I love this time of year in the garden, when I don’t do much more than look out at it from the shelter of our cozy home. Birds definitely are the primary users of our garden during the winter; every morning there are at least a dozen hopping around the patio, examining the husks of sunflower seeds for any remaining nibbles, and jostling for a turn at the feeder.
I look forward to hanging my feeder in late autumn, because I know that the songbirds will soon appear. I don’t see them during the rest of the year. In summer–and spring, and fall–the only birds around here are urban scavengers: crows, pigeons, seagulls, starlings. But in winter, the chickadees and finches and little brown birds of unknown name arrive to feast.
This year, in addition to a little wooden feeder, I’ve been hanging dried sunflower heads, harvested in mid-autumn from my plot at the community garden. I hung them to dry inside for a month or so before hanging them in the hornbeam on our back patio. The birds seem to dig them.
Top photo by Noel Zia Lee via Flickr.
I think your little brown bird is a chipping sparrow.
That is a little song sparrow. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/song_sparrow/id
All the little brown birds are probably one type of sparrow or another.
It’s a welcome sight in winter to see birds enjoying the garden. Your daughter is at an age now where she can enjoy watching the birds too. Hope all’s well.