I believe yesterday/today were my first sightings of a lone Junco at the feeders.  They were more in evidence when the feeders were adjacent to a lawn area, rather than in the midst of a bramble patch as has been the case these last 1/2 dozen years.  Goldfinches have been abundant all season for me.  I repurposed some granny smith apples that never made it into a pie to a suet cage and that has made at least one Mockingbird happy.  I had hoped to attract something more interesting, but no luck so far.  My hummer feeder remains up with no visitors, sadly.  

I observed/heard a towhee on the NIH grounds within the last 10 days.  The "Field List of the Birds of MD, 3rd Ed" shows them as fairly common even at this time of year in appropriate habitat.

The recent snow/ice concentrated the snowbirds to the road edges along the farm fields here, but they are always so skittish that it seems an almost impossible challenge to try to ID them.  I suppose it helps to have a scope to zero in on them after they settle again.  One of these days...wonder if Penn Camera's clearance sale is a likely scope buy opportunity...probably not at this point :(

Jim (Michael) Speicher
Broad Run area of S FRED CO

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