You are indeed fortunate. Thanks for your reverie. Claire

Bet, OK I've been reading your comments and I have some questions. You said: "If they are disturbed during nestbuilding, they often take off.) " This titmouse is obviously not in the norm. I went to the link you gave me and over and over they talk about the titmice not wanting to nest in boxes and how easily they will abandon a box if another bird comes to take it over. You said: "Consider moving bluebird nest to the nearby box or put some fresh moss/fur in box you want titmouse in and then put a hole restrictor on the titmouse box (1 3/8", put it on the inside) so only titmouse (not bluebird) can go in. (Titmice seem to like bigger boxes, boxes hanging from trees, and boxes mounted on tree trunks (if done, need bigger roof and maybe Noel guard after egg laying.)" How will the bluebirds FIND the nest if I move it? Or if If I move the section in the box that is the titmouse's nesting material, how would they find it. Especially since this titmouse is apparently ready to use the pine needles that the bluebird has in the nest. And I have NOT seen either the titmouse or the bluebird even look into the second box (it's got a video cam in it, too). It's going to be a rainy day so maybe both bird families will take a break so I can get some rest!!!

I've been hibernating but spring seems to be sneaking in. We might have 6 bluebirds and have seen one standing guard on each of two bluebird boxes so I hope they will nest although we've always had bluebirds so they nest in the wild someplace close by. Yesterday a cardinal appeared and will probably be the only time we see a cardinal this year. Our feeders never measure up. I've heard of people putting out shelled seeds and mealy worms but a local birder said I shouldn't put out mealy worms because birds are supposed to find their own worms. Two red-winged blackbirds have also arrived and are spending time at the feeders and pecking at the suet. We won't see them in the yard later on when they move to the marshy area and sing from the cattails. I've seen one rusty capped sparrow but we might have more. Mourning doves and, of course, jays are around. Also a hawk but we haven't seen it close enough to identify. The other bird behavior we saw for the first time but the local birder said was quite common was at least 4 birds going into a bluebird box during a snowstorm. We also think the sparrows will take shelter under our small front porch. About two days ago the deer started coming out of the woods. There's not much snow in the fields anymore. Last night I only saw one but the afternoon before, my husband counted 8. Our neighbor farmer curses their fondness for his clover in the hayfield. I, too, appreciate the photos and Claire's maintenance. It's so nice to see what's happening around New England. I'm just north of Concord and west of NHBabs.

I’m so glad to read all the conversation about everone’s thoughts and experiences in each of your own neck of the woods. In the several weeks since my last post, I have slowly noticed changes around my feeders. We now have about a dozen bluebirds who are daily visitors. They began coming even before the recent arctic weather we’ve been experiencing here in the NE lately. Same for the woodpeckers - downy, hairy, and red bellied, and cardinals. Before the cold blast, we had more chickadees than we do now. We had less than a handful of goldfinches, but now their numbers are ever so slowly creeping up. Not too many nuthatches or titmice, but a few that frequent daily. A couple of squirrels have returned. Interestingly, my husband has a friend who feeds squirrels exclusively and his friend said the population of those that are regulars at his house nearly all but disappeared! Also, last week we heard about a gentleman in his 90’s in our town who has fed the birds for over 40 years! He experienced the same mass feeding frenzy near summer’s end that I did, then the complete drop off of any birds to be seen at all. He says he’s never experienced this in all his years of bird feeding that he recalls. We were going through nearly 2x’s the amount of seed than normal, to all of a sudden having seed sit out and basically spoil because it was hardly even touched for weeks on end. With the frigid temperatures, I have noticed an increase in the hawks eyeing our feeder birds. They have been unable to find food in the woods and areas they normally frequent due to a tremendous amount of snow and have, unfortunately, captured some of our unsuspecting feathered friends. They are quite bold, and hard to scare off, which is also unusual. And yes, we also have some feeder birds that seem unbothered by my presence at the feeders while filling them, and don’t fly away til I’m nearly on top of them! This year has certainly been a very interesting year in the local bird world!