Snow Birds

It's snowing...yuck! ...but at least we can watch the birds enjoy our gardens. We came from here....http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1385319/

I did a little snow-sowing today, but mostly I finished painting the front entrance and watched the birds, happy that I had excuses to put down the paint roller....I just had to refill the feed trays, give them clean water, shoo away starlings so the blue birds could eat, etc.

For some reason, Carolina wrens and juncos hop up to my patio door looking for seeds, so I decided to toss some out for them. It was too cold, even for me, to grab that shovel and scratch more seeds into the mulch, so I sat down and took photos instead.

This photo is blurry because my patio door is very, very dirty : - )





This message was edited Feb 16, 2015 7:12 PM

thanks Muddy,

Sapsucker was on m maple today- spring is coming and sap is rising!


(BTW, your link goes right to the photo)

Thanks Sally; I fixed the link.
I hope the Sapsucker is right ; - )

I caved and spread some little chunks of suet on the ground yesterday in the hope that the starlings would let the bluebirds eat in peace, but it didn't work. Starlings scared off the bluebirds, which only ate when I stood 10' away and kept the starlings away.

I let the starlings eat yesterday, now they have to leave and go eat someone else out of suet and mealworms!

Ah yes! The starlings! I have to admit that they make me laugh in spite of it all, watching them splash around in the bird bath at 20 degrees. C'mon. You have to laugh, don't you? :)

Like the rest of you - watching them strip everything today with our state of emergency here in NC. Plenty to go around, I have so many feeding stations throughout the yard/property.

Sinus headache and stuffy brain is better than bronchitis by a long shot in my opinion. Decided this year to take an antihistamine which has kept it all in my head instead of my lungs. Lesser of two weevils.

Nice to be back with you on this thread. :)

Have a groovy day.

Almost done with the snow. All I have left is to blow off my feeder paths and fill the feeders. All the food I put out yesterday disappeared.

I see what happened to empty my seed feeder. The deer must not have been satisfied with what was in their feeder, so they licked the seed feeder empty.

This message was edited Feb 17, 2015 1:17 PM

A nice assortment of 'good' birds were here today. And the blackbirds assorted mobs were seen briefly, and heard muchly in the trees.

We're glad you're back, Amanda!

The big problem with the starlings is that they scare all of the little native birds away from the suet feeders. I can't be gracious, but I'm trying to be grateful that they don't eat seeds : - )

A yellow-bellied sapsucker was in my yard today; yay! It perched on my peanut feeder, which was empty. It flew away when I went out to refill it.

Ric, I've seen photos of deer standing on their hind legs to get at bird feeders; wonder whether that's how they emptied yours.

Raccoons have emptied bird feeders a few times. Somehow they managed to get one off a shepherd's hook; I found it on the ground.

Okay, break's over; I'm going to shovel around the mailbox so he doesn't have to get out of his truck and step in the foot of snow left by the plow.

Okay, this morning in between visits by the mess of black birds I saw in one look out the window, a downy that had taken up residence in the feeder and he scared away a blue jay that tried to land there. Assorted sparrows, juncos, cardinals and doves.

Now that the flocks of starlings are gone, the song birds are back. My red bellied woodpecker seems confused because where there were two peanut butter suet cakes up yesterday, there are now none. Sigh.

Enjoyed watching a mocking bird pecking at half an apple that was left in the snow. The sun makes everything a little better. I understand we'll get more snow tomorrow. Headache from lingering head cold so back under the blankets I go.

Hope everyone is enjoying a snow day.

The adult deer can more or less just stretch their neck and muzzle up to the seed ports and lick up the seed. You can practically hear it running down their throat.LOL
We have a lot of visitors today, there's a whole flock of doves, juncos galore, cardinals, a host of mixed LBBs, 2 pileateds, a red headed, and either a downy or hairy WP. I have trouble telling them apart unless there is one of each. LOL
I had a couple of thumb sized pieces of suet from changing the block so I pressed them into the crack of the patio bricks to see if anyone showed interest. So far no takers. I want to see if I should place a winter suet feeder by the patio so we can better see some of the smaller birds perusing the suet.
Must have a hawk nearby, everyone scrammed except one dumb squirrel. I wish our hawk would take an occasional one for dinner.

Guess I'll have to google to see if it was a downy or a hairy.

Yesterday we had a hawk visit, but not for very long. Everyone scattered to their hideyholes.

Feel better Amanda!

I chuckled watching one dove bullying the others away from his spot. Dove being a bully, imagine that! One mockingbird has been around too, and he also gets territorial. (Must be a he....right? hee hee.)

Amanda, lucky you that your starlings are gone; too bad they didn't leave anything for your red bellied woodpecker : - )

Ric, one can't have too many suet feeders! Woodpeckers are so much fun to watch.

