I've submitted three counts so far - one of my yard for Friday, Feb. 12, one for the local marsh on Saturday, Feb. 13, and one more of my yard for Saturday, Feb. 13. These reports are as submitted (emailed back from GBBC) First Report Locality: 02360, Plymouth, Plymouth County, MA Observation Date: FEB 12, 2010 Start Time: 6:45 AM Total Birding Time: 1 hour Party Size: 1 Skill: good Weather: excellent Snow Depth: Less than 2 in (5.1 cm) Habitat(s): deciduous woods coniferous woods scrub rural freshwater salt water Number of Species: 17 All Reported: yes Checklist: Wild Turkey - 15 Mourning Dove - 23 Downy Woodpecker - 1 Blue Jay - 5 American Crow - 4 Black-capped Chickadee - 1 Tufted Titmouse - 1 European Starling - 3 Song Sparrow - 2 White-throated Sparrow - 4 Dark-eyed Junco - 6 Northern Cardinal - 9 Red-winged Blackbird - 13 Purple Finch - 1 House Finch - 3 American Goldfinch - 15 House Sparrow - 20 Second Report Locality: 02360, Plymouth, Plymouth County, MA Observation Date: FEB 13, 2010 Start Time: 2:30 AM Total Birding Time: 15 minutes Party Size: 1 Skill: good Weather: excellent Snow Depth: Less than 2 in (5.1 cm) Habitat(s): deciduous woods coniferous woods scrub rural salt water Number of Species: 5 All Reported: no Checklist: Canada Goose - 125 American Black Duck - 3 Mallard - 2 Green-winged Teal - 3 Hooded Merganser - 1 Comments ---------------------------------------- Drive by sightings at Shifting Lots Preserve (adjacent to Ellisville Harbor State Park) ------------------------------------------------- Third Report Locality: 02360, Plymouth, Plymouth County, MA Observation Date: FEB 13, 2010 Start Time: 7:15 AM Total Birding Time: 1 hour Party Size: 1 Skill: good Weather: excellent Snow Depth: Less than 2 in (5.1 cm) Habitat(s): deciduous woods coniferous woods scrub rural freshwater salt water Number of Species: 17 All Reported: no Checklist: Wild Turkey - 13 Mourning Dove - 17 Downy Woodpecker - 1 Blue Jay - 13 American Crow - 3 Black-capped Chickadee - 3 Tufted Titmouse - 1 Hermit Thrush - 1 European Starling - 5 American Tree Sparrow - 1 Song Sparrow - 3 White-throated Sparrow - 6 Dark-eyed Junco - 12 Northern Cardinal - 7 Red-winged Blackbird - 5 American Goldfinch - 16 House Sparrow - 25 ***************************************************************************** I have another neighborhood count almost ready to submit for today, but I've emailed a few photos to a local guru for identification. There are some birds I've never seen before and I'm not sure if I've identified them correctly. Claire

If the ductwork to the vents go under the floor, why would the vents prevent widening the door? I've been in many houses with a sturdy, attractive floor vent cover that is walked on without any problems. What am I missing? (Not to argue, but to learn.) I agree with judeny. Find a way to get what you really want even if you have to reduce costs in other areas or you will never be satisfied with it. In my current remodel, I'm reusing my cabinet boxes and drawers and just getting new doors and drawer fronts. I'm moving them around in my kitchen to improve my layout. I'm going to some of the bigger Habitat ReStores out of my area next week to see if I can find the cabinet boxes and drawer units in the size and configuration I need for my additional cabinets and will likewise order new door/drawer fronts for them. I'm saving $thousands$ by doing this. My cabinets are in good shape though, besides the ugliness of the doors. If your cabinet boxes and drawers aren't in good shape or aren't reparable, this probably wouldn't work for you. I hope you find a way to make it work out!

Hi Pat, No, I also have a tube feeder with BOSS and safflower. Woodpeckers, bluejays, assorted sparrows, cardinals, goldfinches, et al, like the Lyric - and go through 4 lbs a day. The chickadees, nuthatches, titmouses, house finches seem to go more often to the safflower/BOSS feeder. The Lyric has seeds and nuts for all beak sizes. I am a non-discriminating birder. I feed crows, starlings, crackles, anybody that shows up here gets a meal and a drink. Having said that, their seasonal activities affect what I put out and when. I put the safflower and BOSS out originally to discourage the large flock of house sparrows which dominated the feeder and bath in the spring breeding season, to the exclusion of all others. I will stop the Lyric in the early spring when more natural food becomes available and breeding season brings every HS for miles. In summer, I use safflower/BOSS only when there are plenty of bugs and fruit available. A picture is worth...my feeding area this morning: RB Woodpecker, Juncos, Mourning Dove, Bluejay, Titmouse The Mourning Doves rock everything when they land so there is enough spillage for the ground feeders like the Juncos. I also switch the Lyric to add a suet cake for the winter sometimes, too. (going to have to make a decision about bird name capitalization...or not, lol. ) Jane

Yesterday afternoon was windless and sunny, in the mid20’s, so I went for a walk in the field along the river. A pair of mature bald eagles flew out of one of the large pines along the bank and right over my head a couple of times as they gained altitude to clear the trees farther upriver. I only had my cellphone, but at least low flying eagles are large enough to be visible in the photos. All fall and into early winter I have been seeing mergansers on the river, but I haven’t remembered to grab the camera, and they are too far to photograph with the phone because it is a long riverbank. The males have had a good amount of white well into December, so I wonder if that is from last year’s breeding plumage or for this coming year. There was ice starting to form on the river yesterday and I didn’t see the mergansers, so they may have decided to move somewhere that the water will remain open during the winter.