Show Us Your Feeders, #15

Critter,

Yep, that happens all the time...LOL
We had a Goldfinch actually sit down on a perched feeder and try and feed from one of the holes!
Besides Orioles (don't know why they don't go to their feeders here...HA!), we've had a Eastern Phoebe and this House Wren have fun checking HB feeders too...
Here's a video of the House Wren...silly bird...LOL
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/swhitney1977/?action=view¤t=wren2009-09-2401.mp4

Blue Jays have selected a new feeder for themselves - bowl with dry cat food. They seem to prefer to this to the seeds and nuts in the various bird feeders hanging around the property.
We are still trying to catch the wild cat, and the Blue Jays appear to aggressively defend the bowl of cat food! Cardinals, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Mockingbirds and Robins seem uninterested in it, but the Jays have definitely zeroed in.

Perfect feeder for jays!!

Jill, I have that same hummingbird feeder and I've seen a few different birdies on the top. Finally figured out they were drinking and eating bugs out of the bug guard LOL

I can't wait to be able to hang hummer feeders out, that means it's WARM!!!

I just discovered you have birds at Dave's Garden! Yay! We are new to birding, so I cannot ID many, but do enjoy watching them.

This was the one and only time an Oriole came to this nice feeder we bought, so we set out oranges. The male and female stayed for about two weeks and now have moved on. :(

Welcome Chillybean, nice. Is that a male Baltimore Oriole? I seldomly see Orioles down here unless they're passing through.

Very nice pic Chillybean!
Yes it would be nice if they stayed longer.

Thank you, pelletory. :)

Lily_love, yes, it is a Baltimore. He is a beauty.

I hope to get a chance to spend more time here. It seems like a nice place. I enjoy the outdoors, but this heat makes me wilt.

Chillybean, seems like the heat waves is highly unusual for most of the States this early in the season. LOL about your comment about 'being wilted'. I can totally relate. It's scrotching hot here too.

Male Cardinal at the hanging feeder. This is a treat for all, an open buffet for all creatures who visits the garden. lol

Welcome Chillybean. I hope you get to stay there if you like the area.

I have lived in this area all my long 85 years, and have been many other places. I still like this the best. There are lots of the beautiful Bullocks Orioles here. They eat grape jelly faster than I can buy it. Also oranges.

It rained a little during the night and a little shower since. I just got back from seeing my Dr, that did the revision surgery a couple of months ago on my left hip joint, ..He is saying after looking at the Xrays taken yesterday of my right hip, that soon have to surgery on my riight hip to repair the loose fit now of the long spike in the femur. I am certainly not looking forward to more surgery.

I think the rain shower has stopped now so I will go outside and plant a couple of plants that I bought yesterday/ Happy birding everyone.

Donna

Absolutely love all the pictures!!

This Oriole picture isn't that great & it's through the kitchen window. I'm using a suet feeder to hold an orange half, then when they empty out the orange, I fill it with grape jelly. It's sitting on top of the sugar water Oriole Feeder. The Orioles just love it & they visit constantly.

My husband is making me a permanent feeder for oranges & grape jelly out of cedar wood. It's similar to an Audubon design I saw in a catalog.

We have quite a few...males, females & juvies. Some years they don't stay real long, but I think they're nesting here this year. They've already been here over a month.

Even though they use the feeder constantly, it's been really hard to take any pictures. They will let you watch them, but as soon as I pick up the camera, they get skittish.

Oops!. . . I went to "Preview" before uploading the picture. Here it is...

Wow that is really nice they are staying so long! Very nice pic!

Nice pic, and a very creative idea, n.a.n. Who would think to use suet feeder for fruit treats. I saw bigger suet cage like that at some box stores. It's a priviledge, I do believe that birds decided to nest where we can enjoy them. Glad that they're staying there an extended time. n.a.n.

Thanks pelletory!

Thanks Lily_love! You're so right about what a priviledge it is...

A privilege is right! We've had brown thrashers in our yard the last couple years, but never knew where they nest. One of our children saw one taking nesting material into the front ficus some weeks ago. Because of all our children's activity, I didn't think they'd stay. But they did! Today, we saw a young thrasher hopping about after the rain. I'll try and get a picture on later. Because of storms, our connection is iffy right now.

I am going to try something new I saw on another thread here. We are having to improvise because our shopping didn't produce the needed materials. There was a teeny bucket filled with seeds hanging from a shepherd's hook. We will try to put together something with a yogurt cup and see what happens.

Our cage feeder rusted at the top screw that held onto its big hook, so I bought a hopper. Never used one of those before. We will set that out in the fall.

We do feed in the summer, but cut way back. Right now, just safflower in the platform feeder and some mixed see in the tube feeder. And a few peanuts, sunflower, etc thrown on the ground. I have an oriole feeder up, but nothing has come to it in awhile, but I keep putting in fresh nectar in hopes we'll see them again.

Chillybean -
I also saw the thread with the tiny bucket. I actually have one like it with a Tea Candle in it, but it was given to me so I don't know what store it came from.

