Here are my siskins! What lenses do you gals use? I have a good camera, but just a standard lens. How do I know what size lens I want to get good pictures from my feeders.

Here are my seedheads.

I'm not sick of the snow yet!

Lisa

P.S. The siskins are the two birds on the left feeder. Goldfinches are on the right feeder.

I've had lots of good birds this week. Brown creeper, Carolina Wren, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Pine Siskins, but no Redpoll! Terrene what an amazing bird! Would be a lifer for me.

Lisa

Terrene: I haven't seen my Common Redpoll (female) for about a week now - maybe she's on her way to meet your male.

The Pine Siskin counts have been much lower; only 4 this week, but the American Goldfinches have stayed numerous. The butter butts (Yellow-rumped Warblers) are still around - at least two.

I'm seeing at least one Carolina Wren, sometimes two, almost every day now. A very determined little bird, that wants its suet NOW thank you.

This one first had to deal with a hungry squirrel:

Then, after the squirrel left, a few European Starlings barged in. The intrepid wren was annoyed, but unfazed, and made the best of the situation.

Lisa : is that yellow bag a suet feeder?

Claire

Lisa: I have a 12X zoom on my Canon Powershot. I love this for getting closer to the birds wherever. It's also good for taking landscape photos without going outside in the cold, or at least putting shoes on.

Claire

Great pics, kids! When did all of you get so much snow? I just got home from a trip to S. Weymouth and could not believe how much snow was on the ground. Even the Pine trees along Rt.3 were still heavy with snow. As soon as we crossed back over the Sagamore Bridge it was almost all gone. So much snow on the other side of the canal.

sooey
who has only a dusting.

Claire - Yes that's suet in the bag. I put it up a few days ago, and even though I smeared some suet on the outside too, no-one is going after it too much. I've seen a chickadee and a downy woodpecker poke at it a bit, but everyone is much more interested in the seed. If the Downy keeps coming, though, that will be enough to justify leaving it up. He's so cute!

Lisa

sooey: This is very unusual amounts of snow for here. It's very heavy and crusty and lots of evergreens are overloaded. I can't shake it off; the branches will break. I've been trying to just carefully crumble the snow/ice clots off the leaves and needles.

There are funny little patches of thistleseed-flecked snow under the sock feeders. Greatly appreciated by the juncoes and sparrows and doves.

Claire

I did notice how much WHITE there is in everybody's photos, even yours Claire! Glad you're enjoying the snow Lisa, I am pretty sick of it. I like your seedheads - do you see the birds on them? Is that a red-twigged Dogwood?

Well, I've got a little mystery going on with the banded Bluebird, "Bandy". Bandy was assumed to have a single white band on his right leg (which would make him #2 of the two hundred-something birds that were banded in this project). Well, it turns out that either Bandy has TWO bands, or there are 2 banded Bluebirds coming to the feeder - one with just 1 band, and one with two! It's really hard to tell, so I queried the lady who banded the bird(s). She is coming over tomorrow morning early, with all her optics, to try to identify the banded bird(s) correctly! She is very excited because the one with 2 bands has not been sighted at any feeders since it was banded in summer 07.

I'll keep you guys posted!

Terrene: That mystery sounds like fun - but how do you guarantee one banded bluebird, much less two, will show up on time? I hope you have a spare bedroom for the lady in case the bluebirds take the day off.

Claire

Hi Claire, Nancy is coming over early so she can be here when I fill the feeders. The Bluebirds, as well as a lot of other birds, are almost always waiting in the trees in the morning. As soon as I fill the suet nuggets, there is a brief flurry of Bluebirds swooping and munching, and chasing each other around. She has fancy binoculars and a telescope too, so she should be able to set herself up to get a good look. I hope she figures it out, because I've been fumbling around and squinting at the male Bluebirds for weeks.

And she only lives in the next town! No need to sleep over! :)

Hi Kids,

I just got home from errands and I was putting food away in the frig, I was delighted to see a cute little Brown Creeper making his/her way up the tree that is right outside my kitchen window. It was a wonderful sight to my eyes. That was the thrid time I have seen this little cutie this season. I hope s/he stays around a while.

terrene, did you and Nancy see the Bluebird this morning? If so, I hope she was able to get a good look or even some pictuers.

sooey

Hi guys, yes Nancy came over and it was great to meet her. The Bluebirds were here on schedule and she easily identified Bandy with her binoculars. He has 2 bands on his right leg, white and lavender, and it is bird #42, not #2. This is a bird that has been sighted before at a feeder it frequented last winter in Lincoln. Nancy thought Bandy might nest nearby there last Summer, but he disappeared. This year he shows up on my feeder! She said the hosts of the feeder would be happy to hear that he is still around.

