I have never seen the Bluebirds this time of year. We filled the feeders yesterday afternoon and it was practically empty this morning by 9:00.
Mid-Atlantic Bird Watching - Spring 2014
I have NEVER seen a Bluebird-----ever!
The price we pay living in developments....
Saw a Nuthatch today at my suet cake--and a Downy by another...Whoopie!
Wish I could get out to the patio--I need to put new cakes out....and more seed on the floor.
I did not shovel the walkway around the side of the house--and I do not
want to try to go out the basement door. It is all tucked in against the cold with
rolled up rugs and one of those draft stopper things.
Besides--I bet that basement landing, 4 steps down to the door, is filled with snow.
Blackbirds are gone for now--so all the birdies are comfortably feeding...
G.
I get so many ground-feeders under my covered metal table that I put a smaller plastic patio table out last time it snowed. I have some raised mesh feeders and scatter seeds on the ground too. They're lucky to have people keeping them well fed.
Bird feeding does make for great kitty t.v., doesn't it? That's yet another good reason to put seed under the eaves!
I decided to take down my nyjer feeder and put up another BOS feeder because not even the finches were eating it.
I saw a male cardinal and male house finch sparring over perches on a feeder today. They touched the tips of their beaks together several times...if I hadn't known better, I would have thought it was a sign of affection!
6 starlings visited my suet feeder...uggghh! At least, I think they were starlings; they were a little too far away for me to see clearly. They had long yellow beaks, but my bird books say their beaks are supposed to be gray in the winter.
This message was edited Feb 13, 2014 4:58 PM
Definitely starlings here, and with yellow beaks. They sure are piggy. And rude, and even violent! When they come in larger numbers, it's blood & feathers on the deck before the peanut butter is gone. The cracked corn in one of my latest blends might be attracting more, but it's also distracting them from the other feeders so the smaller birds can eat as well. At least they come & go rather than mobbing my deck all day.
The nyger/nyjer/"thistle" seed from Southern States is nice & fresh, and it's been popular today! If you're not sure about your seed, just put a few seeds in your mouth and crunch them up... if they're old, you'll taste that "off" flavor. If they're good, there's just a mildly sweet nutty flavor.
Blood and feathers? Yikes! Are they attacking smaller birds or each other?
This is the first time I've seen starlings in my yard. I get some grackles every year, though. I don't like them either, but at least they play nice with the other birds.
I threw out the nyjer from the feeder, but I just ate some from the bag. It's rather tasty - maybe I'll put it on my salad if the birds don't want it.
I've really only seen them attacking each other. I think just the threat of the big yellow beak intimidates the smaller birds.
I wonder if you could cook nyger like quinoa?
LOL
haha- but how soft/ hard/ tough are the nyger shells?
I just looked at the bag and it says "not for human consumption", so I'll refrain from putting it on my salad in case it has bacteria in it ! It was tasty, though.
thanks greenthumb.
ew yeah Muddy, it could have anti fungal, pesticides, or anti rot treatments on it...
so pretty out there. I walked to the corner to look at roads and heard a less- than common bird I wished I could eyeball it. I could sit in a sweater in the sun, its so pleasant out. Bunch of chickadees in the hedge.
I really need to get out and fill our feeders so all those little tummys can be full for evening. They're going through so much food lately.
I'm back, we had some old dry roasted peanuts I added to the BOS feeder, hope someone likes them. I found a good use for snow, other than a sore back. Kick it into the heated ground level bird bath for more water, saves a trip wading through the snow. LOL
Seems my disruption had little effect, the feeder flock is growing by the minute.
Hope the doves find the extra scratch feed I scattered for them.
This message was edited Feb 14, 2014 5:06 PM
Ric and Holly---
have you seen the potential cancellation of tomorrow's Swap?
Jill had posted on the "Swap Thread" and asked everyone what they thought-
given we will all be getting a bunch of snow again tonight into tomorrow.
Most everyone that answered is in agreement with putting it off.
Please go and add your vote. Seems Sat. March 1st. will be the alternate date.
OK with me--G.
I had owls calling in the pine trees behind us last night. I love that.
I'm not sure what kind. We have heard odious great horned owls, these had similar 'cadence, but a higher pitched screechier thing. Not screech owls though, pretty sure.
Sally...
"Who cooks for yooouu... who cooks for you tooooo!!"
