Speaking of birds, I just had quite an interesting encounter. I am trying to incorporate some very nice used carob bricks into my BBQ which is already built into some very large rocks adjacent to my pond. It is very challenging to try and meld the two materials together. I am totally engrossed trying to figure it out and out of nowhere comes a loud whoosh and a thud and an immature yet still very sizeable bald eagle flopping around at my feet. I'm not sure what attracted him, perhaps my koi but maybe he dove, saw me and tried to swoop out. He flew right into the glass rail of my deck and knocked himself cookoo. I calmly talked him through it until the cobwebs subsided and he was able to fly off to hunt another day. You talk about an adrenaline rush!!!!!! Here's a picture of the BBQ I was working on. I had just demo-ed the fake brick off the front when the eagle hit the glass panel on the deck stairs. Here is a link that might be useful:

Thank you so much!! I will do that. First I better tell you the area we're in. We live in Illinois between the Mississippi River and Rock River in the Quad Cities (Ever hear of the Rock Island lines or John Deere of Moline, Illinois?...well, we're from the Rock Island/Moline area.) Here is the wading bird that's so dark looking. I'm so sorry these photos are so small and hard to see...there was a huge marshy area between me and the birds. I'm in the market for a better zoom lens, but WOW have you seen the price of them?? This is the swooper...some sort of plover or sandpiper maybe? At first I thought it was a swallow of some sort...then when I saw the photo I thought maybe a killdeer, but I don't think so. Sorry these are poor photos too...it flashed by me so quickly, I just snapped away as a spur of the moment thing! Would someone please confirm that this is a female redwing blackbird? This one was from a different day in the woods. There were lots of orioles, bluebirds, red-bellied woodpeckers, and a myriad of other birds in this area. I was wondering if it could be a female oriole...the tail doesn't seem long enough. Again, sorry for the quality, it was a long way away from me. I did unspeakable things to this photo to get it to even show any markings but the color is just not there. Thanks so much for any help! Ginni (the bird challenged)

European Starling. Check the transitional juvenile photo in the Field Marks section of All About Birds. It's the sixth photo in the lineup - click on the arrow to see them all. Claire This post was edited by claire on Sat, Sep 20, 14 at 11:00

Juvenile Cooper's hawk ... the "teardrop" feathers on the chest are the key. Adults have crosswise rusty barring. Sharp-shinned hawks are smaller with a squared-off, strongly banded tail. ================ Bird feeders create a buffet for predators as well as the seed eaters. And a hawk's gotta eat. Make them work harder. Make sure the birds have plenty of close bushes to hide in whilke waioting and after feeding or bathing. Put the feeders where a predator can't sit on a nearby power line or branch and swoop down. Give the feeder some overhead screening. from a branch or arbor.