Jim, Last year we had large flocks of robins come through the neighborhood--mostly in the fields. We also had a small flock of bluebirds come and eat every berry in a pink dogwood tree. And, yes, there are always the grackles! Nelda ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Blowers To: va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: 11/16/2005 2:02:16 PM Subject: [va-richmond-general] Robins and a sparrow Have any of you seen robins near your house? I mean like a few hundred of them at once? Two mornings in a row I have heard loud constant chatter at my house. I go outside and find the trees full of robins. Today I found about 12 robins hopping around on the driveway across the street. What?s causing them to flock here? We do have holly bushes and a pear tree with fruit on it. Also I heard some outlandish news from the Netherlands. A house sparrow was killed by an air rifle because it flew near some dominoes in a row and knocked over 23,000 of them with one swoop. I was surprised to find that this bird, a nuisance here and not protected by law, is on the endangered species list in the Netherlands. Can?t we ship a few hundred of them there? Jim Blowers