Interesting about the shells! I'm sure I've seen shells in open places before too. I have at least 4 breeding pairs of goldfinches visiting the nyjer feeder now. I've seen 6 at once of which 4 were males, and 4 females together at a different time so who knows how many are around. I found a pair of Grey Catbirds in my cedar this morning. They looked like they were building a nest, although I doubt it would be in my cedar because it's pretty big and open.

It looks like your new feeder is a great success. I need to try to identify the sparrows. I do know the white crowned but don't distinguish the others. Looks like we have some bird feeding weather coming.

Howdy, konrad, janie and luc! WOW, long time indeed!!!! Konrad, I keep reading and hearing that about my shots, about them looking like paintings. Since I had to stop drawing due to the carpal tunnel, the camera has given me freer rein in getting what I see down better than any ink ever did . . . for me, that is. There's still a time or two when I will sit down to draw, and this summer I will be working on 'cartoonish' owls and the like for our church, but these will be larger than life :) Janie- it has been quite some time. . .and it is good to be back here. I keep the browser open to this page and while I may not post every day, at least I can show up from time to time and share what I am seeing :) Luc, well, your English seems good to me! :) I have been working on photography off and on since 2001, when I acquired my first digital camera after years of working, again, off and on, with SLR. Joe in SW NH rekindled something in me that way when he was shooting photos everywhere he went while here visiting with me in October and part of November of 2000, and at one point during our visit, he let me use his camera to capture a couple of shots of Harlequin Ducks. I still have his shot of Nevermore gracing my wall. . .I miss him. . .I miss Nevermore, but think I know that she's the bird I keep running in to at MacKerricher State Park. . . Glad your RWBB's and Grackles are back. Power's flickering, gotta run, Feather

Yep, Kendra is right about the sparrows. Oh and as far as taking too long to get the worms out, most Blues need to be trained to go to a feeder. They aren't normally feeder birds so they won't check out feeders looking for worms. You have to train them by putting a dish under where they normally perch, they will see the movement and drop down on it. Once they know you have worms in a dish for them however, then you can move the dish to where you want it.