Some interesting stats on her project - Nancy banded 232 birds total, 223 actually fledged. 39 banded birds have since been sighted in the area. Since at most 50% of Bluebirds make it to adulthood, and many probably meet an untimely death in early adulthood, it is something of a feat of survival that this bird has made it to 1 1/2 years old.

Just having the Bluebirds on the feeder is exciting enough, but it has been a bonus to actually know the origin of one of the birds and meet someone like Nancy.

Today is a PFW day, so far the usual suspects and one new bird to report - American Tree sparrow. Must say, it is MUCH more relaxing to count in the "cumulative, add up the hours over the day" way that you guys suggested.

Fascinating to find out the history of one of your birds! I'd love to know the previous addresses and reasons for moving of my current feeder visitors. And whether any of last years birds came back.

I count tomorrow and Tuesday. Nothing unusual today - I'm being careful to make sure there's water available since it's so cold; and that the birds have plenty of food to keep them fueled. Suet and thistleseed are in great demand.

I'm feeling the need to eat fatty foods myself..... got to watch that - I don't have the excuse of having to survive outdoors, and I can't fly and burn off the excess fat.

Claire

Nothing exotic, but a European Starling was standing in thistleseed-flecked snow this morning. I thought it looked rather majestic, for a starling.

They keep checking out the thistleseed areas, but won't eat any. I have troubles with the names "starling" and "grackle". When I was a kid my mother pointed out some birds in the yard, saying they were starlings and grackles. I must have decided that something called starling should be shiny, and iridescent and black, while something called grackle should be speckled. After all, names should reflect some attribute of the bird. It was a great shock to me a few years ago to discover I had them mixed up. I still sometimes revert to the wrong name.

Claire

Claire,
Your starling does look rather proud of himself! Perhaps because he survived yet another arctic night. I don't know about the rest of you, but, I'm getting tired of single digit temperatures!

I've always admired the Starling in winter. I know they are reputedly "pest" birds, but, I think their winter plumage is really pretty, and, am endlessly amazed at that flying flocking thing they do in the winter. Like a swarm, they fly in unison--you know what I'm talking about? It's so cool to watch. How do they know which way they are going to go next?

Emily

I agree, Emily, that starlings are very pretty birds in the winter. I don't usually have many, but lately I've been getting about a half dozen at a time - gobbling down suet and messing up the heated birdbath. I've only seen a large flock a few times, in the distance.

A White-throated Sparrow must have been watching that European Starling in the snow, because this morning it definitely struck a pose.

Birds on the frozen tundra of Plymouth....

Claire

What a nice White-throated Sparrow. I haven't seen any this season. I love that little spot of yellow in the eye-line.

sooey

On Monday, my first count day this week, I thought I caught a glimpse of an Eastern Towhee. I only got a view and photo of the rear end of the bird and I wasn't sure if it was a towhee or a robin.

Not the most flattering view of a bird. Sort of what I'm afraid I look like when I'm gardening and a car drives by.

Since I regularly have robins and hadn't seen a towhee this year, I decided to just call it a probable robin.

Luckily I hadn't submitted my counts to PFW yet because on Wednesday morning the bird came back, and it IS a male Eastern Towhee! Looks good with a cardinal.

Sort of like a robin with new clothes and without the beer belly.

I'm seeing butter butts every day now, and I report them (as Yellow-rumped Warblers) to PFW. Each time I get the "Please confirm" message, so I emailed them a couple of photos as documentation. I got this message back from Anne Marie Johnson, Project Assistant:

"Don't worry about the "are you sure" messages that you are receiving. The confirmation programming is based on past FeederWatch reports in your state. It was designed to catch mistakes not question reports. Although the birds you reported winter in your area, they are not frequently reported by FeederWatch participants in your state."

Claire

Thats a great bird Claire! I had one this summer, but I haven't seen it all winter. Good birds for me today. Female purple finch, White- and red- breasted Nuthatch. Carolina Wren at my suet. Plus high count for my siskins, at 8. Also a white -throated sparrow in the front yard. The other good bird I've been seeing is a Hermit Thrush, which I think is a little odd. I didn't know they wintered here. It hasn't come to the feeders, but I've seen it a couple of times in the front yard near the holly bushes. It looks cold!

Lisa

Hi Kids,

Great find on the Eastern Towhee, Claire. I have seen them only in my books, would love to see one for myself. For some reason I can not see your pics.

