Kitt I'm not sure....they look just like all the Mountain Laurel that I've seen in my Gardening Books and Nurseries.
Gypsi, finches like a certain type of seed that requires a special type of feeder...I can't remember what it's called. Lol The seeds are really small.
What I love about Spring in Texas
Kitt, I guess they are the same thing http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/sophorasecund.htm Kind of like Lupins and Bluebonnets. Lol
Goldfinches also like black oil sunflower seeds, I used to feed them in Arlington, and I have seen them hit sunflower plants when the seeds were maturing.
I think the small seed they like is thistle. I am not a fancy birdfeeder though. Right now have some audobon mix but going back to black oil soon
Thistle, that's it! Thank you I always called it finch food. Lol I dont think the finches I've seen here are big enough to eat regular sunflower seeds but I know the seeds can be small. One of the feeders I used was just like tx_flower_child's.
Yep. Goldfinches love thistle aka nyger. They are attracted to feeders that are yellow but they'll also cling to a mesh bag with a yellow ribbon tied to it. The tube feeder has to have 'slits' rather than the open ports that other feeders have. Thistle is very fine and would spill out of anything wide.
I know I've seen the house finches eat from the safflower feeder and the feeder that has a mix of stuff. Not sure if I've seen a goldfinch go to either of those.
The jays and the woodpeckers and the cardinals hit the shelled peanuts big time. They also go for the mix. Cardinals will go for safflower but don't think the others do. I'm such a sucker. Feeding the birds is starting to cost some real money.
The only rats I've actually seen under the feeders are squirrels!
I've noticed a lot of bees around my perennial bed. Saw a butterfly this afternoon but was too far away to tell what kind it was.
I have house finches and perrin's finches eating the black sunflower seeds out of a vertical feeder. Think I will put a yellow ribbon on it to see if I can get goldfinches to try. The black oil seeds are half the size of regular sunflower seeds. Black oil run about $19.95 for 50 lbs at my feed store.
I didn't know about the yellow ribbons...they eat out of my mesh bags anyway. Might have to try the yellow ribbon.
I've also seen Buntings eating out of them. I have a cat now that is a great mouser so I don't feed the birds anymore. I love that he gets the rodents but I don't want him getting the birds.
I have seen a painted bunting at my black oil sunflower feeder once.
I'd be happy just to see a painted bunting here. Evidently the cat got a squirrel, I found the tail....
TFC, oh you bring back memories of my dear mom! She fed birds & fed the squirrels on purpose! (They'd never chewed up her house, I guess). She would buy cheap peanut butter at the store & rub a glob on the pine tree in the backyard. She also had a cool feeder something like a big open glass pickle jar laying on it's side that she'd fill with unsalted peanuts. Talk about some spoiled squirrels! And a huge bird feeder. The only problem she had was attracting pigeons. They're real pigs! And leave quite a mess...
Pigeons? You mean 'doves'? I think they have a tag team whereby they can tip over one of the feeders and spill out some of the seeds. I've been meaning to put out peanut butter but haven't tried it yet. Since I'm in the city I don't see a lot of the birds like painted buntings, but I hear that people are seeing them in the 'burbs.
Today I saw a couple goldfinches hanging on the mesh bag. Wonder if they like it better than the tube feeder. Actually I just looked and saw a lot of birds at the feeders. Wish they just weren't so darned cute.
If I ever get another cat his name will be Mouser. (I always name my cats before I ever meet them and the names always seem to fit.)
Pigeons and doves are different birds.
and the reason cats don't get my birds is my dogs guard the back yard. And the dogs don't get bird, they are trained not to get chickens. I have only seen a painted bunting ONCE but I have hung a 2nd feeder and considering a third to improve my viewing, then I just need a photo window through the screen so I can take decent photos. I have Baltimore Orioles come through and shower in the pond at least once a year, generally a pair. Don't know where they go next, but they only come for the pond, not the food.
I live very rural on 8 acres I have a dog and a cat but the 80lb dog is trained to not chase any livestock including the cat. He does chase butterflies but when they stop so does he....I haven't seen the cat get any birds but the way he gets rodents makes me not want to chance it. I'm not thrilled that he is finding rodents....
I have a pack of coyotes that work the neighborhood so the only cats outdoors are a couple of surviving ferals. Every time a house cat gets out it gets eaten. Might be why we have so many birds. I do provide shelter for the ferals on the lot, where there are no dogs, and no bird feeders. The back of the lot has privacy fencing, protects the hens I keep over there.
This message was edited Apr 27, 2016 9:00 PM
I have a ton of birds too including pea fowl and guineas but I just can't feed the birds knowing Tank might get them. The smell of the dog must keep other wildlife away. Shh...don't tell them he is harmless. Lol I did see the robins come thru a few months ago.
