Thanks for posting those beauteous Bohemian Waxwings again Joey!

@mcash70 -- Margaret, not that this in any way the secret sauce, I know the talent and the beauty must already exist...but, to lure the beauty in for practice; what are the Waxwings dining on, are they pommes or berries?

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

Robin, they are the fruit from a Thundercloud ornamental crab apple tree that is planted in front of the house, I planted it with the birds in mind, they love it and it is now stripped pretty clean. I also have a Toba Hawthorn in back that gets red berries that they like and a second but different ornamental crab. These trees really attract a lot of birds in the fall and winter and is an important food source, wish I could plant more but I have no space.

Margaret

plantladylin said: I only saw this sparrow the one time, a little south of what shows on the range maps!

Many of the sightings posted on e-bird are farther south into Florida than what the range maps show. I think they are kind of rare birds and not often seen. Their call is very distinctive too, some on iNaturalist were identified by sound alone.
http://ebird.org/ebird/map/hen...

I found a YouTube video of the Fox Sparrows little hop and scratch they do. The few times I've seen them they were doing exactly this.

I love the Bohemian Waxwing pics too. I've only seen Cedar Waxwings here...the Bohemians have a little extra flair I think!

Your welcome Robin.

"I love the Bohemian Waxwing pics too. I've only seen Cedar Waxwings here...the Bohemians have a little extra flair I think!"
I think so too Morgan, I love the colorful pattern on their wings.

I've got a really sad update regarding the injured Sharp Shinned Hawk, he died over the course of the night the rehabber had him. He got to feed the hawk and I managed to give him some water. The rehabber's x-ray showed there was nothing wrong with the Hawk's legs (he was just dragging them), his back was broken.

I feel blessed for the opportunity to try and help -- and God bless the sympathetic humans along with all of the wildlife rehabilitators out there trying too. The rehabbers are a skilled and hard working bunch.

That is very sad news Robin, at least everyone tried their best to save him.

RobinSeeds said:I've got a really sad update regarding the injured Sharp Shinned Hawk, he died over the course of the night the rehabber had him. He got to feed the hawk and I managed to give him some water. The rehabber's x-ray showed there was nothing wrong with the Hawk's legs (he was just dragging them), his back was broken.

I feel blessed for the opportunity to try and help -- and God bless the sympathetic humans along with all of the wildlife rehabilitators out there trying too. The rehabbers are a skilled and hard working bunch.

Thanks Joey...I feel the same way and am sorry to sadden you and everyone else with the tough side of life. Thanks for the too. I appreciate all of the shows of support with the thumbs-up.

RobinSeeds said:Thanks Joey...I feel the same way and am sorry to sadden you and everyone else with the tough side of life. Thanks for the too. I appreciate all of the shows of support with the thumbs-up.

Well, if it's any consolation to you @RobinSeeds, often when there's a broken back, there's no pain. Hopefully, that was the case with your rescue. You showed it kindness and love and I'm sure it was felt.

You know Joey, that was consolation to me, thanks. He died in a better environment.

Margaret, I have an ornamental crab tree in my yard and I have never seen any waxwings on it unfortunately. Only the squirrels seem to bother the fruit.

Robin - so sorry to hear about the hawk.

All the bird photos are wonderful. So many birds I've never heard of.

So few birds here. I honestly don't know what to make of it. Hummers are still here as are a few Painted Buntings. There were 9 white-winged dove at the feeder this morning, but little else that I could spot. So very odd to go out to add seeds to the feeders and find it is still pretty full. Not even many seed shells. Feeders look untouched.

Robin, I too am so sorry about the hawk but thankful that you got it to the rehabilitator, knowing that they would try their best to save it.

Becky, It's a bit confusing with the sudden and continued disappearance of the birds around here. I've lived in Florida for almost 50 years and I've never seen this happen before. I've always had many birds visit my feeders daily, throughout the year so I'm really baffled by their absence. I guess there is a possibility that birds are finding much more to eat elsewhere but it's very, very unusual not to see at least a few birds every day and yet ... zilch. zero. nada.

Cindy, that is very strange that the birds don't eat the fruit on your ornamental crab, every season mine are stripped bare, first the Robins, maybe some starlings, but mostly flocks of Waxwings. The Waxwings also eat the juniper berries.

Becky and Lin, that is very odd about the birds, do you have a lot of cats around your yards, or a lot of hawks?? I have not had a lot of birds either but it is because of the darned Ringed Doves, Ravens and Crows, I have to chase them away and of course it scares the smaller birds. I do have a small flock of brave little Gold Finches, and a few Steller's Jays that are at the feeders daily.

Might the absence of birds be connected somehow to the anti-zika spraying? Even if the spray didn't directly harm birds, if it interfered with the food chain there might have been an impact... I really hope I'm wrong.

Birds here are recently much more numerous - I think the onset of colder weather encourages them to visit the feeders. I've also noticed quite a few birds investigating the nesting boxes - I thought they wouldn't do that until early spring, but perhaps it's to find a warm place for the winter?

I've decided I need a bat house... does anyone else have one, and do you have any tips on how to encourage bats?

I think cats may be the reason for bird decline at my feeders. I've spotted a cat hiding in dense shrubbery in our side yard twice in the past couple of months and another time, a large cat was sitting up in an oak tree! My husband was out with the dogs last night and said there was a black cat in the yard but it took off when it spotted the dogs! The cats I've seen appear to be beautiful, well fed cats so I don't think it's a feral cat issue but rather neighbors who allow their cats to be outdoors.

I can't blame the kitties; it's a normal instinct for them to go after birds.

It's the owners who are irresponsible, allowing their cats to roam free ... not safe for the songbirds but also not safe for the cats who can be hit by cars or taken by coyotes, etc.

It's fine to let your cats roam in farming areas, but in urban areas it is just not right to let cats run free as there are too many of them, there is no doubt that they are reducing the number of song birds in our communities. I am also bothered by neighbors cats in my yard, If we see them out there, we try and scare the crap out of them by yelling, running after them, throwing rocks, not to hit them of course, during the summer the hose if I can sneak out and turn it on.

This Floridian has also seen a lack of birds at the feeder. Still plenty of water birds, lots of vultures (dead raccoons all over) and today I saw large flocks of what I think were Grackles in the shopping plaza that holds my precious Starbucks.

I hadn't even seen the squirrels trying to get at my feeder until one attempted it the other day. FYI, that Squirrel Buster really works! He ate the seeds on the ground which was fine. I had a Dell tech over the other day (broken power adapter, DO NOT get me started) and while we were sitting at the table in the breakfast nook, I looked out and saw a bird pecking under the bird feeder. I'm pretty sure it was a Dove, probably a Mourning Dove, but it was blending in with the ground and I was losing the light.

Since I'm still pretty new at birding, I wasn't sure if this was a normal slow time, like I get with my butterflies, so thanks for the input, fellow Floridians. I have seen a lot of Carolina Wrens hopping around, they just don't tend to use the feeder. They prefer to hide in the bougainvillea or Jatropha by the front door and get all freaked out when I open said door.