My count days this week were both fun and frustrating. Wednesday, in all that snow and rain, I was rewarded with all sorts of great activity. It seems that such weather events cause the birds to grab all they can as fast as they can. Survival instinct, I'm sure. Then, Thursday was warmer and beautiful with very little bird activity...feast or famine.

My most consistant bird this winter is turning out to be the Pine Siskin. Last week I had a high count of 20 at a time. This week it was down to about 10 at a time but still my greatest number seen of any one species. I am yet to see the Brown Creeper during a count day and my numbers of House Finch continue to be way, way down.

The sunflower hearts continue to be are a real draw. Even the Butter Buns...aka, Butter Butts, aka, Yellow Rumped Warbler, like them. They don't go to the tube feeder but eat up what can be found on the ground below. I had three of the little cuties this week. They still love the suet.

OK, Kids, I need to go re-fill the sunflower hearts...again. Soon, I could be entering my bird counts from the poor house. I just hope I can log on from there.

sooey

OK, Claire...I can see your pictures now. Good looking bird! Very handsome fellow (?).

sooey
who had to re-boot...the *cure all* for most of her computer issues...

Hermit Thrush? Hermit Thrush?. That's a new one for me, Lisa. I didn't even know they existed, much less winter here.

Sooey: I also have very few House Finches, but many Pine Siskins. The counts had been low for a while, but started building up this week and there were about 60 out there this morning. Barely made a dent in the pile of thistleseed under the socks. I wonder if this is a large flock that is just roaming around a large area, grabbing some fast food, and then moving on.

I also have occasional problems with seeing photos. Sometimes only the top part of the photo will load, and rebooting doesn't always help. Then suddenly I'll revisit a site and the photo is OK. Maybe it has to do with my dial-up connection.

Claire

I saw a male Brown-headed Cowbird today! I got a few photos but not very good (good enough to confirm ID, not good enough to post). I've never seen one in mid-winter before, although I am occasionally seeing Red-winged Blackbirds. Maybe they're hanging out together like they do in the spring.

I hope he's back tomorrow for my PFW count.

Claire

Claire, gosh, a Brown-headed Cowbird on the 1st of Feb. Great find! I hope he comes back tomorrow. Isn't it amazing that we are seeing so many different birds this season. Keeps us on our PFW toes. As I think I said before, the Pine Siskins have taken over our tube feeders. They also like the thistle socks. Busy little birds and, so many of them.

sooey

sooey: Have you noticed that if you watch Pine Siskins too long, the Song Sparrows begin to look huge? And when the turkeys come back (they wandered off again), they will probably look like dinosaurs..... which actually they are....

I need hummingbirds to put the siskins back in scale. But the hummingbirds will demand their shepherd's crook back, and I'll have a feeding station crisis...

Claire, who just realized that tomorrow is Groundhog Day. What happens if the groundhog comes out, slips on the ice, and breaks its hip?

claire...Oh dear...that darn Groundhog! Yes, the Siskins tend to make the Song Sparrow look down right fat and a little slow. But today, I am going crazy trying to keep up with the squirrels. My sling shot is getting a workout. I'm almost out of dired kidney beans...

Have you seen the Brown-headed Cowbird today?

sooey

Yes! The Brown-headed Cowbird came back this morning and was feeding with a Blue Jay.

The Blue Jay, as busybody Blue Jays do, had to grab some camera time. "Who you looking at?"

About 40 Pine Siskins so far this morning, and the snow/ice is diminishing.

Claire

Two bird events to report:

1. While I was filling the feeders yesterday afternoon in the snow storm, I heard a lot of bird noise in the thicket. As soon as I got back in the house, four Red-winged Blackbirds came out and started feeding. This may be an advance team checking out the situation - they probably went back south in disgust; it's very early for the blackbird migration. This morning I saw American Crows flying around with a few smaller black birds. The crows always seem pleased with the blackbirds arrive. I wonder if the blackbirds feel the same.

2. Also this morning, when I was shoveling snow (about 5 inches, powdery), I heard loud cawing and about 5 crows were mobbing a Red-tailed Hawk overhead. The group wheeled around, hawk trying to evade the crows, and then disappeared. Crows really hate hawks.

Claire

Hi claire. Wow, Red-winged Balckbirds, so early! Another good find. If they are still around this weekend, they should enjoy the warmer weather we are to have.

I was just out re-filling all the feeders and was very surprised at how COLD it is. Crap...those poor birds! I tossed lots of suet pieces onto the deck along with several handfulls of sunflower hearts. I also filled the suet feeders to the brim and added fresh water to the heated bird bath. A big fat Robin has been hanging around, not knowing exactly what to do in this weather. I wish I had some mealworms to offer.

