Ahhh, got lots of pesky sparrows here but the even peskier grackles keep them in check. The mockingbirds and great kiskadees then in turn keep the grackles in check. While the big birds are fighting amongst themselves the little hummies zip, zing and zoom around without any fear. The hummies are pretty territorial and they have staked out the eastside yard and backyard. I've seen them chase off mockingbirds from the fruit trees back there! I don't have it in me to kill off a bird - even a pesky sparrow...but I have resorted to removing sparrow nests from my birdhouses - everytime I see them starting to build - I grab the ladder and chase them away. They built nests in the neighbor's birdhouses :o) ~ Cat

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

This morning a song sparrow came up to my patio and flew to the bird feeder to play with it's friend! So happy to see song sparrows! Maybe they'll nest.

I posted at the Birdwatchers forum, it doesn't seem to be as busy as it used to be but then I haven't visited for a long time either. Here are three photos I managed to snap of the mystery sparrow? finch? In this last photo, bird is just to the right of sparrow with out stretched wings: