Tip that helps some is to use a heavy copper pipe fitting. I think mine is about 1 1/2 in. long & 3/4 in inside. Why heavy? Well, bird flew off with light weight 1. I just found it after digging up my side yard so bird took it about 50 ft. Birds like pretty things, GF was sorting beads out on patio & went inside & came back out & found some beads missing so she went back in & watched & scrub jay made 3 trips when she came back out, she saw where the jay took them & went & got them. Jay was not happy & scolded her so she took beads inside. Anyway what the copper does is help it not get so slimy. A good spray from garden hose would get some of it out but then it needs good scrubbing every few days. I just wash my "Birds & Bloom" free stained glass birdbath out each day. It doesn't hold too much water & by evening it is dirty & I don't want dirty birds around so I wash it out & scrub about once a week as some of the grout lines start getting mold on them(more of a rubbery grout- guess it's for birds) Yes, I did win it several years ago for getting the magazine!! It keeps my birds happy. I've used cleanser on it & scrub brush but rinse 3 times. Jan

There were over 100 dead birds that dropped over in Geyserville, CA off the 1010 Freeway this past Saturday. There were also a rather large number of Rooks and Choughs over in Sweden that died.....not to mention the birds in Arkansas, Kentucky, Italy and the fish, crabs, etc. in various places around the world. All in clusters, all falling on or near or within two weeks of, the New Year. Scientists are saying that mass die-offs are very common in birds, especially in winter....as for the fish and sea-creatures, they're saying red tides are on the increase in those areas. So this is hard to pin point....and don't get me started on the conspiracy theorists....egads. Thank GOD He is Sovereign over *all* of it. (Colossians 1: 19-20)

Yikes! Sounds like you're feeding flocks of invasive European Starlings and greedy Common Grackles, probably parasitizing Brown-headed Cowbirds..all of which compete with and/or kill songbirds and their nestlings. But perhaps where you live there aren't any other kinds of birds. You could switch to Nyger and thistle tube feeders or take down your feeders until they move on. Feeding cracked corn, human food scraps, cheap "wildbird seed," on the ground or in tray feeders can quickly attract vermin of all kinds-bird or rodent-which could flood the neighborhood, preventing your neighbors from attracting native song birds to their feeders. Some bird books categorize by color to make it easy for beginners to find the right bird. Here's one on Amazon, but there are many others. You can click on the "used" link to get the book for almost nothing http://www.amazon.com/Stokes-Beginners-Guide-Birds-Eastern/dp/0316818119

well, the horns were definitely more like the head of the lark, but you are right I would have noticed the specific markings of a mature male. Horned larks are not really in our area except rarely in the winter. Streaked larks are around but I have never seen one. Probably more likely would be juvenile house finch since I have oodles of finches. thanks