creeper your taking this a bit to far. Yes I understand we should not "monitor" open nests like we do our nest boxes however knowing when eggs are laid, incubation begins and hatching occurs is helpful to know when to expect babies to leave the nest so we can help protect them. It also helps to know if a Cowbird egg has been laid etc.. Any good birder knows how to monitor an open nest from afar or when a closer look is needed by watching the parents behavior. I appreciate your concern for the birds but responsibly monitoring an open nest is not a death sentence for the babies. There are many stories out there of fledglings with a foot caught in the nest or babies pushed or fallen from the nest and replaced that were saved by us humans just paying attention , from a distance. You are right traipsing up to the nest to look everyday for our amusement is a bad thing and many people don't know that. Your information is valuable. Lets be encouraging to those becoming interested in birds! Watch them closely ..from afar and come here for questions!

Thanks! I see adult Song Sparrows often, mostly in the winter, but I'd never seen a fledgling until the other day when I saw the adult feeding the baby. Usually in the summer the sparrows stay out of sight. I hope that little thing gets more wary before a hawk sees it. Claire

Bold malar marks, streaked flanks, long tail, rather unstreaked upperwings with covert markings, and the bill appears to be gray- I cannot rule out Song Sparrow from here. Any other opinions?

kilian, I'm between Ann Arbor and Ypsi and the lack of birds lately is really bothering me. My husband reminded me that our Cooper's Hawk may be the reason so tomorrow morning I'm going to move my feeders away from my windows and closer to our huge conifer lot line, where I had them last year. I, too, got more birds of all types in Spring and Summer. However, this year I am not feeding after June 1 and not before November. I said that last year, but hope I follow through this year. I do think the lack of snow and very cold weather recently is a contributing factor. I feed safflower in one feeder, BOSS in another, a mix in another, and 2 or 3 suet feeders. 2 of my neighbors also feed, but I haven't talked to them about their business. In this drab weather I am really disliking the BOSS shells piling up on the ground. I wish safflower seed was not more expensive because I would put it in all my feeders as House Sparrows here didn't eat it. The millet in my mix just stays on the ground and I rarely see a Junco or native sparrow anymore. Even the chickadees are rare. I want to feed everything that comes to my yard too -- one can keep so-called bully birds with a mix in its own feeder away from other feeders if one wants to. Squirrels will go to a mix on the ground too. I don't understand the lack of birds either, but we'll see if moving the feeders makes a difference. I have baffles on my shepherds hooks, and 18-inch domes on feeders hanging from my eaves to keep the squirrels on the ground. I want to feed the doves and squirrels but I want them on the ground. I can't help you, kilian. I think the weather is a factor for you. I will keep you posted and you do the same. We're really lucky with our weather, compared to other parts of the States, so I don't really want to complain too much. Pat .