Location = western Pickering and very near the Rouge Urban National Park. I used to attract RB grosbeaks on a regular basis, starting in May, but this year the feeder remains empty. If I put seed in it then the squirrels will raid it. Then there are the pest birds that come down on it like vandals. If I put up the hummingbird feeder I will definitely get a pair of them, plus Baltimore orioles, but I'll also attract wasps, which I don't want. The pictured grosbeak may have remembered the buffet from last year and just wondered what's going on. It was shear luck that I happened to look out the window at that moment. I used to sit out at the mouth of the garage looking at the woodlot across the street, music from the stage monitors blasting away, just primed to detect any visiting birds with my camera nearby. This year I'm making too much of a mess with the table saw to place audio gear in the garage. Besides, there's barely room to move in there. I'm too busy inside fixing things up to be lounging outside taking in the sights. I think my neighbour will miss the music because his face dropped when I said I wasn't going to set-up the audio system. So, no food = no birds in the backyard. I'll leave backyard birding to you.
