Teepee Update

The photo on the top shows the teepee in full use this morning. The weather has been really very mild and we've had big thaws. I throw bird seed into and around the base of the teepee, in the hopes that the snow that does come, won't cover up ALL the food. However, the favourite feeding ground, when there is no precipitation, is the top of the fence at the back of the garden. You can see in the photo that there is a dip in the middle of the fence. The fence is made out of two layers of planks and in between, there is a little ledge, not too deep. I pour birdseed along the shallowest part (the dip) and a common sight in the morning is to see the sparrows lined up for their breakfast.
The photo on the bottom was taken only two hours later, during a big snow storm. It's difficult to see but the sparrows had all bunkered down in the teepee. They dont sleep there, they just hang out during the day. The larger bird is one of about half a dozen starlings that come by for grub every now and then. They were attracted by some elderly blueberries I had put out and they stayed for the snow. Although it was snowing, it was quite warm and the starlings, who also like to frequent "Twig Towers" (seen in foreground of photos), had great fun dive bombing into the fresh snow, having "snow baths".
Twig Towers is actually a garden stow-away area but last autumn, I stuffed it with twigs and leaves, for bird shelter during the winter. Curiously, although the sparrows loved Twig Towers during late autumn, once the snow came, they became very leery of it, and only check out the roof buffet when they can find nothing else. The squirrels and the starlings have no such inhibitions, and use Twig Towers as a sort of drive-thru snacking ground.