The birds (images added)

[Steve Foss]

Dotch, I know a lot of birders who would trade in their feeder chickadees for some siskins and crossbills.

I know what you mean, though. Cute little fellers. And some good news from my back yard. After a dismal winter last year for feeder birds, we had a deluge of blue jays, chickadees, siskins, repolls, starlings and pine grosbeaks today.

They hung out for a few hours, and the siskins stood sentinel duty in the nearby maple the whole rest of the day. I added a tray feeder to my setup, putting it about 10 feet from the edge of the woods/brush behind our house, and that seemed to be the trigger. The winter before last we had only the feeders much closer to the house and we had gazillions of birds and bird species. Then I cut down a small buckthorn tree near that feeder and we didn't get a single desirable bird (well, except for a pair of stealthy cardinals) at the feeder last winter.

Guess that buckthorn was important as staging perches and cover for the feathered, because adding that feeder last week right up against the woods brought them in like crazy.

[Dotch]

Ah, you may have struck upon one of the "missing chickadee factors" right there Steve. We have all but eliminated the buckthorn in the yard here due to the invasive species/soybean aphid overwintering host situation. The area west of the house was solid buckthorn, am sure it had been planted once upon a time as looking in some old nursery catalogs, it was sold locally as a hedge back in the day. While we've planted lots of more desirable stuff and allowed a larger area for the natural plum and sumac to spread, the size and "brushy-ness" is not up to snuff yet with what we once had. And yeah, I should be happy with all the birds we have. With all the snow, the pheasants are up in the yard again. Have lots of ear corn and oyster shell for them after they've exhausted the small food plot out back. Never used to see them but with the CREP acres, they have a home. Sorry to hijack the thread. Keep posting more great pics.

[HaveBaitWillFish]

Very nice pics! I figured out how you get your birds to stay still. You use SCREWS, LOL!