There was a feeding frenzy in the birdfeeder this morning.  I treated the redpolls and chickadees to some shelled sunflower seeds.  I've never seen that much action.  There were up to a dozen little birds in there at the same time with others 'waiting in the wings' on the deck railing.

This winter has been great for seeing species that do not show up on a regular basis.  I've had pine and evening grosbeaks in addition to the redpolls.  There have been years where I didn't have one show up in the yard.

My sister lives about 1.5 hours away and she has white winged crossbills in her spruce trees.  This is the first time that she has seen them.  I'm hoping to get out there to watch them in action.  I'm also hoping to see a snowy owl this winter.  I recall seeing them regularly on the fenceposts west of Calmar but it has been years since I've seen one.

The cup full of shelled seed that I threw into the tray provided a couple hours of entertainment for me and some much needed sustenance for the redpolls and chickadees.