Because this is not as commonly known as a cardinal or bluejay, I wanted to make a thread exposing you guys to the Tufted Titmouse.  He is a small insect eater that is attracted to the suet feeder as well.  He is a grayish blue in color with a little black patch in between the eyes.  He sports a "mohawk", much like a cardinal.  The titmouse has a little bit of yellow under his wings.

I love birds.  I have various feeders and hummingbird attracting plants in my yard.  I can count on the cardinals making a nest in one of the hedges up against my house.  We've been fortunate enough to see cardinal families be raised for 3 years in a row now.  These tufted titmice have their own "bird personality".  Their nature is extremely playful (they chase each other around the yard).  They are pretty hyper and never stay in one place for long.  I decided to write this article because I was sitting here doing my morning routine of coffee and Active Rain and there were 6 titmice and 1 cardinal right outside my home office window.  1 of the titmice flew on to my window and pecked at it.  4 of them sat on the privacy fence for a few seconds before another one came over and started chasing them to continue the play.  I will see the tufted titmouse fly around with blue grey gnatcatchers or even the carolina chickadee (really precious bird with black cap) and play.  The chickadee is very small and is another bird attracted to the suet feeder.

These birds are so fun to watch, but they only grace your prescence in a particular section of your yard for a few minutes and you won't see them again for hours.  I think they are so dang cute that they almost rival one of my top favorites: the Carolina Wren.  The Wren might be overlooked because it is not a flashy bunch of colors, but their nature is calm and inquisitive/curious.  They are one of the sweetest singers and will sit on your fence and serenade you without a care in the world.  They are not hyper.  I love seeing wren root around in my yard.  Wren are also attracted to the suet feeder and every now and again I will see him take seed.

What are some of your regional birds that you enjoy watching or feeding?  Do you have any tips for attracting specific types of birds to your yard that you'd like to share?

Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com.  A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement).