Varied thrushes -- birds that make their home in the West -- almost always visit Minnesota in winter. One of their favorite spots is along the North Shore.
If you're heading up that way, watch flocks of robins for slightly smaller birds with black and orange wing patterns. Male varied thrushes have a bold black stripe across their orange breasts.
JIM WILLIAMS
Remote-control feeding Don't like slogging through the snow to refill your bird feeder? The ClickOn Bird Feeder System lets you feed the birds from the warmth of your house with the press of a button.
The system uses a pneumatic tube to shoot any kind of bird seed from a storage container inside your home or garage to a feeder up to 100 feet away. The system won't overfill the feeder and can even be attached to a timer to fill the feeder automatically.
But convenience costs. The system costs $495 and requires about $90 of additional materials from a hardware store. Installation can take up to three hours. Check it out at www. clickonbirdfeeders.com.
AKRON BEACON JOURNAL
