Yes, I too have a few "extra" birds this year. I have 2 pair of gray gnatchatchers - I've never seen these before and had to look them up - they are quite charming little birds - kinda like wrens but even smaller, and we have several red winged blackbirds that are hanging around our feeders and birdbaths - we usually only see them around the ponds and marshy areas

Oh, I am sure it will be fun. Yesterday evening one dived down into the yard, flew under the shade sail over the pond and snatched a bee of of a flower. I am sure once they have babies to feed, that will be a common occurrence. They fly so fast, darting and diving in what looks like a very wreckless manner. They are in pursuit of insects so they don't follow a straight line when they fly. The next couple of months should be quite interesting!

kendra2 i was surprised to see that you are in MA and in zone 5 and have year round BB's. I am in SW Vermont in zone 4 (or 4B depending on where you look) and have been seeing BB's later and later each year and wondering what is going on as i thought they went south for winter. It is hard to tell from the posts what is happening because not everyone identifies where they are located and what zone they are in but it appears they will overwinter wherever they can. It seems unimaginable that BB's would overwinter in my region because it can go to -20 here at night and be in single digits for days at a time. Typically there is a stretch of 2 or more weeks in winter that don't exceed the teens. These temps are mitigated only slightly till one travels at least 75 air miles to Albany and the lower Hudson valley. Nevertheless, I have seen BB's later and later in the year on nice days until I eventually stopped seeing them in late November. This year I saw groups of BB's around the nest boxes on nice days several times in November and December. On Christmas eve I saw a pair perched near the house going into the snow to pick up something. This weekend is supposed to be in the high 40's and i kind of expect to see them again. So my question is: are they overwintering here or making "day trips" to their nesting grounds and why on earth would they be doing that in such a difficult environment when they could be in Carolina eating fresh fruit and bugs? Lou

How exciting for you! I felt the same way when we heard a loud tapping noise and spotted a Pileated Woodpecker in the front yard. Just like the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker!