Show Us Your Feeders, #15

aah I hear that,same here.Funny odd when they are gone there are none ,next day 10-15 and they stay ,we always wonder where do they go ?? Or the neighbors are offering better food..LOL

Seems that here at my feeders, the goldfinches really come in to eat.on cloudy snowy days. I have around 35 on busy days. Then on nice sunny warmer days there are fewer or none. Yesterday there were only 3 or 4, the temp. was 38 degrees, with some sun. Maybe they just like to go find other food. I live in a very urban area, have only 2 sort of close neighbors, can't see either of their houses from my house. And I know neither of them feed birds. Sort of a puzzle.

Donna

I live rural, they must like a change of senery every so often !!

This "Chalet" style feeder is a hit this morning! I replaced the old feeder yesterday. At first no body (No birds--that's) pay it any mind when I first hung it up yesterday afternoon. This morning, everybody is fighting for a spot of their own to perch. Lots of goldies and Housefinches. I put out some raw unshelled peanut for the Titmice, but they must be sleeping in late today.

Good idea to put the peanuts there like that!

Thank you Nan, besides Titmice, remember I've been wishing upon the stars for Blue Jays to come to the feeders? But perhaps the feeder is hung so high? 9 feet above the ground, or it's too close to the window. No Blue Jay has came even close....

Very nice Lily. My blue jays are different from yours (Stellar) but I do find that they are pretty much the same personalities as when I had regular ones back in MN. My jays seem to visit sporadically......there for a few days regularly and then gone in the same way. I wouldn't give up hope and when they find the peanuts you will have definitely captured their attention!

That's a nice feeder Lily and a good idea putting those peanuts on the sides. They are a Blue Jay magnet and I hope you see yours soon!

Thank you Nan, Sharon, and Rose for words of encouragement. I have a plan B should the Jays prefer platform-type or close to the ground feeders. I'll move this one to the front yard to keep it low, and clean the old feeder for this location as I had. Early this morning, I spotted some Cowbirds--I think, but as soon as they spotted the funny human behind the window, they all have left and haven't returned. Lighting is an issue today; it's drizzing and over cast outside. I think this maybe a female Cow Bird (which they seldom come to the feeder--thus far).

I lightened it a little and it looks like a Cowbird to me.

I think your Blue Jays would find those peanuts even if your hid them!!

Lily, my jays here are a little hesitant with something new. It really takes them awhile to check things out. I finally took the peanut wreath down because none of the birds would go near it except the wren! Now I just put the nuts on the platform for them.

So just give them time to feel its safe and I bet they come in.

Hello All,

Love everyone's feeders/set up!
We have several in our backyard habitat. I sorted out 11 pics to post to show it all to you. We do switch around the feeders to see what works best, so if you see one pic and then another and it looks different, you'll know why :)

It takes 2 pics to show the entire set up. This 1st pic only shows the birdbath and shelled peanut feeder...

This is the other side of the yard with several feeder stations...

Both the Crows and the Blue Jays love the standing peanut feeder. Here's a Crow...

And the Blue Jays...

House Finches, HOSP and American Tree Sparrows will use this feeder...

Besides the Goldfinches, Juncos, Pine Siskins, House Finches and HOSP use these feeders...

For the Woodpeckers...(we have Downy and Hairy), we have 2 different areas now for them...
Here's one...a peanut feeder and a caged suet feeder...

And a suet log beside a hanging tray feeder...

The ground tray feeder is used by nearly every bird and all the squirrels. Here's a pic from last Spring when the Grackles started to migrate through...

Late summer I will put out a giant sunflower head like in this pic. The feeder on the left we don't use anymore since the Woodpeckers never used it and we get no Chickadees/Nuthatches. It's an upside-down suet feeder and it was ignored. I'll be it would get used more frequently if it was in a tree, but we have none in our yard.

An FYI folks...for those who didn't scroll up far, and don't know I posted 11 pics ;)

This message was edited Jan 25, 2011 8:05 PM

Wow, SusanLouise !!! Wowzer what a collection of bird heaven!!! I like them all. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you 'see' you posting again. Welcome back my friend.

HELLO LILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (((HUGS)))
Bless your heart! I missed being on here...thank you, and missed chatting with you :D
It was time for me to get out of the winter rut and been busy doing other things. I've got cabin fever terribly...AGH! LOL

I'm glad you're from up North. Because Southerners when they say "Bless your heart!" something worse is sure to follow lol. Welcome back SusanLouise. I know what you meant by having a touch of winter rut. Hah, we are ready to gear up for another season of watching our feathered friends building their nests, and raising their youngs.

Oh my!...(about the Bless your heart...that is)...LOL
I thought it was only used to show kindness...
Your pics showing your view on the water's edge is just breathtaking! Can you see my "bright green glow" of envy from where you are (wide grin)... ;)
I pray every day our female Robins return...especially the one who built a nest on our porch. I also miss feeding the one that was in our backyard/patio too...
What waterfowl do you see the most where you are?


This message was edited Jan 26, 2011 9:40 AM

Thank you my friend, the water may looks inviting under the clear blue sky. Pic. above was taken day before yesterday. Yesterday? On a cloudy day it could 'looks' dreary. The most water fowls? It has to be Mallards, our local lake also home of two pairs of stray Pekin Ducks which never show us no ducklings. Great Blue Herons are abundant here, Great Egrets however are seen only in warmer temp. We do have night Herons and more... Migrant water fowls; American coots can be seen in big flocks. They arrive late Autumn and leave for Northern states in early spring when the weather begins to warm up. Others, Cormorrants, Grebes, Common Loons, and one more species which escape my memory for the time being. :)

Susan, those are a delight to see. My bluejays would wipe that tray of peanuts out in 10 minutes or less. They fly in one after another pickup a peanut and go hide it and come back for another so they make sure they get their share.

Im soo jealous,of all the cool feeders !!! Id love to buy some treats for the birds DH would have a fit spending $$ on peanuts for the bJs,im going to have to sneak a peanut feeder home an some pnuts,it would be soo entertaining.I can do treats !! We did get a heated BB that has been a great addition,surprised at who all drinks from it.

Lily, Even on the dreariest of days, your view is breathtaking dear! I'd love to sit with coffee and take it all in...spectacular! Sorry to hear of your Pekin Ducks not breeding...very odd. Maybe a new pair will show up this Spring. That's a great variety of species...love the Coots and I have yet to see Loons. We have lots of Heron and Egrets and especially Canadian Geese around here...especially during migrations. The CG are here all year round. Do you ever see Swans?

Sheila, Thank you :)
As for the peanuts...Well, we have a flock of Blue Jays that has reached 8 this year and we have a pair of Crows which now has an occassional third wheel (so to speak) that joins them from time to time.
We go through a 5 gallon drum of shelled peanuts about every 3 weeks. We have to ration the peanuts daily. I will fill the container 3 times a day...that's it. Once in the morning, mid-day and then about 3:30pm.
Most of all the other birds will wait and watch for the peanut container to be empty before they risk going to their feeders. The Crows and Blue Jays scare them too much when they swoop down and decend to the container...like an airport...LOL
I wish our yard was longer so I can separate that feeder from the other ones a bit more...oh well.
Here are 2 pics showing the Crows and the Blue Jays in our neighbor's trees waiting for me to fill the container again...HA!

The Crows...

And here's the flock of 8 Blue Jays...

Another thing is we have 7 squirrels. Even though there are several peanuts for them to eat in the tray feeder and I do scatter some on the ground with sunflower seeds and cracked corn, the squirrels will go for the shelled peanuts the Crows and Blue Jays accidentially (or intentionally sometimes when sorting through to the ones they want) knock them onto the ground. I wouldn't mind if the squirrels would try and bury them in our neighbor's yards, but they will carry them into our garden or a few feet away in the yard and dig holes...crap. Thankfully they don't germinate...LOL
I do have to shoo the squirrels away in the fall sometimes. One of the neighbors has a walnut tree. The shelled walnuts are bigger than golf balls and it drives me nuts when they want to bury them in our yard!

Here are a couple of pics of a squirrel giving me grief with the shelled walnuts...LOL

This pic shows the squirrel looking for a burial place for it's prize possession...

Digging the burial chamber...Grrrrrrrrrr. By the time I finished taking the pic, I ran outside and the job was complete...HA!

Wow Susan! I have those finch feeders too. The first time I put it up was in late summer and a hummingbird was checking out the pink perch. LOL.

Nanny, my wreath gets used a lot by the woodpeckers and nuthatches, believe it or not. I don't have it out this year yet though. not enough hooks! It's a smaller one than most though, and I think the peanuts are more difficult to remove.

ms.ed...does the squirrel feeder you pictured work well? It looks like it would be more fun to watch that the jays just taking them off if 10 min. If so, where did you get it?

the wreath? I'm afraid it was a gift, I'm not sure where it came from. I like the bigger ones (wild birds unlimited) more because they are a thinner wire and more easy to get a peanut out.

This is the usual activity on the wreath.

Im fighting the fat and Happy feeder emptying squirrels too, going to get a p-nut feeder today,looks too fun.

Susan ,We have 7 regular squirrels,and we have 11 black walnut trees and 2 huge Oak trees,so I find buried treasures all the time everywhere !!!! Its too funny to watch .

I meant to collect a bunch of acorns from my Mom's house this year, but didn't get it done. At least I have corn and the doves and cardinals love that too.

I should have raked up acorns too ,we had a No nut year with the walnuts,bummper crop of acorns !!! It was soo nice not doing walnut duty !!

it's funny to see all the squirrel tracks under the oak trees.

I gave my Mom a nut roller to pick up walnuts. They have a smaller sized head too for acorns. I should get that for her next. No raking!

I need a nut roller! Had no idea there was such a thing!!