"I ahve to say you ladies are REALLY good, maybe we should skip to the first fall warblers???? " Ladies, we are in trouble. Check your Peterson guide on confusing fall warblers to bone up for the challenge! Actually the guide is pretty good by putting them in sub-sections by field marks and color. You can then proceed by process of elimination until you get down to the correct bird. Then check the Cornell's site for other photographs for further positive ID markers. Local variations and light in the photos make if tougher too but if you find most of key ID points it is probably that bird. According to my SMAS group the Blue Jay is considered partially leucistic, not albino, and is exhibiting other feather abnormalities related to genetics. In another communication, Arlene Ripley commented that she has seen many albino birds but none have exhibited the fur-like structures of this Jay's feathers. I did some of my own research on fur-like feathers and every site pointed to something called proto-feathers which were exhibited by some early dinosaurs before true feathers emerged. It's exciting to imagine this bird may be exhibiting an ancient genetic throwback to prehistoric times which upholds the common belief that birds evolved from dinosaurs as they first took flight. There has been a call to ask everyone on the local site if there is a scientic name for this feather anomaly and this call comes from a man that works for the Smithsonian Institute and really knows birds. So far, no reponse, so the local bird community here may be stumped. There was sentiment regarding hope the bird survives. Jean, has this bird been a regular at your feeder for any length of time in which one could make the assumption it has survived nature with this variance? Arlene suggested the photo be posted on websites dedicated to leucistic and albino birds and see if more information could be obtained from readers. PapaSmurf is a rare Blue Jay indeed. CT

Pixie Lou, I love those pond shots. You get such a range of critters visiting, and the green heron is especially nice. It has finally warmed up enough that Jane's least favorite critters are emerging in my garden, the snakes. I found a small (8") red-bellied snake that ended up in some grass clippings I moved to the compost after we hayed the lawn between rain showers. I was surprised to find him in the bottom of the garden cart, and tipped him out before I thought to photograph him. My reading tells me that they don't get much bigger than a big night crawler, so he was full grown. I was cleaning out the bed around the back patio where I so often see garter snakes, and had the company of this guy for a bit until he decided that I was interfering with his basking in the sun and left.

Gldno, great photo; what kind of camera are you using? Count me in as another birdwatcher/birdfeeder, though like Mimi, I don't set the table year round. At Thanksgiving I start putting out black oil sunflower seeds in several tube feeders and will also hang suet or tallow if it's really cold. I take them up by St Patrick's. We have many mature trees and several shrubs around the house as well as a number of boxes and birdhouses and I've noticed that fighting over the feeders interferes with nest building. So, I'm happy to help out in the winter, but once it's spring, they're on their own. I only feed BOSS; the Finches like it as well as the considerably more expensive Thistle, and I figure if the birds are just hankering for corn, they can (and do) flit down among the chickens for a little scratch. Our Grandson usually makes a couple of peanut butter pine cone bird feeders each year for Christmas too. Have you done Cornell's Great Backyard Bird Count? It's a four day, nationwide event that consists of individuals simply looking out their window and counting how many birds (and what species) are hanging around. You don't have to count from your home; anywhere you see birds is good. You can spend as little as 15 minutes on one afternoon, or several hours each day if you have the time. You fill in a different report for each day which is why there are two reports for Bowlegs, although I was the only person participating. I'd like to change that this year, and get the local school science class or at least the 4H group involved. We live on a farm with a good pond, surrounded by open fields and woods that sits at least a half mile from the nearest house, so we have a nice diversity of native birds all winter, everything from Roadrunner and Turkey Vultures to Juncos and Goldfinch. When you add in all the domestic chickens underfoot, it's pretty lively out there. :^) Here is a link that might be useful: Great Backyard Bird Count FAQ

This is a really old post but I’m going to chime in for future readers. Be careful what cultivar you choose - I suggest researching not only disease resistance (they are rated in four categories; fire blight, apple scab, powdery mildew and cedar apple rust), but also their appeal in terms of food for birds. Birds don‘t like the berries of every cultivar out there. I am planting a McIntosh appletree here in zone 5 wisconsin (the tree is sterile) and I need a pollinator tree nearby (McIntosh has white flowers so I will also want a white flowering crabapple as a pollinator tree). My neighbor can’t figure out why his appletree produces no fruit. Now that I’ve planted crabapple he will probably see some apples on his tree! Not all crabapples will be pollinators for my apple tree, but Firebird is one that will be a pollinator. Unfortunately, the birds leave the fruit of the Firebird alone - I did not know this at the time of purchase so I was disappointed after doing more research, however, it was an impulse clearance purchase so I’m ok with it. It‘s a very pretty ornamental tree that the Robins love to nest in as the foliage gives them lots of cover. 2 years in a row now they’ve successfully brooded there. So for disease resistance, Adirondack crabapple rates highly in all 4 categories. But I don’t think it’s a pollinator for my apple tree. ? I wanted it more for its tidy growth habit for a narrow space alongside my house. But the birds will feast on the fruit after it turns mushy after a freeze and thaw, I think. Your local reputable nurseries will will most likely sell the cultivars that are successful in your zone. My favorite nursery in Milwaukee is Minors Garden Center. I’ve been going there for years. Sargent crabapple also has excellent disease resistance and will also act as a pollinator for my apple tree, AND the Birds enjoy its fruit. If I had room I would plant a Golden Raindrops cultivar (susceptible to fireblight however). Birds love the berries. This is not a dwarf variety. Another dwarf variety I will be planting for ornamental purposes, with two flanking my front porch is Cinderella aka Cinzam cultivar. White flowering, and birds love the berries! Adams, Donald Wyman and Red Jewel are three cultivars I’ve read that birds do not eat the fruit, in addition to Firebird as mentioned earlier. Cultivars that fruit and flower only on alternate years are “Bob White," "Evelyn" and "David”. “Spring Snow" and "Prairie Rose“ flower but produce no fruit. Whitnall Park near Franklin / Hales Corners has an abundance of Crabapple varieties and the park has so many wonderful nooks and crannies to explore between the botanical gardens and the Wehr Nature Center (I grew up nearby and explored every part of that park as a kid and fell in love with it).... it’s great for hiking on prairie trails, woodland trails, marshlands, etc., and is spectacular for bird watching with stations in various areas of the marshland trails ... there are streams and waterfalls and I know where to find wild Concord grapes ...it’s just a lovely park overall. If you wanted to see some mature crabapples to get an idea of their overall form and size and growth habit, I would suggest planning a weekend visit there. You wont be disappointed.