That is a Barred Owl.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fppKGJD3Y6c
:)
Karen
This message was edited Feb 22, 2014 9:05 PM
Karen thanks, I love barred owls, ever since hearing them in Wisconsin years ago, camping. I've heard them since, more than any others. I didn't make out the trademark pattern but maybe it was, just kind of jumbled. Great video, I love how he / she looks at the camera.
We vacationed in West Virginia one year, and one evening over toward the lake and stream, heard what was almost like howling dogs. I think it was barred owls.
I started listening to that barred owl video and my cat was terrified! He is a rescue cat who was found starving in a parking lot just over a year ago. He must have had some bad experiences with owls. I had to placate him with treats.
I have heard a "who? who?" owl sound in my backyard in daytime over the last several weeks. It's not a barred owl (I heard enough before turning it off to figure that out!).
Muddy, Our dog Alfie a rescued stray small dog hates birds. Well just not birds anything in his air space, planes included. It is his main job to chase all birds from the trees and bushes in or near his dog run and he especially has a problem with larger birds. We have both wondered if at some time when he was younger and smaller if he had an indecent of some kind with a bird of prey.
This is a terrible pic but the Sharp Shined Hawk that has been lurking around our bird feeder is quite entertaining. All the small birds just disappear in a flash, then the Hawk comes in landing on the bird bath or bird feeder. After a short perusal of the area he flies over to the Holly Hedge and lands on the ground in front of it. Then spends a few minutes walking along the edge and peering into the hedge looking for all those little birds that disappeared into the hedge.
Muddy do you know what mourning doves look and sund like? my neighbor keeps telling me he hears owls but they are doves. They love to sit on wires.
haha funny hawk! funny Alfie!
Very funny hawk, LOL! They are handsome birds, but they eat smaller birds and my pet chipmunks :o(.
Gita, mouring doves are definitely not the best singers :o) : http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/id
I don't mind the Hawk, they do have to eat, too. I'm pretty sure he comes everyday but not enough to keep the birds away from the feeders and although I love the Chippies we have way too many. They became quite a problem till the black snake moved in. Now the numbers seem to be creeping up again so a Hawk that will take a few this winter wouldn't be a bad thing.
I feel the same way about our occasionally visiting hawks... although I hope they will take an English sparrow, European starling, etc. rather than one of my favorites! A dove would be OK too; I counted a dozen during the Great Backyard Birdcount!
I am going to leave my feeder empty for a couple of days, with apologies
to the smaller birds..
I am hoping the black-birds will give up and go somewhere else...
I do still sprinkle a bit of seed on the floor for the ground-feeders...
Perhaps, this defeats the purpose.....
G.
Gita, if your black birds happen to be grackles, you can put pure safflower seed in your feeder. The cardinals and some other birds like it, but not the grackles. Grackles make the ugliest sounds you'll ever hear come from a bird IMO, so if they sound obnoxious, they're probably grackles.
This feeder is squirrel-proof and grackle-proof: http://www.duncraft.com/Duncraft-Squirrel-Proof-Selective-Feeder
The trick is that the tube is far enough inside the 10 1/2" diameter cage to prevent big birds from getting the seed.
Sally, they're definitely not doves - I have a flock of those and I love the little sounds they make! I just checked one of my bird books and found that Great Horned Owls say "hoo-hoo", so that's probably it. I'd pull up a video except my cat would bolt and he's so happy right now.
This message was edited Feb 27, 2014 9:27 PM
Muddy--
"Black Birds" come in groups of 4 different black birds.
Grackles--pigs #1
Starlings--Pigs #2.
Red winged Blackbirds --these are almost pretty.
Cow Birds. (These have the brown heads)
They are all equally annoying to me. But I have to agree--the Grackles are the biggest pigs.
I do not want to have to spend $$$ to feed these ravenous birds. But--I do want
to feed all the others that come to feed. Lost cause.
BTW--Squirrels won't eat Safflower either. Cardinals love it.
G.
((great horned owl envy))
I need to go get more suet, we've used like 3 dozen blocks of it so . We also need more bird seed. With this lasting snow cover the birds are just voracious. There's a ton of seed on the ground, but as of tomorrow night it too will be covered.I got a good deal on BOSS at Tractor Supply the other week. 40#s for $14, I bought 2.LOL
This message was edited Mar 1, 2014 10:26 AM
Ric--
I would have to drive to the Aberdeen exit (20+ miles) to get to a Tractor Supply.....
