Advice on bird feeders for the smaller birds

Hi from rural Nova Scotia.
We have two hanging feeders and a feed tray that we fill once per day with a blend of bird seen and sunflower seeds. This has attracted a variety of birds including chickadees, cardinals, gold finches, blue jays, mourning doves, juncos, sparrows, pheasants, etc. The problem is that the blue jays dominate the feeders and keep the smaller birds from getting access until all the food has gone. On a typical day we may see around 20 each blue jays and mourning doves at any given time. The idea is not to stop feeding these birds but would like to give the smaller ones a chance. We would welcome advise from others on this group as to what type of feeder we can use that is blue jay unfriendly. It would be nice to see more of the chickadees and finches get their fill but we can't afford to keep the feeders full at all times as they certainly can go through a pile of seed.
Dave & Val in Granville Beach, Nova Scotia

Here is one that has a cage to exclude the big birds:
http://www.rachelsrobin.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-13170

I use ones that are like this for thistle seed (nyjer) for the finches:
http://www.birdfeeders.com/store/wild-bird-feeders/398
And here is a whole page of that kind:
http://www.backyardbird.com/nyttufe.html

I put the sunflower seed in a tray feeder and one other, and then spread some on the ground along with a mix and cracked corn. That gives the big birds (and squirrels) their own places to go that are away from the finch feeders.



This message was edited Jan 25, 2009 12:58 PM

Hi Dave and Val, Welcome to the forum! Nice pic!

Hi Dave and Val. I just discovered thistle 'socks' this year and the finches love them! The big birds stick with the suet blocks because they can't cling to these. They are about $5 at WalMart and then you can refill them.

Susan
=^..^=

I also have this little pavillon that is made to put mealworms in the dish in the middle and only the small birds can get in. I am not putting mealworms out right now, so I put peanut pellets or other seeds in there. They like that too.

Susan
=^..^=

I have been using the thistle seed sock for the last two years. It works great for the small birds. The large ones stay on the ground and eat what falls. I had to move the sock further north about 10 feet because in Las Vegas, in the early spring, we leave the french door open nearest to the kitchen. Well the dumb doves would walk around picking up the fallen seed and eventually wander into the house. We have 20'+ ceiling in the great room and, of course, as soon as they get the house the panic race is on. After we moved the sock, they no longer wandered into the house.

The Pine Sisken , Redpolls, and Goldfinches, will eat the Nyger (thistles) seeds. I have 2 of these feeders that works really good for those type of birds.
I also do the same, as juneybug said, I spread some on the ground for the big bird, like Doves, Pine Grosbeak and Evening Grosbeaks, Starlings. The Jay here, seem to prefer the platform feeders off the ground I use the mix with corn also, and throw a few scoops of sunflowers on the ground as well. The Redpolls , and Sisken will eat with the Doves, if there isn't any room left on the tube feeders. I also have 2 big feeders, That I fill with Sunflower seeds. They are in different part of the yard.

The Chickadees love this one I made, out of a Coconut, with a rotary toll . I've seen the Pine Sisken on it as well as the Redpolls and Goldfinches. I have it set up at my kitchen window, with sunflower seeds in it.

We like the look of the wire cage type as shown in JunyBugs links. That seems to us to be the most reliable option and we will look for it on our next trip to the big stores. Being in a very rural location it is often difficult to find things and we buy a lot of stuff on line although even this takes time as high speed is unavailable and dial up is sooo slooow especially after coming from the super high speed cable we had before we retired here. On the other side we enjoy the peace and tranquility of the countryside and natures beauty. The attached picture of the cardinal that can often be seen attacking his reflection in the wing mirror of my van illustrates my point.
Many thanks to all who posted replies you have been a great help.

Dave & Val

Its been very cold here lately and just to remind us of warmer times here is a picture of a hummer taken at our window feeder back in the summer.

Dave & Val

Pretty birds...

Nice pics guys!

Way out there in the middle of no where you can get Direct TV They have internet and TV. I also think they have phone but am not sure. We have had Direct TV for over 15 years and love it. Look into it. It is reasonably inexpensive as long as you do not subscribe to all 4000 channels....

Hi skwinter.
Direct TV is not legal in Canada. Some people do use it by getting a PO box in the US and subscribing from that address but you run the risk of being cut off at any time. The only option we have for high speed internet is a dedicated satellite dish link. This is expensive, not very fast, subject to restricted band width, and requires a contract for several years. The government of Nova Scotia has promised that everybody will have access to high speed by the end of this year so we are waiting to see what happens. It will to be wireless with 1.5 mps download and 0.5 upload so only barely counts as high speed and costs $46.95 Cn per month + taxes. We wish we had the choices you have in the USA but we are over regulated by the CRTC who only permit two satellite companies and control the content.

Dave & Val

Things like this makes me crazy. Why do they care??? They need to concentrate on things that mean something,. People starving, 93 year old man dying in his home of 60 years because he was a little confused and did not pay his bill even tho he had the money, He froze to death because of the freezing temperatures. He had lived in the home for 60 years and never missed a payments for 50 years. Then all of a sudden he missed three payments, No one checked. He froze to death even though there was money in the kitchen table to pay the bill. Shame on Michigan. How could you turn off power when the temperature was minu 2 degrees. You are loved. Be safe...

So many folks think that utilities are not allowed to shut you off when it is cold outside. If more folks would check the laws then maybe they would help to change the laws. In MO it is against the law to shut off power if it is cold unless you get your power from a co-op or municipal source then they can shut you off for non-payment. Well, I am hard pressed to find anyone who does not get power from either a co-op or municipal source. So that law is stupid, it looks good on the books and makes voters comfortable thinking that no one will freeze to death because they did not pay their bill for whatever reason. I worked for a non-profit group that help folks with their utility bills. Nobody from the utility company knocks on the door or checks to see if there are babies inside or maybe someone inside who has the money to actually pay the bill they just cut you off. Most communities have at least one and maybe more organizanitions who can help but you won't get that information from your utility either.

I would think when they turned off the power they would notify the authorities so they could check on the individuals in the property. I did read now they have changed their regulations peertaining to shutoffs.