birds and more bird calls

Hi I am an avid bird fan living in TN. I have been feeding our feathered friends since early last spring. I have a yard full of squirrels which I am forever battling over control of the birdfeeders. They have chewed up about 5 or 6 and this is gettin' expensive.

I also am a web intern student in the Great Smoky National Park which is the biggest backyard of birds ever. I saw my first titmouse fly into a hole in a tree up there. I hear tons of birds calling and just know a couple of the calls, sounds as I am no expert on who is who by any means.

Here is a page that is of the park and has some featured bird calls and bird videos. Also I have a birdblog I just started with pics of the "Great Birdman of the Smoky Mountains" in his leafy camo suit. It's really funny.
http://birdnuts.wordpress.com/ and this is the park with the bird calls
http://www.smokiesinformation.org/

I hope to post some on my woodpeckers that are eating cheese crackers here soon.

Hi Willow and welcome to the forum!!!! Have you considered getting a pole w/ baffle set? I spent a lot of wasted money before finally giving in and getting one of these. They are great and I love beating the squirrels at the game!
I'll check your links later.

Can't wait to see the Woodpecker pics!

I just watched the video and it's a riot - many thanks for sharing!

Hey Willow !! Great to have You here !! Thanks for sharing the links. Can`t wait to see Woodpecker munching on the cheese crackers ....LOL

Hi, willowbirding,

Good luck with your new blog and your birdwatching. The Smoky Mountains seem like a fabulous place for birding!

Here's an 'anti-squirrel' tip that works well for us--

Switch to Safflower Seed in your feeders.

http://www.ebirdseed.com/page/EB/CTGY/safflower

We buy it at the Feed Store out in the country at a very good price compared to Home Depot, the Wild Bird stores, etc. here in the suburbs where it can be a little expensive (but worth it).

Starlings and grackles don't like it either.

tabasco, I tried that a while ago but what happened was as soon as they realized that they were stuck with only safflower, they just started eating it.
My Starlings just swallow it whole,grrr. Its certainly worth a try, maybe it will work for you.

Yes, some have reported mixed results for the Safflower, It has worked fairly well for us because of the bitter taste to the squirrels. Particularly when we just use Safflower alone--no suet blocks and no black oil or other seeds in other feeders. Also nyger (thistle) seems distasteful to the squirrels (at least in our neck of the woods.) We also put 'Deer Scram' and 'Deer off' around the trees where the feeders are hung. That seems to keep the squirrels at bay, too.

I am so happy you all liked that bird video of the guy in camo. His name is Mark Dunnaway and he's just one of the nicest people in the whole world. He really loves his job. His hours would kill me though. I am a dedicated night owl and in order for me to see the times he is out collecting bird calls, I would just have to stay up and sleep when it was all over. He has to record when the birds are calling and the birds are calling at sunrise, by 9 am they stop the huge call business and go on about collecting bugs, seeds and worms. So to be in place, say at the Cades Cove area of the Smoky Mtns, he has to leave about 330 am to get there and get set up. It takes some time to crawl into that camo suit. Get all your recording gear set up and ready to go at the first moment you hear the call.

On another note, I have been battling the squirrels for so long that it just is a part of life anymore. I did grease the poles up with Pam, and it's fun to watch them slide down the pole. I got one's tail today that was hanging off the gutter. He thought he had cleared being seen, I whacked it with a broken finch feeder that these varmints ate, chewed and broke. So that was fitting that his tail got it. He was one surprised squirrel! Unfortunately for me in his haste to scramble away he landed on top of the bird feeder scattering seed in my hair, mouth, and all over the deck. I don't know who won that round me or him. But I was thinking he did as I spat out the seeds.

NIce to meet you Willow!
Hear you about dealing with the Squirrels, I think they are pretty funny characters! Luckily we only have one little couple of them right here by me, so they never get on my nerves too much. I even put out some Gerbil food, but the Doves like that quite a bit, lol. Squirrel is still going to prefer the shelled Sunflower seed Patio Mix..even over the Raw Peanuts.. sheesh!
Cool you have a free Wordpress blog too! I love mine..real easy to operate for me. The hardest part of it is finding time to post in it, haha! By the time I'm done checking threads here on DG, I am exhausted! Working steady on preparing my Butterfly gardens this year..Lots more Host plants than last year and tons of other crazy Nectar cultivars in germination. All that will be going in the Journal pretty soon.. A whole new year!

:>Chirp!

Deb


I think you came to the right place.

LOL!!! Funny story. No sense in fighting, just get a baffle.

(removed post - it appeared on the wrong thread by mistake)


This message was edited Feb 6, 2007 12:50 AM

LOL, their unbelieveble aren't they.