CC By-SA 3.0 GOLD RUSH BY JOE KOSACK The last time I'd had evening grosbeaks at my feeders was 1999. I still remember their indifference to me as I shoveled snow from the driveway nearby. Most birds take flight as soon as the back door starts to open. But those grosbeaks calmly gobbled black-oil sunflower seeds, watching me work. Surely, their calm was a product of strong study. They had spent a lot of time on those feeders while I cleaned up that snowy winter. And I had become accustomed to admiring the beauty of these cool, gluttonous drifters from the North. But I didn't figure it would be 20 years before I'd see them again. My wife Denny caught them sneaking back to our feeders just before Thanksgiving last year. One, then two, and finally three female evening grosbeaks muscled for position on our bin feeder until an ornery blue jay dropped in to scatter them. They returned a couple times, but the jay was persistent. Their visits were sporadic, but steady, for two weeks. Then the first male evening grosbeak appeared the Monday after the firearms deer season closed. I didn't see it; Denny called me at work to break the news. It brought a smile to my face. The male's appearance signaled evening grosbeaks were back in Schuylkill County. It was a new century, but the same EVENING GROSBEAKS MAKE RARE VISIT MARCH 2019 45