It is always a puzzle as to why birds are at our feeders day after day and then disappear only to come again weeks later. I can understand the fact that there is different food available to them at different times, but I would think that they may come less frequently to our feeders, instead of not at all.

It was the turn of the titmouse today, last week both the white breasted nuthatch and the red breasted nuthatch started using the feeders again on the same day. It is great to see them all back again.

Last Sunday we watched a grey catbird steal grasshoppers off some ground wasps that were bringing the grasshoppers to their holes. You would think that grasshoppers are plentiful enough so the catbird did not have to steal them.

I know many of you have the opportunity to see Bluebirds on a regular basis, for us that is not the case, primarily because we live in a largely wooded area. This week we did get to see a fleeting look at a Bluebird, such a pretty bird, of course we did not have our binoculars handy to get a closer look, but at least now we know were we can find them and plan on enjoying watching them in the near future.

We have been a little short of rain lately. This weeks showers are helping some, it certainly is a reminder as we see all the usuall water sources dry up early, how important it is to have a bird bath or two in our yard and more importantly to keep it filled with clean water, with our busy lifestyles it is so easy to forget. We will be offering bird baths on our website soon.

While running an Internet based business it is easy to loose touch of what customers want, that is why we are taking part in our community market this year. (Our Hanging tray feeders are a big hit) One thing we have been reminded of is that although we are told how beautiful our houses are, some people want a bird house that is a little more whimsical, and antique looking or distressed, so we will be adding a new line soon keeping those requirements in mind while still offering functional, safe and well made bird houses and feeders.

We have two suet feeders out right now, one is our upside down suet feeder for which we have just finished a video showing it being put to good use by a Hairy woodpecker, you can see this video on our home page by clicking on the picture which will take you to a Youtube video. The other suet feeder is our suet tray combo, that one gets used by many different birds because they can sit on the edge or in the tray to eat the suet, the Grossbeaks have been enjoying it. Now we are all usually familiar with how quickly the birds can go through suet in the winter, but I am amazed at how quickly they are going throgh it now on our feeders, This morning I am looking at two empty suet feeders and I just put suet in three days ago. Yesterday I did have three woodpeckers on our tray/suet combo feeder, which is the first time I have seen that. It must come down to food sources, what is available in the area and who else are feeding birds, maybe when times are tough people cannot afford to feed the birds as much, pity, for a small amount of money we can get so much enjoyment.

Well I need to cut this post short and get out and feed those birds.

We participated in the first New Gloucester community fair on Sunday. A small town fair that had local vendors from around the area offering such things as alpaca fiber, plants, breads, cheese, sausage, vegetables and of course our bird houses and feeders.

We met lots of fun people who had a lot of questions on our feeders and particularly our bat houses. We were pleasantly surprised to here how many people had bats, in their barns and in their attics. As you may or may not know, bats are having a hard time with a disease that is killing thousands of bats (WNS) White-nosed syndrome is having a huge impact on the population of bats. Learn more at www.Batconservation.org 

The day was VERY windy and rather cold but we had a great turn out. Across the road it was "Hodgemans fozen custard" opening day and as usual, being as popular as they are, they had people lined up 12 deep and more at the several windows they had open.

We had Red breasted grossbeaks at our feeder this week, 1 male and 2 females, we do not get to see these birds as often as we have in the past so it was exciting to have them visit.

It is quite a daunting task to start a blog. What will I write about? More important, will anyone want to read it? I personally like to read articles about nature, I like to watch and discover what is going on around me in nature and I like to work in the garden, so that is what I am going to write about.

So from our home in New Gloucester, Maine. My wife (Cindy) and I run our business building bird houses and feeders. It has been a growing joy for us to watch the birds we attract to our yard, it is even more gratifying when the birds are feeding and nesting using the things we have made.

Just lately we have enjoyed a pair of Pileated woodpeckers, (Dryocopus pileatus) Cindy is running around trying to get video of one of the woodpeckers as it flies from tree to tree. This year in our limited travels we have heard or seen these fine birds in four different locations around the greater Portland Maine area. In a PETERSON FIELD GUIDE they are noted as uncommon, maybe they are making a come back. The Pileated woodpecker is an impressive bird, large with a beautiful red crest, it literally tears into trees to get at grubs, sometimes leaving large holes and a scattering of large wood chips. The holes they dig in their search for food may become homes for other birds, so I guess they are competitors in the bird house building business, welcome competitors I might add.