DAILY BIRD PICS VOL. 441

Hack - suet feeders work very well for oranges. I put orange halves and other chunks of fruit in suet feeders. The birds like to hang on them.

I also have a plastic feeder (I'll upload a picture) that I bought several years ago at a home center store for about $3.00 that you stab the orange half onto and it has a perch on each side.

My husband started making a cedar feeder that has a place on each side to hang an orange half and a bowl for jelly. He had to temporarily set it aside while he finished some other projects, but I'll take a picture when it's finished.

I also cut a small hole in the bottom of orange halves and stick them on all sorts of things, like dead branches on trees or shrubs.

You can also buy an inexpensive brightly colored plastic bowl . . .think "Dollar Store". Plastic is easy to drill holes in and you can hang three or for lengths of chain or cord that come together at the top. Just hang that on a hook. The birds perch right on the top of the bowl.

Chillybean, that's a cute idea with the tree stump.

Hack, the only pictures of that plastic feeder that I had right now happened to have butterflies on them, rather than Orioles, but it might give you another idea. The part with the perches slides off for washing.

This message was edited Jul 7, 2012 4:52 PM

I did not know about putting a orange half in a suet feeder! I may try that, it makes sense, the squirrels can't get it because they can't get at it. I also did not know that the red-bellied woodpecker likes oranges, it is amazing what they like to eat, if I had feeders out for every kind of bird, we would not be able to walk around in the yard! The seed feeder we have that we put the sunflower seed in, would it be alright to put peanuts in it? I tried it several times and the woodpeckers loved it, I just have to find somewhere to put it.

nutsaboutnature, thanks for all the good ideas. I sure like the "store-bought" orange feeder you posted. I'll be researching to see if I can find one like it or similar to it.

I also have a couple of those large woodpecker suet feeders. It has the wire cage mounted inside a plank of green painted wood. I'm thinking about about drilling a hole in the wood, below the suet cage, and inserting a 1/4 inch dowell for a perch. Then, I'll put in two orange halves, one pointing one way the other the other way.

Here is it early in July and I may have lost the chance to feed any orioles, but I have several kinds of woodpeckers that visit, maybe they will enjoy a bit of orange.

Now, don't laugh but here is the orange feeder I fashioned from a coat hanger. Don't know if it will work, but you can't knock the price, lol.

Hack

This message was edited Jul 8, 2012 2:54 PM

good invention, Hack

Thanks, irisMA, now to see if works. I'm still gonna use a couple of suet feeders, too.

Saw this male Cardinal take a moment for a drink.

Hack

I like your new feeder, Hack.

One thing about the oranges and jelly is all the bugs, but I don't think this bothers the birds at all and they may be eating a few of those as well.

Teddy, for our "regular" birds, we've got several different types of feeders two baths, plus what we throw on the ground and it doesn't take up too much space overall. We have room to walk, but it does make mowing interesting.

I sure wish we could be home to more birds, but our habitat cannot support them all. It was a joy to finally get Bobolinks to nest here and to me that is worth quite a bit even if we do not get any Chickadees at the feeders or Bluebirds in the box. Maybe some year...

Teddy, as long as the peanuts fit in the feeder and the birds can get them out there shouldn't be any problem with using it.

Hack, you're very welcome. I looked online to see if I could find that orange plastic feeder anywhere, but didn't have any luck. It doesn't have a name on it so it was probably a "no name" feeder that Menard's had for one season. I have to take it down and wash it so I'll take some pictures without an orange on it. Maybe it'll help give you an idea for something to make.

I think your coat hangar feeder is great. The oranges look like they sit on it just fine and you're absolutely right about the price. My gosh, we all spend a fortune feeding the birds as it is.

