Hi, Kids, These are my feeders. As you will see, they are kinda close to the house. That's both good and bad...the birds are easy to see and the feeders are easy to fill but it also limits the type of birds I get. ie: no Ring Tails in my yard ;( These are the two tube feeders that are just off the deck. One Thistle and one Safflower. The squirrels don't bother them. The dome baffles are mostly for protection from the weather. I have a seed try for the Safflower tube but I can not attatch it until the tube is empty. This shows the edge of the deck, the suet feeder on the pine tree, the two tube feeders and the heated bird bath. You can also see the older 'bird condo' in the back. This one shows the tube feeder that is hung from the tree that is just outside the den and kitchen windows. It is for black oil sunflower seeds. This is the one that the squirrels have not yet gotten to. I see them on the tree, reaching...but they can't get to it. I see them on the pole above the feeder but, they are unsure of the larger dome baffle. It's been up since Nov. 18th but I have not seen a single squirrel eating from the feeder. Lot's of squirrels on the ground below, but that is as close as they have gotten...so far. Same feeder taken to show how close it is from the house/deck. Same feeder, looking up from the ground. It's about 15 feet up...another reason the squirrels are unsure ? Last one. This is my view of the same feeder from my desk. This is to show you how close it is to the house...about 12 - 15 feet. Also, Claire, you can see some of the plants that hang/sit in front of the window...from the birds hitting the window question. OK...one more. This is my view from inside the house, through the slider screen. My desk and chair are about 4 feet from the slider. From my chair I can look from the tree feeder to the suet and pole feeders...like watching a tennis match. Sorry about the ugly grill. I hope these come through and I hope they are not too big. Let me know. sooey

Cool Lisa! It took almost a year for me to see a Red Belly on the suet log. Now Mr. Red belly visits the suet log almost every day. He is a noisy guy, and makes a big fuss when he's around. It seems like he's telling all the other birds to stay out of his way and they usually do. There was a Red-belly earlier in the summer that would rap on the gutter when the suet log was empty. It was quite deliberate and somewhat annoying! :) Just signed up for the PFW this morning. I did a bird count yesterday afternoon and this morning. I don't get the packet for a couple weeks, but they said it was okay to enter the data when it comes. It's fun! Had a pair of Red breasted Nuthatches this morning, and yesterday afternoon there were dozens of Juncos! At least 30 in the feeding station area and nearby grass and leaves. Along with 8 or more White throat sparrows, all pecking and scratching and rustling leaves. The ground looked like it was alive.

Hi birders, checking in although nothing too exciting to report here. I'm doing my PFW every week, on a Sun-Mon schedule. This past weekend the birds were sparse. I hardly saw a bird in the yard or feeders for about 2 days during the snow that didn't really stop for about 3 days. Usually they are busy on the feeders during inclement weather, but for some reason they were nowhere to be seen. I do see the Bluebirds frequently, there are more hanging around this winter than the previous 2 years. I wonder if my suet log has influenced their decision not to migrate? If so, lots of pressure on me to keep the home-made suet stocked, wouldn't want those beauties to starve! Claire, that's great you had a male Purple Finch, I see the females from time to time, but the males seem very skittish. They will rarely come to the feeders although I have seen them lurking in the bushes while the female(s) eat. Thyme2dig, no problem about the photo, that day the Waxwings showed up with the Bluebirds was truly a stroke of luck that 1) I was around 2) I looked out the window and 3) the weather/sunlight/etc. was just about perfect for taking pictures! The Waxwings probably followed the Bluebirds there, because they eat from similar food sources in the winter. For sure, they are 2 of the most beautiful North American birds, together in the same spot 6 feet outside my window! :)

Very cute little merganser there! I don't know much about duck migration but I checked Birds of North America Online (Cornell subscription site) and they say "Spring A late migrant and breeder. First migratory movement in Mar, intensifies in Apr; most breeders arrive on breeding grounds mid-to late May." and "At Cape May, NJ, overall numbers begin to decline mid-Apr; few observed after late May (Sibley 1993). In Massachusetts, movements late Mar–May with peak of 15,000 observed in Cape Cod Bay, 31 Mar 1984 (Veit and Petersen 1993). Winter birds depart Boston Harbor, MA, late Mar (Miller 1996). In Vermont, move mid-Mar–mid-May (Laughlin and Kibbe 1985)" It sounds like they all should be gone from CT soon and are unlikely to breed in your area. That said, I saw the first Brown Thrasher of the season today - they do breed here. Here with a Red-winged Blackbird: One of my favorite birds (I have a whole lot of favorite birds). Claire