If you stop feeding the birds in the spring and summer, you miss out on a lot of action. Adult birds will bring their fledglings around to a favorite feeder or bird bath, where you'll get to admire their work ethic.

There are no au pairs or nannies in the world of birds, just a lot of screeching kids and very long days of making sure they get fed.

It's easy to determine which birds are the adult "parents." They're the ones with a bedraggled appearance, worn feathers and that all-too-familiar exhausted look

Woodpeckers have a sort of "third eyelid" or nictitating membrane that protects the eye during furious pecking in their search for wood-boring insects and larva. The resilient tuft of feathers at the base of their bill helps to soften the blow of wood on face. You can see what I mean in the photo below: