Hi, For the first time, I have the Tanagers staying in my yard, as well as Warbling Vireo is here a lot, which is a total surprise. I also have two male Black Headed Grosbeaks, where in the past, all I ever had was one pair. We went to Europe for about 12 days; and since the Evening Grosbeaks were not fed, I expected them to all be gone. (one can only hope)They were still in great abundance, not only in my area, but all of Bonney Lake when we returned on May 11th.They are finally thinning down, which may be why I have two male Black Headed's. They seem to be very nervous around the very eccentric and boisterous Evening Grosbeaks. Lots of other great, normal yard birds, and my cedar bird house which hangs on a protected post, is finally being used by Chestnut Backed Chickadees. A neighbor complained about my yard, and I complained about his dog. He has not said a word since. I was going to pull the chives, but the bees seem very interested in checking them out. I don't think they actually are working on them, like the other flowers however.Did not get much in the way of birds in Europe, altho I got a few pics, no good ones at all really; and I do not have a book for Europe. In Bad Nauheim, Germany, I got the most bird species, one being what appeared to be a beautiful flycatcher, or something similar. It is amazing how the bird songs are so similar to what we hear at home. The Black Bird they have, sounds very much like our American Robin, and is just as common. I think I might post the colorful bird, that acted like a flycatcher onto my flickr account in a minute, but none of my photos are any good. I still have lots to learn. Plus, try taking photos with people who do not care about birds, and it can be very frustrating. I never did get a day on my own, only 2 hours, when it was so overcast, and partial rain; and in Sweden as well, where only the common birds were. I did not take a scope, due to the time, so I missed out on a lot of the Warbler type birds that were flying around in the tops of some trees in Switzerland and Germany. Sweden, did not have any migrants showing up yet.

Vicki Biltz
Bonney Lake, Wa
vickibiltz at msn.com
http://www.sawwhetsnew.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/saw-whets_new/