| Author |
Barnyard Buddies:  Bird Watching  |
|
YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7020 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7020 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 06:56:52 AM
|
Birds that came to feed today:
young mama cardinal(when I talk to cardinals I call them mama ~ daddy)
pair of blue jays
pair of mourning doves
several wrens, sparrows, Carolina chickadee, white breasted nuthatch
and the backyard bullies grackles
Are you a bird watcher too?
Sara
Walk in Peace - Live with Joy
FarmGirl Sister #6034 Aug 25, 2014 |
|
|
dena91
True Blue Farmgirl
181 Posts
Dena
Pennsylvania
USA
181 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 09:00:40 AM
|
Yes, Yes!! I love watching birds that come to our yard. We often have two lovely house finches nest in our wreath by our door.
Unfortunately, we live in the woods and the squirrels have always been a problem. I'm currently looking at an expensive feeder to deter them more effectively.
Looking forward to a season of wonderful bird watching! Right now we have your typical winter birds for the mid atlantic area - juncos, nuthatches, chickadees. My favorite bird that visits our house - not our feeder because she is an insectivore - is the Carolina Wren! She uses our wreath in the winter for protection and has the most wonderful tenacious spirit. I hear her voice all over the yard and one time she even flew in our house! My husband was able to catch her gently and return her outside, thank God!
Anyway, thank you for starting this thread Sara. This is a topic near and dear to my heart and I look forward to posting regular sitings!
Dena
Farmgirl 5620 |
 |
|
|
CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 09:18:50 AM
|
Dena-
What feeder are looking at to potentially deter squirrels? I have some expertise in this area - possibly - and might be able to tell you if it would be a good investment or not. I worked for many years in a store that sold nothing but bird seed and feeders, so we got to know what worked and what didn't. Most of the feeders that work deterring squirrels are very expensive, but the money you save in seed makes them worthwhile.
Things with mesh around them - caged feeders - work but only to a certain degree since any mesh small enough to keep out squirrels also keeps out anything cardinal sized or larger.
Many things that have an exterior "sleeve" of sorts that comes down blocking access to feeding ports if anything too heavy gets on it MAY work.
I've always favored Droll Yankee feeders because it is a great company and their customer support is outstanding. They offer some huge feeders that really do deter squirrels, mostly because if a squirrel tries to hang by their back feet from the top of the feeder, the feeder is too long for their little mouths to reach. While these big feeders keep them from accessing the feeder from above, if the squirrel can make a bridge over when hanging on a pole from which the feeder hangs, they can get to the seed.
There was a horrible feeder on the market for a while -I don't know if it is back - that actually shocked the squirrels. Not a fan of that.
Just a few hints to start with. If you can design a bird feeder that truly keeps out squirrels, you'll be a multimillionaire!!
CindyG |
|
|
|
YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7020 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7020 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 09:38:41 AM
|
Cindy, I have squirrels too but they don't bother the feed I scatter on the ground. They did when I fed un-shelled sunflower seeds, but I switched to all shelled nuts & seeds. I feed on the ground because cardinals prefer it, and they're my favorite bird that comes to feed.
I wait for them to eat it all up before I scatter more. On sunny days that's in the morning and late afternoon. When it's freezing and dark I feed 3 times a day.
When I put food out for mockingbirds it's peanut butter mixed with cornmeal.
Sara
Walk in Peace - Live with Joy
FarmGirl Sister #6034 Aug 25, 2014 |
|
|
|
dena91
True Blue Farmgirl
181 Posts
Dena
Pennsylvania
USA
181 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 11:53:05 AM
|
Cindy,
I was looking at the Brome 1024 squirrel buster plus, or the Brome 1015 squirrel buster classic. Do you have any experience/thoughts with them?
My experience with throwing food on the ground for the squirrels is that some come to eat that and others come at the same time to eat at the feeder!
My husband loves The Yankee Flipper. Do you have any experience with that one?
Thanks!
Dena
Farmgirl 5620 |
|
|
|
Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 11:56:24 AM
|
I've been seeing several Cardinals and hearing them. I love the sound they make. To me, they sound like their saying, 'Pretty, Pretty'.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
|
|
|
oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 12:07:17 PM
|
squirrels, just hate squirrels, nothing but rats is a cute fur suit...they will kill all songbirds and others if they can get to them, along with their hatchlings and eggs, here we use pellet guns to dispatch them...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
|
|
|
CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 12:30:41 PM
|
The Yankee Flipper is a hoot and a half! it works extremely well while providing entertainment.
