Just a quick post. Sparrows are appearing in fantastic numbers in my yard, including this Harris Sparrow. Very few of the sparrows use my feeders, but they love sloppy seconds. They breed up on the tundra. 
And to give equal time to a more common bird … Slate Colored Junco.
We are starting to get near the end of the songbird migration. When the snow buntings appear I consider the songbird migration over.
Learn more about any of my three owl children’s picture books, which are all available for free download:
I was hiking near my home today when I heard the “tap … tap … tap” of a woodpecker, but the time between each “tap” was extended and loud. For me this means a Pileated Woodpecker is near by. I was not disappointed.
If you watch the video you will learn … just like I did … Mom is still giving lessons to her youngster.
Video Link for eMail Subscriber (Power to the Pileateds)
One more note … and a HUGE vote for automated back-ups for your various computer systems. I follow this rule and spend about $100 per year for automated backups for both this blog and my computer. Yesterday and over night it paid dividends in a most handsome way. There was a problem with the self generated code on this web site (not caused by me). I figured out the cause and early this morning while lying in bed at 5:45 I restored this blog to its pre-damaged shape in less than five minutes.. I also backup my computer nightly, and even found a service to backup GMail. As a retired techie you should invest in these services.