Enjoy your winter gardens and the birds. Stay warm, all.

sooey

Cold it is, but at least it's sunny with no wind so the birds should be able to get a little warmth. I just started added raisins to the seed mix on the ground so the robin(s) have some fruit. They really like the heated birdbath.

Yesterday afternoon after I posted I had another bird event, rather unusual. I drove out to run some errands and found my car blocked by a flock of 13 guinea fowl (I should have brought my camera). They just milled around in front of my car and didn't move when I beeped the horn - just looked more agitated. I had to get out and chase them off the road, causing a lot of squawking and flapping of wings. A neighbor was walking by laughing at the scene. Me like a puppy chasing a flock of birds. Very surreal - we laughed together after the birds had moved off.

Claire

That's interesting that you saw Red Winged Blackbirds, Claire. This does seem quite early. My previous house had wetlands in the backyard, and I used to love listening to their calls in the early Spring. Today was REALLY cold and windy, although the long-term forecast shows temps rising above feezing during the day pretty consistently. Is it too much to hope that this was the last really cold day of the winter??

It was a very slow bird day today, and I'm not sure why. Only 1 or 2 Pine Siskins and a complete no show from the Bluebirds. This is the first time in weeks that I've not seen the pretty Blues. :(

About 1 1/2 weeks ago, 2 or 3 Starlings showed up on the suet feeders. They have rarely come to the feeders before and now it's daily. They are over-staying their welcome. I wonder if they are discouraging the other birds?

I had a Common Redpoll this morning! I was so excited cause that was a life bird for me. One of these days I am going to extract my list from the ancient archives (i.e. floppy disc) where it resides. I might just need to go birding again some day.

The picture is so awful compared to Claire and Terrene's. Your cameras must have great zoom. That bird is no more than 6 feet outside the window. Claire, you said you had a x12 lens? I definitely need to think about investing so I can take decent pictures.

Lisa

Lisa: The Common Redpolls are a neat little bird. The references talk about them coming in flocks, but I've never seen more than one at a time.

My camera has a 12x lens, but there's a new one out, also Canon, with a 20x lens, the Canon SX10 IS. There's a post on the Bird Watching forum about it. Sounds great, and that's what I'd get now, if I didn't already have a perfectly good camera.

I think it's time to start a new thread - this is getting slow to load. Besides, I have three photos I want to post.

Claire

Hi Kids,

I think we are all having a bunch of fun this winter watching the birds in our gardens. As for myself, I just got home from an expensive trip to the Bird Watchers General Store in Orleans. I have been worried about the Robins. What to do? Well, I now have a new hanging platform feeder hung from my house that is filled with dried mealworms, Blue Bird suet pellets and soon, raisins. The Brewster Bird Buffet is now open.

I need to go watch for any visitors. Wish I would see a Common Redpoll.

sooey

I love all these photographs, I can look at them nonstop all day long. I live out in Western MA and have a few feeding stations up, one that contains BOSS and Safflower seeds, a thistle sock and a double suet feeder. Lately my feeders are packed with different song birds, chickadees, titmice, pine siskins, finches, white breasted nuthatches, dark eyed juncos, male and female cardinals, although I believe there's only one male cardinal that I keep seeing and along with the two females. I also get occasional house sparrows but lately, they seem to be staying away. I have a bluebird house up in hopes of luring a pair to my yard to raise a family but I'm not keeping my hopes up.

Yesterday I was home for the day and sitting in my living room and out my bay window in the front across the street, were two Pileated Woodpeckers, the first I've ever seen. They were working on this one tree for about 2-3 hours, one on each side of the tree and they managed to do a fantastic job carving out a couple of cavities, I was very impressed at how hard they worked. Only wish my camera had a better lense. I've had red bellied, downie and hairy woodpeckers at my suet feeders but never was lucky enough to witness a pileated so close and two for that matter, it was very exciting.

Please keep the pictures coming, I so enjoy looking at them and love to hear that there are bluebirds not to far from where I live. Fingers are crossed that they come to visit my yard in the spring.

Linda

Linda: You have a wealth of woodpeckers! I've never seen a Pileated Woodpecker and I rarely get Hairies. Downies and Red-bellies are my regulars.
Maybe the Pileateds will breed nearby.

Claire

Hi Claire, that would be wonderful if they end up breeding in one of those cavities they carved out, they're both a good size and I'd have a front row view of all the activity. I'm sure that some couple will utilize one to raise a family.