A Tufted Titmouse And A Sunflower

October 14, 2025

Autumn, and the end of the Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) season. A Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is picking out the last of the seeds for an afternoon snack.

The Titmouse comes to the seedhead, gets one seed, and takes it to a sturdy branch to perch. It holds the seed with its feet and pounds it open with its beak. Then either hides it away for later, or eats it on the spot, and comes back for more.

Tufted Titmice are permanent residents with no migrating. Staying for all seasons in eastern North America, as far west as eastern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; and a bit north into southern Canada.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.