Yesterday I spoke of Red-winged Blackbirds, Cowbirds, and Common Grackles visiting the feeders regularly in most winters. I had all of them today, but the numbers were a bit off. My conservative estimates, with the aid of my camera, were 150 Common Grackles, 225 Cowbirds, and 325 Red-winged Blackbirds. Many more birds were in the trees and still coming into the area. When the largest bunch of several hundred was on the ground I was not even looking at them - I was transfixed by the stream of birds across the sky that was flying into the neighborhood and my yard. I typically have a few days like this in the fall, and a couple in late March, but this was on the high end. The fact it's February 11th made it all the more amazing. Unfortunately, they did not stay for long - between squirrels, construction, cars, and people, they got scared off repeatedly and eventually left. It's hard to have several hundred birds on the ground at once, as any little thing spooks the whole flock. If it had continued uninterrupted I am very confident I would have easily gotten over 1,000 or even 1,500 individuals. It may be a short thaw, but it was worth it. -- Scott Kruitbosch Stratford, CT kbosch@gmail.com