Our Rusty Blackbirds have been with us on and off for the last few weeks. In early Dec we were up to 25 birds but they then disappeared for a while. Recently they started visiting again with a handful at first then up to 18 birds on the 27th and 9 this morning. Interesting how similar to last year, they sometimes visit with a few Grackles but the Grackles are always on the feeders while the Rusty Blackbirds are always on the ground and they never seem to get very close to each other. They are very skittish and typically don't stay long at a time. For Roy >From Carol and Jim Zipp: 12/29/10 - Hamden feeders -- 9 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS The Fat RobinWild Bird and Nature Shop 3000 Whitney Ave. Hamden, CT 06518 www.fatrobin.com 203-248-7068 Toll Free U.S. 1-866-Fat-Robin Jim Zipp Bird Photography www.JimZipp.com