We have loads of chickadees, we love them. Right now there are lots of nuthatches, bluejays and woodpeckers. I do put food out all winter, though mostly for the tiny red squirrels and the occassional sleepy chipmunk looking for a snack. I come from the land of huge gray squirrels, but even my mom likes these. And they only have so much territory. The bluejays can go to the next yard. I do wish a cardinal or two would visit. I'm working on getting the place covered w/critter friendly plants.

i had one pair of house finches bring their babys 4 of them last week but they have went somewhere. Had one downey yesterday and a Lewis's woodpecker the day before. only kinds in big numbers are the bullocks orioles and the western tanagers and lots of red wing blackbirds and some grosbeaks. one lone juniper titmouse comes occasionally. and the hummingbirds are rare this year. should have lots of little orioles and tanagers soon as they are nesting now

This is a weird time of year. There are abundant natural sources of food right now, so the birds are just off feeding somewhere else. Once the weather starts to get cold, you should see your usual birds coming back to the feeders. I was just at the local conservation area, where there are usually tons of birds and waterfowl. The place was practically deserted.

My gold finches mobbed the feeder 2 weeks ago and then all the snow melteda nd the small birds disappeared. I did note that a neighbor of mine who rarely fed birds put out feed during the Thanksgiving holiday and had several birds. Three days ago, all my birds disappeared which gave me concern for fear that something drastic happened to them. This afternoon, the weather was changing to colder and the small birds began to come back. About the sparrow: Approximately 10 years ago, a virus swept through the English sparrow population and nearly wiped them out in a region from the Mississippi River eastward and they have not recovered. They were the most populous bunch and a nuisance, but no more, Since that time, I have seen only one English Sparrow. Sometimes, when my birds suddenly leave during a popular feeding time, I have spied a hawk sitting high in a tree surveying the scene - this pretty much explains that absence. I do get concerned when my birds disappear for a day or more thinking they might have gotten into some bad feed or rat poison. I am convinced that something has happened in the environment because my bird visitors have fallen to half of what it was a week ago. Fifteen years ago, I did could spy on occasion gross beaks; Also red polls would frequent our feeder during the depth of cold waves. Gross beaks are grazers. They do not hang around one location. In winter, they flock together and will stop for a few minutes to do easy pickings and then move on. They rarely come back to the same place on the same day. Both gross beaks and red polls have disappeared. I have seen none for the past 5 years.