Robins?! and a determined eagle

An interesting day today.  I've been noticing talk on some bird sites about the lack of birds coming to our feeders - there are all sorts of theories out there, most of them dire, but I have a bit of a different take on it because even though my feeders are very quiet compared to what I would consider 'normal' for this time of the year, I am also noticing that there seems to be no shortage of birds in natural areas.  I am thinking that the reason birds aren't coming to feeders is because there is so much natural food available.

take these American Robins for example.  What I would consider 'normal' for around here, is that robins would have disappeared some time in late summer and we wouldn't expect to see them again until mid February....but this year we have large numbers of robins still around...and look at the fruit - in this case, that of the Pacific Crabapple - that is still available.

I am wondering, though, where are the Chestnut backed Chickadees?  haven't seen one of those since last winter?  Probably still up in the mountains since there hasn't been any snow to speak of.  Same with Pine Siskin.....I have seen occasional flocks of them but they are sticking to the tops of the trees that are full of cones....that isn't completely good news though because one of the reasons there is such a seed crop is because the last couple of summers have really stressed our trees, and when a tree is stressed, it reacts by producing seed in the hopes that the species itself will continue on, even if the individual tree doesn't.

here is another robin....and in the same area were, Black Capped Chickadee, Steller's Jay, Brown Creeper, Northern Flicker, Spotted Towhee....and even....

a couple of Downy Woodpecker....not that I could get a decent picture of one!

Song Sparrow too.....

Now, for that determined Bald Eagle....  

as I approached the log bay, this juvenile was down in the bay itself, hauling this still living Chum Salmon up and out of the water.  I immediately stopped and watched as the salmon would get away and flip back in the water and the bird would grab it and haul it out again....all this done in full view of a number of people standing right above it....

I took a few more shots and then retreated....

as I am sure the birds are getting as frustrated as we who live here in the area are.  It would have been great to have actually been able to do a count for E Bird as there was an amazing amount of waterfowl in the general area, but getting to where you could actually see them, without disturbance, was impossible.