I see that the Backyard Bird Count happened last weekend. While I did not participate in the event, I filled my feeders in Lake County last Friday and enjoyed watching which species came to visit.

For the past eight years the majority of birds attracted were Black Capped Chickadees and Red Breasted Nuthatches at about a 60 - 40 ratio, with a minor showing of Redpolls and Pine Siskins. This year not one Nuthatch was seen, and the majority of visitors were the Chickadees with almost equal amounts of Pine Siskins. The Redpolls showed in their usual numbers.

The Pine Siskins turned out just as bold as the Chickadees, since they continued to eat at one feeder as I was moving it. Too bad they seemed to be so finicky with their throwing perfectly good sunflower seeds to the ground.

In past winters at our cabin, Red-breasted Nuthatches have been a constant presence on the pines right outside the windows. This year I have barely seen any. I do think they have population cycles. Still, a quick look at the results of the Great Backyard Birdcount for Ely seems to suggest they are still around in good numbers. A total of 109 RBNH's were reported on 45 lists. Scrolling back to a few different years makes me think that is not so out of the ordinary, although I didn't look at the prior years systematically. Here's a link to the 2012 Ely results.

BTW, the number of Redpolls reported is really astounding. I don't have feeders out, so I guess that's why I don't see that many.

We filed our backyard bird counts this weekend with many species sited but no red breasted nuthatches! Don't know if it is related to our unusual winter or some other variable but they are among my favorites and I miss them.

Thanks for the link Ho Ho. Although I was much closer to the Superior National Forest and Brimson, the report for Two Harbors shows that Redpolls outnumbered Chickadees 4.5 to 1, and Pine Siskins outnumbered Chickadees 5.5 to 1. There are only 11 Red-Breasted Nuthatches reported, but 267 Pine Siskins reported.

Redpolls are the most common species sited in both Brimson and the "Superior National Forest", with only two Red Breasted Nuthatches reported in the "SNF". Although Pine Siskins are the most commonly sited species in Two Harbors, there were none in the Brimson and "Superior National Forest" reports.

The numbers of Red Breasted Nuthatches reported in the state of Minnesota don’t look too different for the past three years. In addition to population cycles, I suppose there is also the competition factor going on, especially when it comes to bird feeders and more aggressive species. But I didn't even hear their peeping sounds coming from the Balsam stands. Their calls had been a constant no matter which season for the past 10 years.