A bit far....
Last year I p/u a 35lb. bag of seed at Costco for $19.99.
Mostly Sunflower seeds and safflower seeds. Nothing much else.
Big Lots has asst. seeds in ~8lb. bags for $6 or $7. I get the bag of Millet
there ($7) and mix it into the other seeds. The Doves like that...
Ace has a 20lb. bag of bird seed for $8.99--but it is so full of those
round, brown balls......what are they called? Milo?? They just add weight and
many of the birds don't eat it. Same for mixes with cracked Corn in them.
G.
A couple pics from yesterday. This male cardnial was quite the bully.
I am on my third 'pure suet' of the winter. and I was semi desperate for Safflower last week, and coughed up 20 bucks at Ace for a bag; pricey. I got a five pound at Gambrills feed store for $7 before that.
Gita that's a great price for sunflower + safflower. I fully agree the cheap mixes waste money and draw piggy birds more.
On the plus side, I am hearing more spring like bird songs week by week- yay!
Thanks for the advice about refilling the feeders before the snow comes--I'll do that today.
I've been particularly enjoying the cardinals--just love the splash of red. I don't know enough about different kinds of birds to identify many others.
However, a major issue for me is the *2 neighborhood cats* that are now hanging out in my backyard, one under each feeder. Grrrrr. I like cats but it definitely makes it harder to enjoy the birds.
It seems funny to me that those cats sit right under the feeder. If they are dumb enough to sit out in the open, maybe they are too dumb to do too much damage. (but I think you said you see feathers...)
Meanwhile, those male cardinals start singing, and they go on so long I swear I'm going to see them run out of breath, pass out, and fall from the tree. They must not make that sound the way I picture it, blowing out a long whistle!
LOL Sally--it is funny to see them sitting there. Other times I see them crouched in a Fierce Hunter position, watching the birds from afar, so I guess it depends on their mood. Yes, I do periodically find a pile of feathers somewhere in the yard, most recently behind the azaleas near my front door... :-(
I only have grackles to deal with, and so far they're leaving the safflower alone, knocking on wood. I just hung my suet feeder horizontally under a squirrel baffle in the hopes that the grackles won't be so desperate that they try to eat upside down.
I sit outside while the blue jays and squirrels eat peanuts, which seem to be what the grackles want most. I wish the blue jays would take them on. If grackles didn't migrate during the winter, I'd go nuts!
I have been using Contech CatStop Ultrasonic Outdoor Cat Deterrents for years, and while they're working, they work very well. Sometimes they last for years, and sometimes they stop working (or don't work as well) after a few months. The quality varies greatly.
I've also had good results with the cat and dog repellent powder that HD sells.
I filled my feeders yesterday @ 3PM, and they need filling soon, they're almost empty. There are nearly 50 birds out there right now. I didn't keep good track of what we used, but would say 160-200#s of mixed feed, 120#s of BOSS,and about 30 blocks of suet. Oh, and add about 25#s of scratch feed. These birds eat more than Jamie did while he was growing. LOL
Would love to see your feeders and all the birds flocking to them, Ric! Sounds like such a nice sight.
I filled my feeders but have not seen any birds. However, I do see a lot of paw prints in the snow (always disturbing to me to see a cat out wandering in the snow). I left some cat food on the front and back porches. One of the cats is definitely a male--sprayed my back door last night--and he is also definitely a stray--he just looks too dirty and bedraggled to have a home. :-( The other I'm not sure--looks fairly well kept. I'm also not sure about the gender of the 2nd one; however, yesterday they spent a lot of time frisking about together in my backyard. Hmmm.... Will I have kittens under my back porch in about 9 weeks? They both run away when I open the door.
Pat and David were telling some of us about the doves on the deck which have grown to a flock of two dozen at times! That's a lot of doves.
Once in a great while I get a pigeon which seems funny.
I must have 100 Black Birds trashing my feeder--again.
I bang on the window--and they all take off and sit in the tree and wait
about 2 minutes and descent again.
When they fly off--all the smaller birds come to the feeder--immediately.
Can't be standing by the window all day yardstick in hand (to bang with)...
I hate them!
Tried to sneak up near the window to take these pictures...
Took some more---
1--The waiting game...
2--Little ones get a chance...
3-Cardinal too..
wow, Gita, looks like the birds love coming to your yard to feast at your feeders!