Why don't you check out the candle holders in craft stores or anywhere that they have a large candle department?. I don't know what stores you have where you are, but around here we have Hobby Lobby, Jo-ann's Fabric & Crafts, Michael's & others.

Also, don't give up on the Orioles yet. We have quite a few Orioles visiting constantly. They like the nectar alot, but they really love oranges & grape jelly. I put the orange half in a suet feeder (see my above post with the picture) and when they empty out the orange I add some cheap grape jelly. You can also put grape jelly in just about anything they can fit their head into.

I'm new here and I didn't find anywhere to introduce myself, so I hope you don't mind my just "barging in" and posting.

Right now I'm keeping a number of cakes, a fruit & nut mix, peanuts, goldfinch mix, and safflower. I change them around sometimes to keep what's currently coming interested. So far this year I've gotten Tufted Titmice, Gray Catbirds, Northern Orioles, along with the regulars; Blue Jays, various Woodpeckers, Starlings, Common Grackles, House Sparrows, Finches, and Mourning Doves. A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird checked out my feeder and Salvias in May, but never came back.

In this photo can be seen from left to right, a Gray Catbird at the Hot Pepper cake, a Downy Woodpecker at the orange cake, and a female Red-bellied Woodpecker just above the Salvias on the Wodpecker cake. That was a very special moment, to be able to see that and catch it "on film."

If someone would direct me to an Introduction Thread, I'd be happy to introduce myself. Thanx!


This message was edited Jun 14, 2011 9:49 AM

WELCOME, BirdGeek!!!

It's great to have you...and there's no such thing as "barging in" here at DG. All members are welcome to join in on any forum & the more the merrier.

As far as introducing yourself...you just did...now Enjoy.

P.S. Love the pic!

Welcome BG, nice having you joining us. Like the pic. as well, and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Okay, thanx! Well, I'll tell a bit more. I've been birding most of my life (I blame my grandmother!), although more actively since the late 1980s. Living near the Indiana Dunes gives me great potential, and I've had nearly 50 species at my feeders on and off since we bought this house seven years ago.

It is a challenge to keep up with who likes what, and to keep them coming. The orioles abandoned me for a couple of years, as have the Hummingbirds, but the Orioles came back briefly this year.

Here's a male Oriole.

Wow. 50, those are great numbers

Welcome! Pelletory will be along shortly I'm sure, to tell you some helpful hints. She's our unofficial "Den Mother" as I like to call her.

Birdgeek, welcome to the forum, love the name you've picked. Come check out this thread as well. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1189102/
Feel right at home, we enjoy everyone's contribution, and love to learn from others.

Our little improvisation worked. I was pretty excited when my 9 year old showed me the pictures he took. Right now it's just a mix of leftover winter stuff; cracked corn, sunflower, and I think a little thistle. When the amounts were getting low, I just combined them. It gets eaten one way or another. :)

I used a plant support thing, yarn and a clear yogurt container. Because I have been spying a cedar waxwing eating a few dried berries on the ground, I am going to put up a bigger container on another plant support with dried cranberries and see if s/he is a taker. That bird is driving me nuts!! It has only been allowing me a couple second glance at it before flying off. It must know I am bound and determined to get a decent picture of it!

I think those are just house finch, with a purple cast from the camera.

Yes, they're House. Iowa only gets Purple in the winter, but I've yet to see them at my place.

From what I understand for IDing the two is to look at the crown for one, see the brownish on top. Also, the streaking on the belly, I believe. I tend to look at the head, first, because it's easier for me to see. There may be other markings, but those are the ones I'm familiar with. We had so many brighter than normal finches this winter. I took many pictures and went back to look at them. Nope, they all had the brownish crown. Maybe next year....

I need some practice too to differentiate Housefinches and Purple finches. Not many good pix lately to share, but this pic. was taken couple of days ago. Great Egret on neighbor's pier. I saw a Green Heron Chasing one of these Egrets the other days. They don't usually do that, but in the spring time.

I made a mistake posting the above pix of the egret. It was intended for the daily thread. Please pardon.

Still very nice Kim. He looks right at home there.

Any takers on your cranberries Chillybean? Try some old or fresh grapes or softened apples, I placed my apple in the microwave for a few minutes. Or you could freeze it and serve, they'll eat it when it thaws, if not the Robins will take care of it. .;) That's what worked here, for the Bohemian Waxwings, maybe the Cedar Waxwings will go for it too.
In my experience with cranberries, it was one of the last fruit they ate. My Cranberry bush is only emptied in early spring when the migrating bird passes through.

A recycled lid from a peanut butter jar, made a nice feeder for woodpeckers.

It's a part of an old feeder handle, that I straighten and made a hook at the top and bottom. Drill a hole, on the side of the lid and worked the hook in it.

Ok I finally went and bought a caged feeder. This one is from Audubon. I'll let you know what I think of it after a while.

Pelle, that looks very nice. I'm looking forward to your evaluation.

Well it took 5 1/2 hours but finally some House Finch went in to feed on it. They really are afraid of new things. I'm hoping to get some Goldfinch along with Titmice to use it.