A note here a few days ago mentioned handedness in birds, like right handed or left handed. A reserch item I read suggested you might determine this for chickadees by noting which foot they used to hold a seed while hacking it open. Chickadees came to a feeder at a cabin near Lutsen a couple of days ago. There was a feeder. I bought sunflower seed. Chickadees came back. A seed selected, they flew to nearby branches and gripped the seed with both feet while opening it. Time after time. More study apparently is needed.
The feeder was empty when we arrived. Second day, though, six chickadees showed up. Quick, feed them. Bread smeared with chunky peanut butter did not work. Chow mein noodles did not work. Steel-cut oatmeal was ignored. Crushed salted peanuts worked. Sunflower seeds finally purchased worked better. We had the chickadees, a small flock of Pine Siskins, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch making regular visits. I also tried bread crumbs soaked in bacon fat, a suet substitute. The birds ignored it, perhaps because their sense of smell is non-existent, or, they don't like bacon. Very cold up there, very windy. Happy to see any birds at all.
