We've been having daily visits by common redpolls for the last month. Anywhere from 4 to 11 birds at a time. They LOVE the thistle sock which I have to refill every 2-3 days. Lately, more American goldfinches have been visiting as well. No pine siskins now, although we did have a small flock for a few weeks before and after Christmas. Throughout the winter we've been feeding purple finches, up to 12 birds at a time - both sexes. Tree sparrow and junco numbers are on the rise in the last week. And on Sunday, five wild (?) turkeys flew into the yard and landed high up in a large cottonwood tree. They stayed about 1/2 hour and then moved on. One tried to land in a smaller birch tree on a branch that didn't support its weight, and it tumbled to the ground. After righting itself and shaking off the snow, it seemed to look around to see if anyone or anything noticed the accident, then slowly strutted out of the yard. A second pair of cardinals showed up one day and our local pair spent hours chasing them around the yard before they finally drove them out. Lots of energy spent there! Always something going on here at the lake, while we wait for spring.
Betsy Beneke Avon, Stearns Co. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
