Yard birds are eerily scarce this winter. No sign of the usual large flock of Redpolls at all. Other people in this area report seeing none, too. We wonder what has happened to them?

A tiny female Downy Woodpecker comes for the suet and checks up and down the trunks of my aging trees. The past week or so a flock of about eight Dark-eyed Juncos have been eating seeds on a board outside my window which is also visited by up to 15 House Sparrows. I see several Black-capped Chickadees once in a while. Feb. 8th, a flock of about 30 Bohemian Waxwings came to glean the few berries left on my Mountain Ash trees and High-bush Cranberry bush. Several Northern Flickers come for the suet and to hang on the small bird feeders, eating seeds. This is a female Northern Flicker, and a male Northern Flicker. I'm hoping that I might be able to identify individual Flickers from photos and determine whether or not I'm seeing repeat visitors or they are all "just passing through".

There have been reports in town of a lone American Robin and a lone Varied Thrush. With at least three feet of snow covering the ground in my yard, I don't expect to see either of those anytime soon.
rags