Chillybean, I reckon no one gets all the birds they want. I'm glad we can share via our photos. I have come to realize that birds, like chickadees, cardinals, nuthatches, catbirds, mockingbirds,etc, while common to me, may not be as often seen by others. I once thought, oh, just another cardinal, and didn't take a picture, but someone told me that others enjoy seeing birds rare to them. Margaret, of Australia, always blows me away with what she shares

Now, for me, the Bobolink pic is of a bird I have never seen. I even goggled it and saw the pretty yellow feathers on the back of its head/neck - that is so cool. So, thanks for posting it


And nutsaboutnature, thanks for taking the time to examine your feeder, I'll keep looking.

This message was edited Jul 8, 2012 7:42 PM

I have a few pics to share:

1- I saw the branches of my Red Tips moving big-time and this Blue Jay hopped out onto a limb.

2- Not unusual to see different birds sharing a feeder. Here's a Chickadee along with a Cardinal.

3- Here is a House Finch couple enjoying some Black Oil Sunflower seeds.

4- I saw a juvy House Sparrow justa' fluttering its wings and then I saw momma come over to feed it.

Hack

Here is a couple of pics I got today, it was cloudy so I was able to be outside. I hope you like them.

Hack,

We only began birding last year and that's when we learned of the Bobolink. Because of farming as it is today, they have lost so much habitat. My husband and oldest son have terrible grass pollen allergies, but this year let the pasture grow instead of asking the neighbor to mow it for hay. We were blessed with at least two nesting pairs this year. Because of all the ticks that's bound to be in the pasture, we haven't gone to investigate to see how many there were, we just know we saw and heard two males. We don't like disturbing birds if we don't have to, so it's ok not knowing. We believe nesting is done as they've not been as vocal.

Do you have sound on your computer? You should try and find their song. It is the coolest thing. The Yellow-headed Blackbird has a neat song too, but we don't get them. They like marshy areas.

NIce hummers, teddy.

Yep, I have sound and will check it out,

Hack

I came across this interesting nest at the grasslands when I was monitoring for butterflies. Nothing in it that I knew of, but it is so cool.

Wow, Hack, they are wonderful sounds. I wouldn't mind it outside my window - anything would be better than the sub-woofer that disturbs my sleep now.

You poor dear, Margaret. I used to live in town with that kind of thing keeping me awake.

With the talk of oranges and jelly, I want to share this picture with you. Last year, even with the oranges out, the Baltimore's stayed only about two weeks. This year, they nested somewhere close by, if not on the property. The parents have been coming to the feeders semi-regularly. Yesterday the dad came with a young! We are absolutely thrilled!

Oh Wow, Chillybean, that pic of dad oriole and a youngster is so cool. Maybe one day I'll have something like that to share.

Hack

Really great pics, Hack! I like the way you have a dowel going through the mesh feeder for a perch. I think I'll try that. Most of the birds just cling, but our Cardinals rarely use the small mesh feeders seeming to prefer the feeders with trays. Maybe a perch would invite them to used them more.

Marna, that is a nice nest. We have two beautiful nests in one young River Birch that were built then abandoned. The first is a Robin nest. The Robins use that tree every year and we watched as they built the new nest. I have no idea who built the second nest, but I've never seen a bird in it.

I like your hummer pics, teddy. Thanks for posting them.

Congrats on the nesting Bobolinks, Chillybean! Also, wonderful shot of Dad & the baby Oriole. The little one looks like it's thinking, "Hey, so that's how you eat these things."

Oh, Margaret, I really feel for you. We used to live in an apartment and it's amazing how inconsiderate some people can be.

Thanks, nutsaboutnature. I found that the 1/4 inch dowell rods work best for my mesh feeders. I get them from Lowes.

Hack

Wow....great photo Chillybean! I don't have any bird photos to share as of yet....have lots of hummingbirds but haven't been able to capture any photos this year.....enjoying the photos on this thread! THANKS everyone!

Thanks for the info, Hack. We have lots of dowels in different sizes. One of the two feeders came with a metal perch at the very bottom, but I don't think it's long enough. The birds rarely use it, preferring to cling to the mesh. My husband found the other one on closeout at Lowes for about $2.00 or less. The perches were missing, but that didn't matter to me.