Sally, I've seen that the hungrier the birds are, the more "assertive" they are. The funniest thing I saw was a blue jay screeching in a squirrel's face.

In case anyone else finds themselves with 2 vertical suet feeders that woodpeckers get driven away from and no desire to buy a horizontal bottom feeder, here are a few photos showing what I did with mine so that starlings can't eat from them: I attached them to the bottom of a 4" wide board so one side was covered, and put the board through the arbor. The ends of the feeders also rest on the arbor. The starlings were still able to get suet from little gaps, so I placed a 1' wide board on top of the other. Ta da!

This message was edited Feb 17, 2015 4:45 PM

We sure have to work hard at this, don't we! :D

That's quite a rig, Muddy.

Feeling better today, Amanda?

I think it funny when all the LBBs go runnin' only to see a blue jay descend on the feeder. I've read that some Jays have learned to imitate a hawks cry for just this purpose. There are about 16 doves performing clean up duty under the main seed feeder this AM.

Has anyone heard of this:


Supplement your feathered friends' diets with Wagner's Farmer's Delight 40 lb. Wild Bird Food. Place this seed mix in your backyard feeder and watch the range of wild birds that come to feed. When you use Wagner's you receive the benefit of over 100 years experience in formulating products that Wild Birds love.

Designed for wild birds
Seed mix with cherry flavor
Comes in a 40 lb. bag
Use in standard bird feeder

What is the cherry flavor for?

This message was edited Feb 18, 2015 9:10 AM

One of my BlueJays does swoop in from quite a distance after announcing his in-coming with a hawk like skree. Gives the feeding birds achance to clear the runway for him. The other jays also scatter.

Lady behind me in line to buy more BOS seeds yesterday says she can't feed birds in her small yard anymore because when she does,the deer head butt the shepherds hook until all the birdseed is scattered or the tube feeder dislodged and nosed around and all seeds eaten.

Several of my temp feeding areas are in my driveway. If I replenish them and then sit in my car for a minute I can watch activity closeup. Last week I watched little white throated sparrows sitting on the branches of my large old semi evergreen Flowering Quince bush whose buds were already showing color. I love how these birds fluff themselves up in to complete balls! They never came down to the seeds but moved around the branches eating all of the buds!

Morning All -

Yes Jan a little better, but the headache seems attached lately - maybe when the weather clears my head will too.

No starlings today. They are all gorged from yesterday I guess and laying low. It's warmer out this morning, but we'll be getting whacked again this afternoon I understand. Still nothing compared to other folks out there, but when you're not used to snow it's pretty hard on the system. ;)

In fact, bird traffic is down all over. I saw the Cooper's hawk yesterday again just close enough to make everybody nervous but not close enough to shake a stick at.

Well, my rescued crow, Edgar, is yelling for food so I will go and feed him now. He and his friends tend to keep the hawks at bay.

Hope everyone will get over their cabin fever soon.

Ric, I haven't ever heard of cherry flavored seed mix; it sounds like a marketing gimmick.

Coleup, it's odd that the sparrows were eating buds; I've never heard of that before. Do you suppose there are bugs in the buds? I found some insects overwintering in some seed pods I collected for the swap. I put all of the live ones in the garden to give them a chance.

My blue jays mimic hawks as well, but they don't fool any of my regulars, which have learned to tell the difference between the jays' fake hawk calls and their real hawk warnings.

Amanda, photo of Edgar, please! How nice of you to tend to a rescued crow. I was thinking about NC's predicament earlier after I heard that Charlotte Airport was closed yesterday. I'm sure the airport hadn't invested in the snow removal and de-icing equipment that normally wouldn't be necessary. What's next? Snow plows in Miami?!

Birds flocking to the feeders again this morning... need to refill the squirrel feeder, as they are doing acrobatics to reach the other sunflower feeders. They have an easy-reach one that gets a mix of BOS, peanut hearts, cracked corn, and leftover toast etc LOL... they eat the cracked corn last - they're not THAT stupid - and scatter some of it for the doves.

Crows and hawks are interesting to watch. The red-tailed hawk here has tried to nest behind us a couple of times, but the crows have driven them off... I'd rather have a hawk nest than a crows' nest, but I don't think there's much I can do about it.

The one benefit I can think of about having a crows nest is they will police the hawks or at least give a warning.

Can you feed cooked rice to birds? I know uncooked it can do them harm. I've wondered this a few times, when I have rice that goes stale.

Hope the day finds you feeling better still Amanda. What do you feed your crow?

Starlings were brought to this country so that we could have all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare plays! They are relatives of Mynnah birds so are great mimicers, too. I like their white spots in winter (spots are actually worn out feather tips) Starlings are one of my youngest (almost 4) grandson's favorite birds along with Bald Eagle, Snowy Owl and crow!

Great Nature program last night on Owls available on PBS web site .

