There should be some fledgling eastern towhees (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) coming around before too long. I have watched this handsome male gather large mouthfuls of food a number of times over the past two weeks. They are far from the only birds that do this, and I have seen cardinals, blue jays, and red bellied woodpeckers gather large amounts of food often during the spring and summer. The first time I saw this male towhee do this, he had quite a mouthful of some type of winged insect. There were legs and wings sticking out of his beak in all directions as he hopped into the brush to bring the lot to his mate and nestlings. Towhees usually build their nests on the ground in the leaf litter in the underbrush, so I’m sure his was not far off. This time he was gathering fruit and seeds. I had put out some banana slices that were kind of gooey and he was using the banana to help hold all the seeds together. These birds don’t typically eat a lot of seed, but they do like fruit. The seeds provide plenty of nice energy for his young family, though. After gathering everything, he hopped up on this tree branch as if to show me how clever he had been, before once again disappearing into the scrub. I look forward to seeing some fledglings before too long. If I do get to see them, I, of course, will be sharing them with all of you.