We awoke to nearly four inches of snow this morning and the birds were active at our feeders all day. The highlight of the day was a Fox Sparrow (see attached photo) feeding among the White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. The cardinals kept increasing and by afternoon we had fifteen, twelve of them males. The Sharp-shinned Hawk that has been a regular here for the past week made a pass at the birds on the platform feeder, but I couldn't tell if he nabbed his lunch or not. It was a good day for woodpeckers with five species taking turns, somewhat, at the suet feeder. I was surprised to see the male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker dominating the feeder. He especially took offense whenever a Red-bellied Woodpecker would come in. He not only chased it away from the feeder but followed it to the large locust tree at the edge of the yard and chased it up the trunk until the Red-bellied flew from the top. He then flew after it. Later he came back and repeated the whole process. I thought that was unusual since the Red-bellied was larger than he was and had a longer bill. I finished the day with 18 species. Here is the complete list. Roger Mayhorn Compton Mt Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Mourning Dove 7 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 (1m, 1f) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1m Northern Flicker 1m Hairy Woodpecker 1f Downy Woodpecker 3 (2m, 1f) Blue Jay 1 Carolina Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 3 Carolina Wren 1 Eastern Towhee 2m Dark-eyed Junco 12 Fox Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 5 Northern Cardinal 15 (12m, 3f) American Goldfinch 4
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2012_1_3 Fox Sparrow_crs - Compton Mt 0968.jpg
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