Muddy, sparrows, and other birds are the bane of orchardists and berry growers as they consume the buds on trees and canes for the bit of nectar within.

Sallyg instead of bird netting to protect your blueberries some hang old CDs or mylar streamers to deter the birds. One lady has had good success by decorating her bushes with christmas tinsel!

Put out a suet cake on Sunday. First visitor was a black capped chickadee! I put it up for the poor Mockingbird who finds few peanut chunks in mixes and the nuthatches. Both Downy and Red bellied woodpeckers have visited but not the nuthatches. It is almost half gone!

a borrowed photo

Hehe, I think I have seen THAT bird in the neighborhood, coleup.

Cute pic of the cardinal with the Sarbucks cup. Hee hee.

Edgar is an interesting case - we'd decided to make friends with the crows to keep the hawks out of the garden. One day I came out in the yard and saw a crow hopping at the back of the yard, couldn't fly, but had somehow gotten into the closed fenced yard. I'm convinced the other crows brought him to me. I called my BF and he came home to help me capture the bird by throwing a blanket over him. Took him to a friend who does wildlife rehab/rescue and referred us to a veterinarian. The bird had been shot and had a BB lodged in his wing. The vet said it had already calcified meaning it had been quite some time since he'd been shot. He recommended leaving the shot in the wing to prevent further damage. We named him Edgar Albert Crow. Kept him in the living room for 2 months before releasing him into the backyard again. That spring the crows brought three babies to the yard, and Edgar took up with the babies. The four of them altogether have stayed for the last three years or so. Edgar comes by himself, the other three sometimes without him, but when the four are together I know who they are. :)

We feed kibble for the most part. When we were at the height of our insanity the BF was even cooking chicken hearts or scrambled eggs to toss to them. We said hot dogs were good "throwing" food. Funny how they'll approach something they're unfamiliar with to test it with their beaks and then jump back scared. Love watching them. They are so smart. I can call to them if I hear them in the neighborhood ("Hey, Bird!") (yeah neighbors know I'm crazy) and they all come to me. Love 'em. Despite what we know about them (and the starlings and grackles) it's a circle of life, and everybody has to eat. Ack.

Will look for pictures of Edgar on my other machine and post when I find. Funny - love makes you do funny things - one day I brought home a dead rabbit for him to pick at. Talk about insane. I won't do THAT again. heh.

Cold cold, visiting a friend's house and just saw a pileated woodpecker. Gorgeous, giant bird! My friend doesn't feed the birds, but I threw out some stale bread (and carefully placed a giant loaf of moldy fruit cake!) outside and viola! Birds and squirrels, wherever I go.

Enjoy your day! My head feels better - must have been the barometer squishing my brain this week.

Ric, I don't know whether birds would eat cooked rice, but I can't see any harm in trying. If they don't, the squirrels or deer might. That being said, someone in my neighborhood used to put catering-size pans of rice (about 18" x 24") near the entrance to the forest, and nothing ate it.
I'm sure they sat there for a while before I saw them; when I did, I always dumped out the rice and threw away the pans.

Coleup, I love that photo!!

Amanda, what a nice story! I like crows, but I don't see them eating in my yard too often. I think there's enough road kill to keep them fat and happy. I'm just as crazy about my blue jays. I drop whatever I'm doing when they start clamoring for food, unless I'm in the forest and nowhere near peanuts. I'm convinced they leave a sentinel near my house to let the others know when I come home, or when I go to the backyard when I'm home already.

I actually took the time to research the subject and found they do and will eat rice cooked or otherwise. I found a lot of info on the subject. I had heard the myth as well as everyone else, but never thought about it. Dry would be fine, I just thought that cooking it would make it easier.
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/learning/bird-feeding-tips/bird-feeding-myths

I also thought cooking it would add water to their diet, and since rice absorbs all the water you would not be removing nutritional value.

This message was edited Feb 20, 2015 11:38 AM

Thanks for the info on the rice - when I'm low on seed i'll put just about anything out there to feed my friends.

Yes, thanks for the research; I was among those who thought dry rice would be harmful. Let us know which birds go for the rice!

A tip for anyone who wants whole peanuts for yourself or wildlife: The best price in my area is at Costco. They sell 5-lb bags of roasted, unsalted peanuts for the same price as 3-lb bags available elsewhere. The birds and squirrels don't seem to care whether they're raw or roasted.

This message was edited Feb 20, 2015 6:44 PM

Muddy, When I was a child a great fun thing to do was to go down town to the Capital grounds and feed peanuts to the squirrels. There was a small shop that sold small bags of roasted peanuts and we would by a bag and take them to the park to share with the squirrels.They would come right up and take them from your hand.

I can see why you loved doing that! I can't remember having that kind of opportunity as a child, and my kids' closest wildlife encounters were having pigeons land on them as they were feeding them corn.

