[obol] birds at feeders

[DJLauten and KACastelein]

There has been a lot of talk about Varied Thrushes showing up all over 
and at feeders, and other various feeder talk lately.

For a slightly different view, we returned from a week in sunny and warm 
Baja to a very cold and snowy Bandon OR.  Our feeders were maintained by 
a good friend while we were gone.  When we returned we were curious how 
things were going.  Indeed Varied Thrushes are now regular in the yard, 
a Winter Wren has been feeding around the edges of the house and in the 
garage, a Hermit Thrush found its way into the greenhouse - who knows 
how long it was in there, but it was fine, we let it free, and it has 
been hanging around the yard where there is green and no snow, and I 
even saw it in the garage too, the Anna's Hummers are hanging around the 
feeder, including 2 female/juvenile types (haven't studied them hard 
yet), and the feeder area is extremely active.  But of interest to me, 
was who might be missing.  We had 2 White-throated Sparrows, and they 
are still present.  We have quite a few Golden-crowned and White-crowned 
Sparrows, maybe more than when we left.  But of most interest to me, our 
White-Faced Junco has disappeared.  He was always around before we left, 
so this raises the question, did he die, or move on.  Likely he didn't 
make it, and one has to wonder, was it the cold, or a predator.  Did the 
white feathers indicate that he wasn't healthy, or was he easier to see? 
  Nevertheless, the point is that rarely are we able to watch 
individuals at the feeder because without bands, how can we know?  Well, 
between the 2 White-throats and the White-faced Junco, we were able to 
track some of the birds, and at least one is missing.  Interesting.

Cheers
Dave Lauten and Kathy Castelein
Bandon Coos County OR
deweysage at verzion.net