The Washington Post published a story in November about “the biggest jerks at the bird feeder” and included a chart of the pecking order at Northeastern US bird feeders as well as a list of dominant feeder birds nationwide. Locally, crows are at the top of the hierarchy, and the common grackle is second.

It’s a fascinating article, part of which reads:

“Their work illuminates an elaborate hidden hierarchy: Northern mockingbirds and red-bellied woodpeckers are pugnacious for their size, but both would give way if a truly dominant bird like an American crow descended upon the feeder. Tiny hummingbirds can’t afford to lose precious seconds of feeding time and thus punch way above their weight, while the pileated woodpecker, whose fearsome bill and impressive build gives it the aspect of a holdover pterodactyl, actually proves docile for its size.

“Among the most common feeder visitors, the American crow is king, while tiny chickadees get pushed around by just about everybody. The oblivious mourning dove outweighs many rivals but proves relatively peaceful. And lively goldfinches love to squabble but are limited by their half-ounce size.”

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by PBase are decidedly
unsharp.

Not ideal cherry blossom weather, posted earlier: