Squirrels - At one point yesterday, I looked out into the backyard, and there were 11 squirrels on the ground. That's the most I've seen in the yard. Maybe there's a little too much seed on the ground.

Nothern Flickers - This morning, both of the male N. Flickers that have been frequent feeder visitors for the past several weeks were both on the suet feeder at the same time. I've seen a Flicker on the suet feeder with a Red-bellied Woodpecker at the same time on a few occasions. I use the wooden-framed suet feeder from Wild Birds Unlimited, which contains a wooden board that hangs down from the feeder, so the bigger woodpeckers have a place to brace their tail against. Normally when the Flickers come to the feeders at the same time, one is on the sunflower hopper and the other on the suet feeder. This was nice to see this morning, but, of course, I did not have a camera nearby.

Hawk Watch 2003 - I attended the BSBO hawk watch seminar last Sunday afternoon. It's a good refresher. There were a few new people, but overall, not a big turnout. I signed up for six mornings in March and five in April. In March, I am scheduled for three Tuesdays and three Saturdays. In April, the five days are all Tuesdays. They are all the 9-12 session.

Finally, some snow - Yesterday we received about six inches of snow. While outside shoveling and feeding the birds, I heard two Northern Cardinals singing, and I heard an American Robin making noises at the back of the yard. The two Northern Flickers are still among the most active bird visitors, feeding on the suet and the oilers in the hopper. A Blue Jay showed up yesterday at the feeder. The Blue Jays have not been frequent visitors. I've not seen a Chickadee nor a Titmouse since last summer. No crows are around our hood either. This winter is much colder and snowier than last year's, which was one of the warmest on record. So that may have something to do with the abscence of some birds. West Nile, of course, will be a possible reason given by some. Besides some of the undesirable birds, the most numerous birds at our feeders this winter have been Northern Cardinals, Juncos, and woodpeckers. The woodpeckers include the Flickers, Red-bellied, Hairy, and Downey. A pair of White-breasted Nuthatches are common visitors also. Last Tuesday evening around 6:00 P.M., there were 10 Cardinals in the yard. That's the most I've seen for that bird.

We did have a new visitor to the feeder today, or at least a bird I've not seen in a couple of months: a Carolina Wren. He was on the sunflower hopper. Since we didn't have any Goldfinches last winter and none this past November, I removed the thistle feeder in December.

Well, hopefully I'll keep this more up-to-date. I was going to setup a birding blog with Greymatter on a free Hypermart account and back-date entries since January first, but I don't feel like going back and doing that now. I'll just start from here.