As those who may follow my gallery know, I have a deck out my back door, surrounded by a bunch of trees. Throughout the winter I always make sure there's plenty of bird seed available for all the birds and of course, the unavoidable squirrels too. Especially when it snows or ices over because that's when natural pickings become extremely scarce. The Cardinals, Blue Jays, and squirrels are the bird seed bosses. The smaller birds have to stay out of their way whenever they're feeding. Being an unemployed, alcoholic, unskilled laborer, I have plenty of time to sit around and observe their behavior patterns. I find them to be quite fascinating. The birds usually know when not to get too close to a larger bird. And the Cardinals and Blue Jays take great care to completely avoid one another. I've yet to see one challenge another's space. It's like they have a truce. But they'll sure as hell challenge everyone else's! As for the squirrels - mostly they ignore the other birds and share the buffet peacefully but then again sometimes they'll chase them all away! Moody little critters. But I've never seen them encounter the Cardinals or Blue Jays. Just the smaller birds like my friend pictured above. He's not the biggest bird, but he sure is fast! If he's snacking down at the seed tray and a cardinal shows up - he's gone! But then, sometimes he'll sneak up real fast, grab the food, and split before the Cardinal or Blue Jay can even react. Such drama! And when it's just all the little birds you'd think all would be peaceful and calm, but no. Each bird imagines his circle of exclusivity, some birds having larger circles than others, and should some other bird unknowingly stray into that circle. . . . instant combat! Sigh. . . .If only we could all get along. Give it a try! marshall