eating. Sometimes the young(ignorant) finches cop an attitude, but a couple of pecks from the woodpecker usually reinforces the hierarchy.
Unfortunately, my neighborhood has several abandoned cats that roam freely, and they are attracted by the birds in my yard. It’s a full time job keeping the cats out of my yard. I’ve been thinking of getting a supersoaker squirt gun…
I live near the Rio Grande, which a migratory super highway and lots of birds come from all around to spend the winter.
Just south of where I live is the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge https://www.fws.gov/refuge/bosque_del_apache/ that attracts hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of waterfowl and other migratory birds each winter. The local farmers keep them well fed and there’s plenty of room for them in the lakes, tributaries and grasslands/fields for them to hang out and party. I especially enjoy the various cranes. The snow geese are also pretty amazing when they gather in very large groups, probably numbering in the tens of thousands or more. The air palpably vibrates when you’re in their presence.
You should hear the Blue Jays screech at me the second I go out in the morning they’re shouting “feed me feed me” …Here’s a picture I was able to take of a red tailed hawk & he’s looking right at me