My youngest daughter took these photos of a fox scrounging around for food. I sowed seeds in that area (yep! more stealth sowing), so perhaps it smelled a mouse that later ate them. She felt sorry for it, so put some cat food on a paper plate and sent it sliding down the hill for it to eat. Of course, it ran off, but I bet it came back.

A few years ago we were camping with Jamie's family, I think JR was around 5 at the time and I bought peanuts to feed the squirrels at the camp ground. He had so much fun. Ric is going to see if he can find a few pics from that trip. I had a great time watching the grackles, too. I know they are a nuisance bird but they are so smart and quick.

It has snowed close to six inches so far today, with many hours of percip yet ahead. Birds have been taking advantage of the feeding venues of the tote and under the table. CD stand to the right of the tote is there for a staging perch as birds rotate in and out. Note five in waiting.

Greenthumb, you're smart to provide a staging perch...they obviously prefer it to standing in the snow!

Holly, I've heard before that grackles are smart, but the ones I get in my yard don't seem very bright.

We got 8" of snow so far, but I think it's finally tapering off.

Actually, Pat gets the credit for the tiered seating. We have close to a foot so far, and its still snowing.

I got that at a thrift store, with plans to repurpose it as a trellis. So far it has not found a home and the birds use it. We kept the remains of our dead pyracantha shrubs for them to roost on as well, which are just on the other side of the deck rail. When they were still alive, they provided a lot more shelter. There are hickory trees maybe 12 feet out from that, and those waiting for the second seating roost in them. You can see the birds coming up from the road in waves, from one set of trees to the next. They have several 20-foot or longer brush piles for hunkering down.

That'll make a great trellis, and I bet a bird will nest in it after plants fill it! I'm trying to make a nesting spot by training Greenbriar to grow on a tomato plant support. Berries would be a nice plus, but I don't think that's going to happen because it's too shady.

This Mockingbird spent quite a while today hanging out on top my caged suet feeder and occasionally pecking at the suet planks on top. I think it liked being protected from the snow.

My daughter bought the huge seed cake in the 3rd photo. So far this Carolina Wren has been the only taker; it'll last for a long time unless a raccoon finds it!

Last photo: One of my makeshift feeding areas. I hauled that bamboo up the hill today and propped it against the fence for more shelter. This is the first year I've made brush piles for the birds; now that I know how much they use them, I'll do it every year. Plus, it's so much easier than bundling the brush to be picked up ; - )

The squirrels were all snowy today, but they weren't going to stop eating just because snowflakes were sticking to their fur! We had 30-50 birds on the back deck all day long, lots of cheeping and chirruping. Unfortunately, we're getting an increasing number of starlings. They even like the feeder that has white millet & safflower. ?! They and the squirrels appreciated the overly-dry peanut butter cookies we broke up and tossed out there (I gave up on getting that batch "right" and baked off the rest of the dough for the squirrels -- figured PB, butter, flour, sugar, had to be pretty decent energy food).

I've noticed that when I've got white millet out there, we get song sparrows, white-throated sparrows, etc. in addition to the English sparrows.

yay for brush piles. We have a place we can do a campfire so I sometimes leave clippings out back to dry off before burning them. I think I can reasonably argue that it's about as 'bad' for me to burn them,( leaving ash on my own property, ) as it is to use fossil fuel to transport the clippings, chip, and dump them as mulch thru the yard waste pickup service. and so much faster than bundling.

Yes, I sure think those peanut butter cookies would go over big with the wild things!

I'm delighted to have song and white throated sparrows and not many English, with the millet and safflower . Doves and house finches are probably the most frequent users here.

the one ? mockingbird here likes to make a dramatic entrance and startle everybody

Yesterday was a busy eating day here too, but this morning there are very few birds. Maybe they're taking a break after non-stop gorging yesterday! I put raisins out for the mockingbird this a.m., but haven't seen it yet. I'll put some on the ground for any robins that come around, although the saturated soil should send plenty of worms to the surface today.

Mockingbirds do seem good at intimidation...mine even kept starlings away from the suet. I caved yesterday and spread suet around everywhere in hopes of seeing the bluebirds. I just saw one, though., and way too many starlings : - (

Critter, I bet your PB cookies were a bit hit!

Too bad the starlings are eating seeds. They must be really hungry, because I read that they have "soft beaks" and find it hard to crack open seeds. Perhaps they'll leave the feeder alone if you put sunflower seed in it, and maybe they'll stay away from the millet if you put it right by your patio door. My sparrows and juncos are far braver than starlings, thank goodness : - )

Sally, good idea to burn the brush. The ash is good for soil, isn't it? I might check to see whether I can burn brush in my yard; I recall it might be illegal. If not, I'll leave it for ground nesters to use.