The frigid temperatures and snow have brought more birds to our yard than at any time in the seven years we've been here. This morning there were 26 Cardinals feeding and sitting in the trees around one of our feeding areas. It was not unusual in January to see at least 200 birds feeding at the same time. We used 140 pounds of sunflower seed and 80 pounds of mixed seed during January and felt bad when all of it would be consumed and the birds were still looking for more. Even putting out seed two or three times a day did not seem enough to fill these hungry birds, especially when it was snowing. We can't figure out if there is a shortage of natural food this year or whether they are finding our yard an easier place to eat. But we've enjoyed their beauty as the ground seemed to be a living, moving scene from a beautiful portrait. No extraordinary birds showed up but most days we had at least 30 species. Tommy & Virginia Curtis Smithville, TN DeKalb County =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA -------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan Clarksville, TN __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________