Good frosty morning to all!

An enormous flock of blackbirds has found my bird feeders the last few cold days. The birds are running amok everywhere, leaving chickadees, juncos, towhees, and other little birds left in the shrubs. And they've chased the ring-necked pheasants out during the day: the birds have now started moving down the road toward the neighbor, passing right under the bald eagle nest on the way. They are easily viewed on Rivershore road in the mornings for anyone interested in seeing them (toward the dead end from Swan Trail Road, please don't turn around or park on the grassy dikes, but use the pullouts). That is, until my neighbor or the eagles get them.

There is also a pair of mourning doves in the area. These birds don't usually persist long in the area, probably due to predation. I saw them the morning of December 17 for the first time, as I was getting ready to go in for surgery that day, and am taking their presence as a sign of good luck (hey, a little positive superstition never hurt anyone).

My current plan is to pull feeders in the morning once the "sky rats" arrive, then put them back out before dusk. In my experience, my other birds feed earlier and later than the blackbirds. I don't want to pull feeders altogether in this weather, but I'd like the raucous mob to move on to someone else's house. Ah, the life of a wildlife manager. . . .

Keep warm!
Monica
Snohomish, WA