Thanks everyone for your lovely feedback. So happy you like the birdie pics. I not only love doing the photography but also love spending the time outside observing the birds. V. Dumb luck with the Wren matching the dried hydrangea blossoms he just happens to be in front of. Eileen, yes you can tell the difference between male and female Am. Goldfinches in winter if you look very carefully. They are extremely variable so it can be a challenge but the males are a bit brighter and can have some yellow on their head and throat area, also, they can have a few dark, blackish feathers on their heads where their black caps are in summer. The males' primary and secondary wing feathers are pure black and the females' can have a slight brownish cast to them. Second year males will also have a bright yellow shoulder patch that you can see in this photograph. The females never have this. You can also see the smattering of black feathers on his head as well. Here is a photo of a female in winter plumage, you can see that she doesn't have any bright yellow on her and is overall more olive. And I'm assuming this is a first year male as he doesn't have his yellow shoulder patch. You can see the sprinkling of black feathers on his head and the pure black primary and secondary feathers. Compare them to the photo of the above female. Also notice the more yellow coloring in his head and throat area. Deanne

Hi Kids, Happy New Year to you all. I saw my first Hawk in the yard today. I think it was a Northern Goshawk. I got a few pictures of it which I will post as soon as I am able. It was beautiful. It sounds like we are all enjoying the birds. The worms I always kept on hand for the Blues were live mealworms. I know you can get the freeze dried, but I have always used the live ones. They are not gross at all. They are small, only about an inch, dry and easy to handle...no slime. I order them on line and they arrive in a bag, inside a box. I take them out, put them in a shallow plastic container that has a lid and, put them in the lower part of the refrig. They last for a long time. I would even feed them apples so they stayed plump and happy. I think I got 5,000 for about $15. The Blues LOVED them. I was lucky enough to have a Flicker visit during my PFW count this past week. I was so excited. We seem to have a mini flock of 3 that now visit the suet feeder just about every day. They are so beautiful. I'll try to post the pictures of the Hawk. I would like to know if you all agree wtih my ID of it as a Goshawk. sooey

Thank you so much Rachel and Konrad. This has just been so wildly exciting for me. So I know I have had visits from at least two female Common Redpolls, since one is lighter than the other. What a gift! Konrad, your photo is just fabulous. It really helps me to see the difference. I have one that was lighter than the other, but not nearly as white as the one in your photo. Thanks so much for your help.

Love your shots! Gotta love those little Redpolls, they have been here for about 2-3 weeks now. Crazy little things that fly off all of a sudden in unicent and then fly right back again. We have a flock of 30-100 at times. So far during the bird count I have only counted 50 at one time though, the previous week I counted 99. Do you go outside when you count? I have just done it from my back windows of the house with the binoculars. On Saturday a Sharp Shinned hawk tried to get some of the Redpolls but luckily for them he missed. The most species I have gotten this year has been 10, Friday was the best day so far even saw two Pine Siskins among the Redpolls and on Sunday saw a Cedar Waxwing, never saw them this early before. Strangely enough I think the Red Bellied Woodpecker, the White Breasted Nuthatches and the American Tree Sparrow that have been regulars here have been hiding during this bird count, I think someone tipped them off. LOL! Donna