I haven't seen any but apparently coyotes are boldly walking the sidewalks in nearby neighborhoods. One of the neighbors snapped a pic for proof. I say we invaded their ecosystem so we shouldn't be surprised to see them around. Everyone cautions each other to keep pets inside but I guess some people think their pets will be ok alone in the yard. Most of us live within a few miles of Bachman Creek/Lake and then there are underground streams stemming from Turtle Creek and who knows where else.
Our neighbor's outdoor cat lives in our yard. I can't put out bird food because he'll kill the birds. He brought me a little baby bird from somewhere one day last week when I was working out in the yard. :(
I've heard coyotes here, but never seen one. Unlike when I was in CA and saw one walking up the sidewalk....I thought that dog looks terrible.
I have coyotes. The area inside my fences is safe. Otherwise, not so much
Yep, I mean pigeons! My mom lived in New Iberia, Louisiana. That's where I grew up from 7th grade until I went to LSU. She lived there until 1997 when she passed away. She lived alone, had a 6th child-a big black lab named Dutch, & was happy feeding the wild critters & doing her thing. Until the years of heavy smoking caught up to her. Her last 5 years or so living with severe lung disease attached to an oxygen machine were hell. She had a desk scribble pad & she had written "Nothing matters if you can't breathe.".
The boys in south Tx hunt coyotes and hog year round. Still cant keep them manageable...down here coons are mean n nasty as well. Will charge you spittin and hissing. Praying mantis spit poison at you, and I will piggyback them to green trees and veggies which upset an ex as he wasnt messing with them...chuckl. Birds, its S Tx. they move in til summertime. Jays, cardinals, woodpeckers...my butterflies get eaten and the hummers hide. So do my rain frogs...
Crazy. Weather. !! I figured by now we were in for the typical heat of summer. This morning we are sitting in bed with the window open enjoying the cool breeze! It's kinda misting rain but that just makes it a great morning to stay in bed reading! All you young parents & working peeps--this is what you have to look forward to when your kids leave home & you retire!! Enjoy the coolness.
Friend of mine in weatherford hunts the wild pigs, doesn't collect the bodies. Not the coyotes. The coyotes clean up the mess.
Yup open season all year around on feral hogs, worse than rats at multiplying. I read somewhere they are reintroducing more predstors for the hogs, never heard it mentioned again...
you know predators always get named as the bad guys, and they aren't. I would neither shoot nor encourage anyone else to shoot the coyotes around here. They keep rodents in check, and I keep my cats in the house
I will not do as advised to city raised folks, Gypsi, when we know an animal is sick, we know our livestock suffers- dogs cats sheep- because the diseases ailing a sick feral get passed along, and weaker animals get chosen as food that would not normally get chosen. We remove that animal. We manage our areas as there is no animal shelters or vets to fob animals off on. I know Rouxcrews' guardian dogs have removed more than a few predators that were after her lambs. I have also, since I was 10yrs old, packed the tools horseback to protect my baby calves from wildcat, wolf and coyote. I wish I were home already, but they keep me moving 5 wks in a row. I guess I will go back thru Las Vegas and Denver to Chicago. Thought about headin north across Salty and Wyo, but, instinct says run low this trip. Loadin now, runnin soon.
I keep my chickens safe with fences and live traps for the critters that can go over a fence and into a pen. But having lived in Arlington with rats for 13 years I do not begrudge a feral cat or a coyote a meal. The coyotes thinned the sick cats, I got the rest neutered.
Beautiful flowers, Gypsi. Is everyone enjoying this incredible weather?! My veggie garden is. My Ambrosia cantaloupe plants are finally reaching their trellis. The cucs are almost there.tomatoes are ripening & continue to form.even the chard & dinosaur kale are still ok.definitely decided to plant greens & snow peas in the fall. We just don't (usually) have a long enough Spring here to get much food from them before they fry or bolt. I'm seeing lots more Monarchs around the Asclepias. There. Latin. 😋 So, I'm a little concerned about the milkweed. Did I read that they spread a parasite?
Curassavica asclepias grow so long that they become weak and ineffective, which allows a parasite. They keep this tropical milkweed strong by cutting it back after a certain length of time and that keeps it healthy.
A coyote meal wouldnt bother me, tho rabbits are plentiful in the country- its the destruction for no purpose when I have to put down a calf or yearling because of coyotes, or because the wildcats clawed and ate a living calf. They don't unlearn bad habits like dogs can.
Did you see the bee on my passionflower?
Happy bee, I did see it!
Good to know about A.curassavica, Kitt. How tall is tall?
Not sure of tall, I dont have one. It is more the length of time as down here they can grow thru the winter. If yours died back for winter, it should be fine til wintertime dieback again.
I am trying to love spring in Texas but I am failing fairly miserably at it. Need sleep. Got no pics of flowers today. (yes there were flowers but I was too busy)
My flowers are really starting to bloom!
Daylily Siloam Double Classic
Texas Lantana that volunteered along the backyard fenceline. Better than the honeysuckle those neighbors planted that's now taking over my yard.
Purple Coneflowers
Yarrow
Prairie Phlox
Lovely flowers Stephanie.