Hi Claire and Jud, Yeah, you both are right about the redpolls being around a lot- been having a flock of about 20 come by frequently everyday. I have to give an update now because I've uploaded some videos on youtube since the last time I posted here. Can you believe I'm having problems once again now with this Sony camera. Like the other two cameras, the focus has issues, it wants to work when it wants to. Here is a recent video i did on the redpolls and you wil see what I'm talking about (otherwise it's a good camera)- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klb44uKe6Z0 Here is two redpolls that stay together all the time, away from the flock, I named them 'Sue and 'Lou'. They are a funny pair- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UelrTOoY0U Here is the red breasted nuthatch, I named him 'Zippy" ê - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVYPQ5FpBDw Remember I mentioned about the flock of dark birds with the long beak coming around a whole bunch? Well, I found out they are European Starlings. I have one in particular that comes by many times a day and talks- I named it 'Centra'- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-j6gXSQ9FM I still see the ones with the black top and black going down the chest, just haven't caught a clear photo on camera yet. I ended up naming the raven too- I named him 'Rav'. He comes by too and talks a lot. He is one cool raven and funny too- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyyaWHIN_lM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2R7k7tjle0. I'll be posting a short video of Crooked Beak, Squeaker and baby soon. Ed

The GBBC started today and this screenshot of a map shows the checklists submitted as of about 7:20 PM: There are even some checklists submitted from Antartica. Claire

Usually I count at a few local spots as well as from my windows, but I thought twice about it this year. When I thought third, though, I realized I need to start up my car anyway and drive when it gets really cold (I don't have a garage) so I decided to check one of those spots by car (in warmer winters I walk there). I drove to the marsh and took pictures from the side of the road. This is my local marsh where I saw about thirty Mallards and thirty-five Dunlins today in a very cold setting. The mallards did not look happy. Dunlins very far away: Claire

Deannatoby: You might want to try Project FeederWatch which runs all winter from November through early April. Submitting reports each week forces you to pay attention to bird identification, and you can email photos to the friendly PFW people and they're happy to help identify them. I learned a lot from these people and from the pile of guides I've collected. Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds site is a great resource too. Several members of this forum are PFW participants - it adds another layer of interest to your yard. After a while the little brown birds begin to look different and there's always blue jays and cardinals and turkeys to start with. Claire