Lisa: I'll count shore birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count, which is a once a year event, but not for Project FeederWatch which takes place weekly. First of all, I can't easily see most of the beach from the house so I'd have to go outside and stay there for a while to make the counts. Not pleasant in bad weather. It's much more pleasant to stand by the kitchen window, or sit at the computer, and gaze at the birds in my yard. Secondly, I have a great vista of the bay, but the birds are far away and I'd need to use a scope of some sort to identify them. Thirdly, I don't feed the shore birds, so I doubt if PFW would consider the site legitimate for their purposes. I do check out the birds and can identify some of them (lots of eiders, gulls and brant, mostly), but I couldn't really do the job properly without a lot more effort than I'm willing to put into it right now. Claire

I live in snowy Saskatchewan and my feeders this year have been very busy. I have about 40 common redpolls and one or two hoary redpolls (I believe). I made some home-made suet and the chickadees love it. I have some bought suet right beside it but the chickadees and the downy woodpecker that comes to visit like the home-make stuff. When I didn't have the home-make suet, the chickadees did eat the bought suet. However, the redpolls will eat both. I also had some red-breasted nuthatches visiting but I haven't seen them for a week now. And my real surprise is a male and female house finch that come everyday. I believe they usually go south for the winter but this pair has decided to stay the winter. They love my shelled BOSS. The chickadees and woodpecker also like the shelled peanuts I provide. It's been the best winter for me in regard to lots of birds. The redpolls empty my feeder in less than 2 days and it holds about 6 cups of shelled seeds, so I'm kept busy filling it every second day.

They get to my area early. We've had a couple here for several months. I have had as many as 12 in past years. The most I've ever seen was when we were at FlamingO's house. They were everywhere! Of course she has lots of feeders out, many flowering baskets and a beautiful flowering tree (can't remember what kind it was). So the little hummers were in Paradise!

Man, I have been MIA for a while. You guys posted some great pics!! Andrea, I love seeing the chipmunk and bright yellow finches. I finally saw some yellow finches the other day, but they haven't been staying around for long. My thistle feeder barely gets touched and I bought fresh seed too. Ok, it's time for me to make some wreaths or suet - Yours have inspired me!!!! Hopefully soon! The birds are eating like crazy right now so I know they would be a huge hit! Andrea, I almost bought that same looking hummingbird feeder the other day. I just wasn't sure if I was ready for "hummingbirds" though lol - I feel like I have so much going on feeding the other birds.. I just don't know if I should take on more... PLUS>>>> yesterday was my birthday and my dad surprised me with a HUGE bird house that is anchored to a tree!!! Now, I love feeding the birds, but I don't know if I want to house them too!!! LOL.. But I have to put this bird house in the backyard.. This will be a new journey. I'll try to post pics. My hubby has to dig a hole and pour concrete because the birdhouse is so big!!! YIKES!! My dad was driving one day and saw this thing on the side of the road - some guy makes them locally. Royals fan-MO6a - I love the Oriole pics!! Thanks for sharing! catherinet - hahaha yes I like the idea of giving out bird seed mixes around Christmas.. it's cold out and the birds will certainly enjoy it!! Oh, and we'll save some calories ourselves hahaha --------------------------------------------------------- okay here's a sneak peak of the bird house.. I'm telling you this sucker is huge. Hubby carrying it in- Below is a different bird house that the same guy made. This isn't the one I have. It's just an example of his work. My bird house has a lot brighter colors.. I may tweak that some day hahahaha...