newbie here with three chicks and a duckling. two Comets, a Delaware and a runner duck. I am petrified of predators and am researching everything. :( I am so sorry for all of your losses. I cannot stand the thought and before they go out I am going to focus on the most secure barriers I can come up with. We live on 32 acres in Western NY and have it all out here. we have 5 dogs, horses, cats and a 5 year old son. I am a SAHM so will be around a lot. We have approximately 1/4 of an acre with a falling down 6 ft. stockade fence around it that we are going to gradually replace. There is a large area within that fence next to the house where we will put the coop ( the rambler from www.chickensaloon.com and then secure a pen area. Part will be the house, two sides the re-enforced fence and a new part will have to be put up to make the rectangle. We want to put the black plastic shrubbery barrier down ( 6") and then pour cement around the fence. I will get the night time predator lights to move around and do whatever else I can do. If anyone is still reading this thread I am open to suggestions. we also will put bird netting along the top of the run. The problem is that there are no trees in the back. I need to get some put in and also find some things for them to hide under for when they spend time free ranging. In the winter I plan on letting them have a stall with a dutch door and making an enclosure for them but that is a ways away.

Nice owl! From the back I wouldn't have been able to identify it as an owl. It's amazing how similar raptor backs look - I guess that's a very effective camouflage pattern for a tree dweller. I wonder if sparrow backs work best in grassy environments. I can empathize with your DH slipping while trying to photograph the owl. When I was leaving my NYC neighborhood I wanted to take a photo from the sidewalk of the Siberian Elm outside my window. While backing up I tripped on the railing of the building steps next door and almost fell into the stairwell. I managed to grab the railing and pull myself back up without damaging me or the camera but it was a close call. Claire

konrad: Thanks. I've noticed quite a few red-tails sitting in trees on the side of Route 1 in Chester County, PA (Route 1 is a 4-lane lightly used road here). The hawks stare into the grass median, and when they see something, they are quite focused on their prey. In fact, I had to slow down to miss one that was flying into the median. Claire: I remember reading a post here about bluebirds going to a window to ask for food. That was when I first started watching the birds. Well, I thought it was someone's imagination--until I realized it wasn't. There was a time when a mother mockingbird kept screaming at me until I chased a cat from near her nest. When I was feeding the birds regularly, the white-throats, upon seeing me, would jump up from the brush, land in the bushes, and sing to me. Probably the most amusing was when the male and female red-bellied woodpeckers--whom I always call red and rosie--landed in a tree on the side of the house and started shouting at me. I looked at the feeder with mixed nuts and saw it was empty. Once I filled it with their mixed nuts (they like the white ones and always search for them), they left me alone and ate their nuts. Here is something you may wish to try with mockingbirds. While in the yard, I may discover a mockingbird nest by observing the parents repeatedly going towards the same general area. The parents will first land on a nearby branch and look at me. This is where I must obey their rule. When the parent looks at me, I must turn away from the parent. I usually turn my back to them. Then, the parent heads for the nest and I hear the happy chirp of the chicks being fed. I don't know if this is a learned mockingbird trait or if it is instinct. However, the parent will fly away unless I look away while they go to the nest. I've been obeying their rule for years now.

Thank you so much! Spring migration keeps me so busy taking more photos, I've been getting far behind. Every time we stop by the Minor Clark Fish Hatchery we see something different 4-25-10, Minor Clark Fish Hatchery, Solitary Sandpiper From April 23, 2010 birds plus we spent the weekend camping and birding at the Kentucky Ornithological Society's spring meet at Jenny Wiley State Park, so tons MORE photos to sort, edit