Sorry about the hardware mishaps, terrene - I almost feel personally betrayed when my computer doesn't cooperate. I'm close to having to get a new one (along with new ISP and new printer) so I definitely sympathize. I also did the Focus on Feeders this weekend. Mostly the usual birds although some of the numbers were higher. And the turkeys were conspicuously absent. I guess they were on their periodic walkabout where they go off for a few days to a week checking out the neighborhood. The first significant wave of Red-winged Blackbirds arrived on Saturday! Twenty-one males prancing around waiting for the females to show up. Claire

We have whole flocks of juncos, chickadees, finches, pine siskins, purple finches, plus sparrows, several varieties of woodpeckers, cardinals, jays, mourning doves, a pair of Carolina wrens (with sharp attitudes and beaks to match, lol), a couple of mockingbirds after raisins and suet, lots of titmice, nuthatches and plenty of robins at the birdbath water. There are also a few bluebirds in the yard getting drinks out of the pond tho they haven't visited any of the feeders. I don't have any mealworms for them, I don't know what they are eating. I feed lots of black oil sunflower, two feeders of thistle and some scratch feed for the ground feeders (doves, sparrows, and other seed eaters). They are going thru 20 lbs of seed in about 4 days.

I'm enjoying so many American gold finches, pine siskins, red polls, house finches, purple finches, warblers, occasional blue jays, woodpeckers, red- and white-breasted nuthatches, and various "visitors" this winter. I feed both black oil sunflower seed and nyjer seed, but in separate feeders. The nyjer is in an "upside down" finch feeder, only the American gold finches can get the seed out, and then only one seed at a time. I certainly cuts down on the waste and the feeder hogs. The other thistle lovers can pick up the dropped seeds from the ground. I offer black oil sunflower seeds in several types of feeders according to the species I'm feeding. It's the favorite seed of nearly all the birds, but certain birds prefer certain types of feeders. I have a large hopper feeder for BOSS, and a smaller one for peanuts (for the chickadee-dee-dees and nuthatches). I also offer BOSS in a tray feeder during the coldest months, and in a mesh feeder that the woodpeckers like. Besides the BOSS, nyjer, and a few shelled peanuts, I offer suet in four different feeders. Woodpeckers don't like to "share" and I found out by setting out more feeders I have many happy woodpeckers.

Thanks, BN. The cap looked too red for an American Tree Sparrow but I just found this picture of the back view of a tree sparrow from a year ago and it sure looks the same. There have been a few tree sparrows around my yard for a while this winter. American Tree Sparrow in 2014 I guess I really wanted the redpolls to come back. Claire