Richard and all,
I, too, noticed a flurry of activity in my yard before a storm or
inclement weather. Starting yesterday the ground birds especially have
been flocking in my yard. They follow me as I distribute the food. I
have two Fox Sparrows showing now instead of one, two Varied Thrushes
instead of one, Eight Spotted Towhees instead of the usual two or three
and many more Juncos and Song Sparrows. The finches must be at someone
else's yard but my woodpeckers are stocking up on suet. I don't get
the unusual birds at my suet like Ruth. I'll have to get her suet
recipe. My birdbath heater is a hit for the Flicker and if it snows I
know the open water will be popular in my yard.

This afternoon I was on Spencer Island for a short while and the
Ground feeding birds there were just as active. All around the barn
area there were many many sparrows. I had trouble following them all
but there were of course the 50 or so Song Sparrows. A good sized flock
of Juncos were mixed in with 5 or so Lincoln Sparrows and a few Golden
Crowns. There were also more Fox Sparrows than I usually see in this
area. I saw a fair number of Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I saw at least
three showing off their red crowns. I wonder if they were agitated or
just cold and puffing up their feathers. Four Tundra Swans flew over and
there were two immature and one adult Bald Eagles. Also of note was a
Belted Kingfisher, male. The ducks were thick on the South end of the
Island as the parking lot was full of cars and the hunters were banging
away at the North end. I had only an hour or so there and so I didn't
get the chance to scope out the ducks. I was looking for the reported
Tree Sparrows around the barn. I didn't find any. Has anyone seen them
in the past few days?

We'll see how things go tommorrow if the suspected snow hits us up
here further north.

Yvonne
Everett, Wa
ravenn at premier1.net