The Fiddle’s Feathered Friends: A Winter Ensemble

In winter, I get a double dose of joy: watching our local birds and seeing how they engage with the little scenes I design for them. The birds are fed at a feeding platform on our “Sunrise Deck.”  Instead of just tossing out seeds, I love creating whimsical temporary scenes for the local avian crowd. Think of it as setting up a gourmet buffet for the birds.  At the heart of their unique dining setup is a wintery arrangement centered on a vintage treasure. It all for the benefit of our frequent fliers and the joy of watching what they do.

The Tiny Fiddle: A Winter Woods Masterpiece

In January, 2025 I designed one of my favorite winter scenes. The centerpiece was a small violin—or fiddle, as I often call it—only about six inches long—perfectly sized for the little winter songbirds. I nestled it among fresh winter greens and dotted the scene with pinecones and artificial red berries. The base was floral foam, hidden under the snow. The best part? The fiddle’s bow was anchored firmly enough to serve as a perfect perch. Then I tucked the food right under the neck of the instrument. The menu? —a desirable mix of suet, black oil sunflower seeds, and cracked corn. Birds love perching high before dropping down to eat, so it truly looked like everyone was lining up to “play” that little fiddle! The winter songbirds became “The Fiddle’s Feathered Friends.”

An Encore Performance: Curating the 20-Minute Set

I couldn’t resist compiling their actual visits into a special 20-minute video. I took the raw footage, cut out all the quiet moments, and stitched together the performances so it’s one exciting visit after another. Set to the smooth sounds of violin music, it creates a beautiful, continuous background piece. It’s perfect, really—the ideal scene to have playing as you sip your favorite warm winter beverage or, perhaps, as the ultimate, mesmerizing entertainment for the household cats. See our wild woods birds “perform” on the violin.

The woodland ensemble features the wren as the soloist, complemented by the chickadee and tufted titmouse as the harmonists. Providing an excellent “beat,” the downy woodpecker serves as the percussionist. Read on to see how each of their musical talents complements the beauty of our winterscapes.

The Virtuoso Soloist: The Wren

In an imaginary ensemble, the Wren is the undisputed Virtuoso Soloist. Why? Because in real life, this little bird belts out one of the loudest songs per unit of body mass of any creature on Earth! Its powerful voice can be heard over huge distances, making it sound like a bird ten times its size. The tiny Winter Wren is especially famous for its long, liquid, bubbling cascades of notes delivered at a dizzying speed—often containing over a hundred notes per song. With an impressive repertoire of 30 to 40 distinct song types, the Wren is constantly practicing new complex, technical solos that leave the rest of the band breathless.

The Rhythmic Percussionist: The Red-bellied Woodpecker

Of course, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is the perfect percussionist. Its signature sound is a drumming that provides a medium-speed roll—steady, forceful, and lasting about a second. While it prefers resonant dead trees in the woods (like ours), in the suburbs, it intentionally seeks out surfaces that will amplify its sound. This means metal chimney flashing and gutters often become part of its drum kit. This robin-sized bird sets the assertive tempo for the whole show.

The Vocal Harmonist: The Tufted Titmouse

The Tufted Titmouse (or “Tufty”) takes on the crucial role of a Vocal Harmonist, supporting the lead melodies. Its primary vocalization is a clear, ringing, repetitive whistle, transcribed as “peter-peter-peter,” which is surprisingly loud and can carry over long distances—a perfect voice to add body and depth to the chorus. They possess a repertoire of up to ten different learned song variations, which they cycle through constantly, ensuring the harmonies are always fresh. When the music really gets going, you can see their commitment: their tuft is alert and perked, showing they are fully into the music and ready to “rock.” What’s more, the frequency and intensity of their “peter” song will often increase dramatically on warm, sunny winter days, signaling their energy is high. Plus, the Tufty also possesses a distinct alarm call that appears to fade off into the distance, giving the musical impression that a member of the ensemble is constantly moving.

The Backup Harmonist: The Chickadee

The Chickadee is the ensemble’s Backup Harmonist and Vocal Technician. In terms of pure singing, its actual song is a simple, clear, whistled two- or three-note tune described as fee-bee or fee-bee-ee, which provides a pure, high-pitched vocal line for blending. This makes it the Backup Harmonist. The well-known chick-a-dee-dee is both a call and a complex communication system, and in our musical group, it’s a source of rhythmic tension—making it the Vocal Technician. In nature, the more “dees” added to the call, the greater the threat, but in the performance, that increasing count of “dees” dramatically raises the urgency and tension in the music. Even during cold, dark winter nights, they might utter a soft version of the chick-a-dee call while roosting in a cavity, just a little whisper to reassure themselves and their mate that the group’s harmony is still strong.

The members of The Fiddle’s Feathered Friends will soon be ready to share their professional portraits! Brian and I will be busy posting these unique photographs to our online shop (AzarElGreetings.com) soon and announcing them on FB. (Some glitches in life have got in our way of processing and posting the photographs. Life happens! LOL!) Whether you are looking for a whimsical new addition to your Christmas decor or a truly unusual present for a bird-watching loved one, these beautiful members of the avian ensemble are sure to make a wonderful gift.