Hello Tweeters and Birders,

Our yard turned in to a sanctuary for birds and a Wonder Wonderland.As we got up real early to put up the three hummingbird feeders We been rotating our feeders when we seeing that there Ice build up.We having this Anna's now 4 year steady all year.I been making a daily diary about the time back or front and behavior.It took me years to get the Anna's Hummingbirds so this is the best bird in my yard.The way this bird individual feed I can also tell which birds there are.We having now only the ounce four -flower -frolic feeder.We always having high count on Varied Thrushes,one year we had around 25 birds and this year is the second highest count with 15 to 20.There is also a high vitality of this thrushes and there fighting among each other.The year as we had this high count we had 5 dead birds.This bird ended up with Dennis Paulson who confirmed the fatality of the Varied Thrushes.I keep a low suet feeder this so the thrushes will not to flying on the patio feeder where we have crushed peanuts and the suet feeder for the small birds as Chickadees Red -breasted Nuthatches,both kinglet's Bewick's wren finches and some time a Brown Creeper.We used to have Townsend's Warblers but missing them this year there also going on the suet and loves my Noble tree what we stuck with peanut's we had Hutton's Vireo and Bushtit's also going on to the suet feeder and the juncos will also feeding and can balance them on the suet feeder,not to mention the Nothern Flickers and Downy Woodpecker and Steller's Jays all feeding on the crushed peanuts.
On the ground we feeding chicken scratch and millet and some crushed peanuts. We also had 2 Am.Robins sample one of two orange slices that we offered to the birds along with the many apple tidbits.We been feeding here birds since 1984 regular and Fircrest on the outside is going to be all build up with houses ,so where this birds are going? where there are trees.And way have plenty trees here,We also having our yard converted with only plant's and shrubs what birds attract.We had also for the second time a high count on Am.Robins in earlier date stripped all our berry bushes.We cut up some apples in pieces and again the Varied Thrushes fight's all the other birds for the fruit.We also keeping our bird bath going with a bird bath heater and all the birds been drinking water not snow. We also have just one Band-tailed Pigeon and one Morning Dove that sporadically come to our yard.This year is the highest count on Oregon Juncos we ever had around 60 birds from barely 25 birds last year. Our Anna's Hummingbirds are not coming steady to our feeders,but do still come with up to 5 birds present in our yard at any one given time. When the snow has really fallen the Anna's Hummingbirds would flitter around the feeders(especially the males),but wouldn't actually perch on them,possibly disoriented by the heavy snowfall at times. We have been keeping the bee guards free of snow,but the sugar water hasn't frozen at all today unlike past colder days which is good.

We just received a visit by a Hermit Thrush at our backyard birdbath,drinking some of the water dripping down along the icicles.It is still heavy snowing here in Tacoma.

You can really count the birds much better when there feeding in the snow.

Our yard species numbers today follow below:

5 Anna's Hummingbirds(2 adult males,2 immature males,1 adult female)
3 Northern Flickers
5 Steller's Jays
15+ Black-capped Chickadees
25+ Chestnut-backed Chickadees
5 Red-breasted Nuthatches
2 Bewick's Wrens
1 Hermit Thrush
25+ Varied Thrushes
38+ Am.Robins
2 Spotted Towhees
2 Song Sparrows
75+ Dark-eyed"Oregon"Juncos
10 House Finches





Cheers,

Ruth Sullivan
Tacoma(Fircrest),WA