We have had a large crop of red-twig dogwood berries this last week totally stripped by various denizens, including a flock of varied thrushes, robins, flickers, jays, and... a pair of hermit thrushes - a new yardbird for me. It's been fun watching this go on outside my home office window.

Another nice image - we have windows 25 feet high up in our entrance area that look out into 70-foot tall cedars that ring our house. I was going up the stairs the other day, looked at the window and saw two juncos in the heart of the cedar tree, framed perfectly in cedar boughs and window panes. I watched them for a while, hopping around and pecking at the branches. It's great to have a window into the "second story" of the cedar tree - I have mentally thanked the builder many times for that idea. The birds don't seem to notice us watching. Now if only one day the screech-owl that frequents that tree would cooperatively sit on the branch in front of that window (I have never seen it, only heard it at night)!

Teresa Michelsen
Kenmore
avocet at halcyon.com