Gail,         I've meant to thank you before for catalyzing the whole  
skein of
"signs of spring."    It's been delightful and I've been noticing  
them everywhere.

This afternoon in a local mall, I noticed two 1st-year male house  
sparrows fighting.
They'd fly at each other; one would get a bit of elevation and force  
the other down
on its back and peck away at its face & throat over & over.   This  
happened several
times, apparently with the same bird on top each time.   I've seen  
birds fight before
(once years ago at Great Falls, VA, two red-bellied WP males were so  
tangled up
with each other that they dropped on the ground right at my feet,  
still fighting)
but this insistent ferocity seemed a little out-of character for  
house sparrows.
But then, as Ecclesiastes said: "There is nothing new under the sun"  
I suppose.

Leo Weigant

PS I'm hoping to get over to Centennial Park (finally) tomorrow and  
wondered if
you've heard of any more sightings of the red-necked grebe at  
Brighton Dam --
and, since it's been years since I've been there, where would be the  
best place
to look.   I have my trusty DeLorme Atlas and can get to the dam.    
Has it been seen
right around there?

On Feb 10, 2009, at 7:58 AM, Gail Mackiernan wrote:

> Our Witch Hazel has been out for some days now and since Sunday has  
> been
> frequented by honeybees (real honeybees, Apis melifera) -- we must  
> have a
> hive in the area but not sure if a wild one or if an unknown  
> neighbor keeps
> bees. Also the Snowdrops are blooming in sheltered areas. Yesterday  
> saw
> droves of Robins stripping the berries from our hollies and the  
> neighbor's
> large tree, accompanied by 3-4 Cedar Waxwings. The resident Mocker  
> tried to
> defend his berries and his water feature, to no avail! By evening the
> hollies were almost bare, the robins then scattered over the ground  
> gleaning
> fallen fruit. Today they are gone...off to some other feeding area!
>
> Still have our Siskins!
>
> Gail Mackiernan
> Colesville, MD