I want to attach a perch that's long enough so the Cardinals feel comfortable using it. It will give them two more feeders to use. The smaller birds (and also the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks) are just as happy hanging on the mesh. The Red-wing Blackbirds will also cling, but they'll eat out of almost ANY feeder. That's why I fill one feeder with Safflower seed during the Spring & Summer (shells are too hard for them to crack) and hang the upside-down suet feeder (although they manage to hang just long enough to chip a little suet out so they can eat it on the ground!).

Oooh, I'm jealous of all your Hummers, AliKat32. This year has been so unusually hot here that we have very few Hummers. Plus some of my Hummer flowers suffered early in the season when we had several late freezes. I suspect we'll start seeing more again late Summer/early Autumn when they start migrating from up North.

Such cute photos everyone. If only my orioles would try out my oranges! Will have to try again.

Here's a Black-headed Grosbeak and a Hooded Oriole (through the dirty windows).

Gorgeous pics, duc! Amazing clarity for window shots.

duc, wish my windows were that dirty, lol.

Hack

Beautiful pictures, dirty window and all.

And then we have this...

This juvenile Red-bellied woodpecker has been a hoot to have around. S/He is looking into every possible food source there might be and finding places I never would have thought of. One of the children got this and I still laugh at that pose, if you want to call it that.

I keep forgetting I can put more than one photo on a post. Here's the same fellow/gal. Besides his funny antics, I think he looks hysterical in this "bald" state before his red comes in.

In
and
Out

Wonderful pics. everyone. Chillybean, those a fun catches!

Cute poses, Chillybean!
The Red-bellied are a lot of fun. They hide food everywhere. When my husband was renovating our garden shed several years ago he kept finding pieces of whole corn tucked into tiny crevices that they had stashed. Every time he found some it gave him a chuckle!

Love the antics of the juvy Red-belly, Chillybean.

Hey Lily, are you all getting any rain over there? We have for the last couple of days - wonderful.

Hack

Hey Hack...You think you could package up some of that rain and send it our way?

Juvie Blue Bird watching Dad in the birdbath

Juvie Cardinal doing the "wing flapping"

Dad feeding juvie Cardinal

Cute, nanny! It looks like the juvie Cardinal thinks it's a Hummingbird.

Chillybean, love the little woodpecker-so funny.

Hack, looks like the bbs love their bath, sweet photos of the cardinals.

The last house of tree swallows fledged just as it got into the triple digits here. We lost one baby but the other four made it and will hopefully return in the spring. Here's one of the chicks.

Here's a bewick's wren about to enjoy a morning bath.

Speaking of triple digits, the hummingbirds sure enjoy the fountains. This one was waiting for the water to go up higher but the smoke from the wildfires northeast of us was slowing the solar panel from working.

Nanny, I sure enjoyed the pic of daddy cardinal feeding the young'un.

Hey duc, your 7D sure nailed that little hummer - great shot.

Wow, soggy Resin, I didn't realize the you folks were getting so much rain.

Hack

Today, Friday the 13th :( wasn't a great day for snapping pics. It was overcast, so I couldn't crank up the shutter speed, but I did get four shots.

1- This female cardinal is perched on the iron bars that support my feeders. Later, she flew down and ate. Seems like I'm seeing a lot more males, 'course, it could just be my imagination.

2- This Carolina Chickadee, so fast, but I finally got a pic. I always have several of them flitting around.

3- I haven't seen a Downy Woodpecker in a little while. Here's a male, see the red on the back of his head? At first I was thinking it was a Hairy Wp - until I saw the black dots on the white tail feathers. If you look closely, you can see one of the dots.

4- Another hard-to-photo bird. This Tufted TItmouse stayed just long enough for me to take a pic. I think if the feeder had been more full, I might not have been so fortunate. It really had to work to get out a sunflower seed.



This message was edited Jul 13, 2012 5:28 PM