Birdless

I guess the weather has been so out of character this last week or so that I can count all of the birds that visited our backyard on two hands (please note the photo at the right). I had noticed in the FeederWatch email Digest that others had noticed the same thing. Is it because with the warmer days other naturally occurring foods are available? I am not sure, but that sounds right. Hopefully the weather will get more seasonal in the next few days and they birds will be back. I was lucky enough to see two big Hawks feeding on an old deer carcass. It looked like the carcass was recently revealed by the newly melted snow and this pair of great birds were filling up. I am quite sure they were Red Tails as their tail feathers were a distinctive red/rust color. I did not have my camera with me, but I do have a picture of the same type of Hawk I was able to photograph last year. I will try and post it soon. I wish better luck to all the other Backyard Bird Counters out there!