Thanks Claire for the comment. I like this one better too because I can zoom in while videoing besides having clearer videos. It's mostly Crooked Beak's bottom bill that is growing out. Squeaker has been teaching Baby how to Squeak like him too- it's funny listening to them. --------------- Hi organic_bassetlvr. I been having many redpolls show up (have on videos), but there still is some that seem to have what looks like a black top with a long black spot on the chest Claire provided photos and info about the redpolls in her post about 'Great Backyard Bird Count' (thanks again Claire!), so I'm leaning towards them being redpolls more than the warbler. It's no problem on skipping the orbs, it was just something else I was sharing. I'm glad you enjoy Crooked Beaks story and thank you for your kindness and concern. --------------------- Hi dreamgarden. Thank you for you kindness, I'm glad you like! The camera I was referring to about videoing and being better was the Sony HD (Handycam) HDR-CX260. The new camera before that was a Samsung HD- it seem to have multiple problems like with focus, sound and stability. The camera before that was my original Kodak EasyShare that just started having multiple problems too- it was a good camera. The cameras I have for monitoring outside are the IR night vision. I have 16 of them now to monitor the birds and any other activities I have around the house. I did install mine myself and have them all hard wired (I can't use wireless) . You might have better luck with the wireless than I did (frequency issues). The wireless are easy to install, it's also the best bang for you buck. You can get them on ebay- http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-4G-Wireless-Home-Outdoor-CCTV-Security-Night-Vision-IR-Color-Camera-System-/221041070311?pt=US_Surveillance_Security_Systems&hash=item33771310e7 Or you can type in- '2.4G wireless CCTV IR Night' on ebay search. The system comes with two wireless cameras and a receiver. It cost under a hundred dollars too. The 16 cameras I use are the 2.4 GHz waterproof 380 TVL 1/3 CMOS NTSC 3.6mm lens CCTV Night vision with audio. ------------------ Here are some videos I added if you haven't seen them already- "Zippy" the Red Breasted Nuthatch- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVYPQ5FpBDw --------- "Rav" the Raven- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyyaWHIN_lM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2R7k7tjle0 --------- "Sue and "Lou" the Common Redpoll- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UelrTOoY0U ---------- "Centra" the European Starling- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-j6gXSQ9FM ----------- Some other Redpolls- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klb44uKe6Z0 ----------- My dog "Cody"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f11FUslzBA Hope you like them, Ed This post was edited by Trickyfingers on Mon, Mar 25, 13 at 21:50

Wow, Two, that sounds quite beautiful and kind of makes one pause doesn't it. By the way, nice to see you over here, and hope you're doing well. Jan has been dropping too, along with Kirk. Marlene lurks here a lot, but I'm hoping she'll post more. ;o> I tried to find if that legend was an Indian one, sounded like it to me. But I found several legends regarding the Spirit Birds as they are called. (also there are Spirit Bears that live in one specific area. So I had to google them too. LOL.) I love legends with the animals, and had no idea Ravens are in a lot of old ones. Indians were so "in touch" with Mother Nature and I find their many stories fascinating and often spiritual. To keep this holiday related, I might try adding a White Raven in with my Halloween decor, a framed print at least. I don't think the Dollar Tree ones would take too well to spray paint. Has anyone tried it? hugs, Karen

lol, Well, I'm relieved to hear they won't go hungry. We wouldn't want any swarms of hungry hoppers flying all over the state. Every year, I look at the APHIS Rangeland Grasshopper forecast so I have an idea of what to expect during the growing season. Based on the 2015 forecast, I am not expecting huge hordes of them here---only moderate-sized hordes slightly to my west. They're always worse to our west as our county varies a great deal in terrain and climate, with the western areas having very sandy soil and generally drier weather and the eastern areas having more clay and 2-4" more rainfall during the growing season. However, if you look at the 2015 forecast, which I've linked below, you can see that they forecast a huge hopper population for this summer right there in the TX panhandle, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised that the hungry little devils are flying in swarms large enough to be caught on radar. We also probably should have expected that after they exhausted the food supply in TX, they'd had straight for OK where plentiful rainfall this year has left lots of green food to tempt them. I'm actually not that concerned about the damage those hoppers will do when they get to OK. We have so much more green out in the pastures, fields, etc. that they will not just automatically flock to home gardens like they do in drought years when the fields are brown and only irrigated farms and gardens are green. I'm more concerned about how many eggs they'll lay in the soil here in OK that will lead to a population boom in 2016....which is closer than it sounds. 2015 APHIS Grasshopper Rangeland Forecast

Great photos everyone! I had about 30 turkey's come visit two days ago. Now, normally that is not that original, but about a half dozen decided to get up onto my back deck and perch on the railing and table. One of them was about four feet away from where I was sitting in the house and I'm pretty sure was trying telepathically to tell me to put out more seed. They were very rambunctious pecking at one another and jumping straight up into the air right in front of my den window. It was hilarious! Love those big birds. Claire, I'm not sure they've ever been on the roof here. We've had a handful of vultures land once in a while, but never turkeys. This morning, I'm so very certain we saw a Carolna Wren. My folks live in NC, so I'm keen on what they look like. I looked up house wren just in case, and it was not a match. I was very surprised to see one. Should I be? Has anyone else seen them in the winter? This was a first for me. I know they can handle cold temps, but this threw me off a bit.