Doris Campground Titmice and a Beak Full of Seeds

The Doris Campground titmice gave me plenty to watch when I returned to camp for lunch or the evening. One landed on my cap while I ate. Another left with three sunflower kernels stacked in its beak.

Doris Campground titmice joined me for lunch

I stayed at Doris Campground in Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Whenever I sat at the campsite table to eat, birds would gather around me.

The first time, a Tufted Titmouse landed on my cap and stayed for several seconds. It then moved to the table beside me. A few minutes later, another titmouse landed on my shoulder.

During a supply run to Walmart, I picked up a bag of sunflower seeds for the birds. After those close visits, I placed sunflower kernels in my hand to see what they would do.

The titmice came in and took the kernels. I have no idea how many different birds visited my hand, but I had plenty of company.

Chickadees came close without taking food from my hand. A White-breasted Nuthatch did take some, though I missed that encounter on video.

I shared links to my campsite videos in my Oklahoma camping trip summary.

Photographing three kernels in one beak

The bird in this photograph managed to hold three sunflower kernels, one stacked on top of another. I was amazed that it could carry all three at once.

The side view shows the kernels between its open bill. That small detail is what I like most about this photograph.

It flew away with the kernels and disappeared from sight. I wish I could have watched what happened next. I never saw whether it ate all three or dropped any.

Tufted Titmice also store food for later, including sunflower kernels. That gives me another possibility to consider, although I did not see this bird hide its food.

Why these birds acted differently from my yard birds

I have fed Tufted Titmice at my Arkansas home for years without seeing them behave like the campground birds.

My guess is that other campers have fed these birds before. They approached me before I bought the seeds, which made me wonder about their earlier encounters with people.

Repeated close contact and food from campers could help explain their willingness to approach. Visiting a feeder at my home may offer a different experience from taking food beside someone at a campsite table.

I cannot confirm their feeding history or explain why the chickadees kept more distance. I can say that these titmice made my meal breaks fun. I came back with a photograph of three stacked kernels and a question about where they ended up.