Completely out of space so no newbies for me this year----previous ones are establishing nicely, although I think I may have lost some of the (luckily cheaper) ones that I tried in the ground due to our unusually cold winter. Mainly I grow in very large pots as the ground where I live is VERY poor---dry and stony and only a few inches deep on top of a stone shelf so only especially hardy ones go in the ground for lanscaping alongside hardy geraniums. I have LAKE EFFECT, the first year I was not impressed at all, I thought the colour was FOUL, but last year it was really nice and is coping well with British weather (much better than I am) so it is one worth keeping for a few year even if you don't like it initially.

Great pics, All! Claire, I am happy to hear that the Butter Buns have returned to Plymouth! Mine are enjoying the suet but I still seem to have only two. I am also seeing what I think my be a Pine Warbler. I have seen them before but always closer to the end of the PFW season, closer to spring. I have not been able to get a good picture of it yet but I am trying. Oh...I did see a brown creeper yesterday, the first in two years! I was so excited, just wish it had been a count day... Has anyone noticed what time the birds leave your feeders in the afternoon? Right now, the end of January, I know that almost all activity at the feeders will come to an end by *about* 3:00. I will still see cardinals and some doves beyond that point, but not many chickadees, titmouse, finches, juncos, etc. We still have good light, the temps have not yet started to drop but the birds are gone. Have they had enough, are they full? Is it just me? I also notice lots and lots of activity just before a storm. The birds will eat and eat and eat, but the next day there will be very little activity. Very interesting to see. Obviously, the birds are smarter than me. sooey

HTown, don't be too comfortable with them. I've been feeding the ones in our yard off and on for awhile, but I never get too close to them. No matter how "familiar" you may be with them, they still have an instinctive distrust for people and they have the potential to be dangerous. Most people don't like them because they've had bad experiences with them, just like many other types of wildlife that invade or wreak some form of destruction on their property, and that's completely understandable. They can also be aggressive towards pets. I made a point of mentioning to my neighbors that there were raccoons active in our area. If you get to feeding them and slack off, they could move on to another property where they're not as welcome and that could have negative consequences for the neighbor, the raccoon or both. I'm not saying don't feed or enjoy them, but make sure you educate yourself on them before you get into it on a regular or semi-regular basis. Make sure there are no means for them to access your house including the roof and chimney, because once they know where the food is coming from they could try to find an easier way to get to it. It's best not to leave food for them near your house for this reason. One of the first things I did when I knew how much they came around was make sure they couldn't get on our roof from any trees, the area around our deck was sealed, and our chimney cap was secure. I added chicken(Actually smaller gapped fencing than chicken wire) wire around the opening to ensure there was no access.(Something I was going to do anyway to deter the birds that ended up in our living room.) This link I found can cover it a little more indepth. These are just tips, but they can be helpful. Feeding Tips I guess my message is it's fine to enjoy them, but make sure you know what you're getting yourself in for, as there are a few things to consider. :-)

I camouflaged the long white Canon 400 mm lens the cheap way-with permanent magic markers. I have to refresh the camouflage pattern occasionally, but it still works. We were back at Lockegee Rock yesterday and a 1rst year female Blackburnian Warbler came up over the top and landed so close to me that sometimes the lens couldn't focus From April 11, 2010 birds