Birds out my window

This week I moved to a larger downstairs office at work, with a fireplace, some nice plush chairs and more space for my books. But the best amenity is the birdfeeder right out side the window where I watch a steady stream of White-breasted Nuthatches, Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, and Downy Woodpeckers and a dozen other species jostle for seeds all day. Right now, early spring has brought roaming Brown-headed Cowbirds, and a pair is gobbling up seeds at the feeder and keeping the smaller birds from getting much more than the spilled seeds on the ground. Cowbirds have a bad reputation amongst descriminating nature lovers--since they leave their eggs in the nests of other birds, sometimes outcompeting and hastening the demise of native nestlings. But these birds are still striking--males with shiny black bodies and coffee-colored heads. The females have subtle brown feathers with delicate paler feather edges. This morning I'm enjoying seeing something I haven't seen a lot of--head-on views of the cowbirds. Their eyes seem remarkably close-together and forward-facing for a bird, giving it a stern or intent look. Who needs television with this kind of spectacle going on mere feet away. I may have to close the curtains if I want to get some work done!