For those not familiar with it, it is a large, long cylinder feeder with a ring-style perch at the bottom. The secret is the perch is weight sensitive and if anything to heavy gets on it, it lowers a bit, completes an electrical connection, and the ring perch SPINS, flinging off the offending critter. The promotional video Droll Yankee has is hilarious with it's sound effects, let alone the simple demonstration of the product. It may still be on their website and is worth watching.
My parents had a squirrel that we swore rode it for fun! He'd jump up and grab the perch with his front paws and stay on for easily 20-30 revolutions, with his body kind of arcing as he went around. It looked like he was purposefully swinging himself a little harder. I think I heard "woooohoooooo!" a few times :)
The problem we have had is that if you have it in a place such as hanging off a deck, where a raccoon can reach it while hanging on to something, they can wear down the rechargeable batteries in one night. The batteries can only take so many recharges and eventually give out.
The Brome feeders are OUTSTANDING. I have two, and each are over 5 years old and still going strong. They do a great job keeping squirrels out unless, like I mentioned before, the squirrel can hang on to the pole parallel to the feeder and reach over to the feeder. They then bypass the spring function of the sleeve that should drop over the feeding ports. Grease on the pole across from the feeder works for a little while.
Good luck! |
|
|
|
CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 12:32:11 PM
|
| I forgot to mention that the two Brome feeders I have are the ones you mentioned. The bigger the feeder, the less frequent the refilling, otherwise they both work the same. |
|
|
|
dena91
True Blue Farmgirl
181 Posts
Dena
Pennsylvania
USA
181 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 5:56:38 PM
|
Thanks Cindy, great information.
The write up for the brome plus said that some birds have a hard time learning to use it (this is the more expensive of the two). Have you had this problem?
Dena
Farmgirl 5620 |
|
|
|
prariehawk
True Blue Farmgirl
2914 Posts
Cindy
2914 Posts |
Posted - Mar 06 2015 : 6:14:05 PM
|
I have a squirrel-proof pole that I hang a birdhouse and bird-feeder on. The squirrels have never, in over twelve years, been able to climb up this pole. I took a regular eight-foot straight pole and slid PVC pipe over it before I dug a hole for it. The PVC is too slick for the squirrels to climb on and I put it in a location where the squirrels can't jump to it from any trees. Snakes can't get up it either. I need to move it cause it leans to the side after so many years so I'm planning on moving it to my front yard where I can see birds more easily. I also have a suet holder that I keep wired closed so the squirrels can't drag it off. they can sort of get to it but I make them work for it. I like the woodpeckers that come to eat the suet. Been seeing robins and cardinals and mourning doves and even finches so I know spring isn't far away.
Cindy
"Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free; And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the rocks reach the sea.Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun. and cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done"--Loreena McKennit
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
|
dena91
True Blue Farmgirl
181 Posts
Dena
Pennsylvania
USA
181 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2015 : 1:01:48 PM
|
Thanks Cindy, The pole idea is great!
Can't wait to order my new Brome feeder!
Dena
Farmgirl 5620 |
|
|
|
YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7020 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7020 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2015 : 06:11:00 AM
|
Grackles are back. Saw one with one white tail feather. How cool is that! Really don't want the grackles to come back, but if they do I sure hope I get to see the one with the white feather.
Sara
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
FarmGirl Sister #6034 Aug 25, 2014 |
|
|
|
CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2015 : 07:16:17 AM
|
I failed to answer one question posed: do birds have a hard time learning to use the Brome feeders?
I have not had this problem at all, but I also have a ridiculous number of feeders in a pretty small area, so the new guys can easily watch the experienced guys zip in and grab some seed.
A part of the problem the manufacturer may be addressing- I think - is that birds cannot see the seed very well in these feeders and that's one critical way they ID a food source. As I said, though, this has not been an issue in my little space for critter feeding.
Good luck! |
|
|
|
Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2015 : 1:12:09 PM
|
Where there is food the birds will find it no matter what kind of feeder you have. I love to watch birds too and we have cardinals, rose breasted and white breasted nuthatches, gold finches, house finches, Downey woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers and occasionally the pileated woodpeckers. Plus about a dozen squirrels. We just try to put out enough food for all of them. Happy birdwatching!
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
|
|
|
forgetmenot
True Blue Farmgirl
3602 Posts
Judith
Nora Springs
IA
USA
3602 Posts |
Posted - Mar 11 2015 : 3:38:01 PM
|
We have the same birds Bonnie has. Looking out our dining room window is our "entertainment center". We have an even wider variety of birds in the summer. With living in the woods we have wild turkeys every year. We have The Yankee Flipper. I think our least expensive save to keep the squirrels off is a baffle below the feeders and Pam. But, we have about a bazillion squirrels and they get what falls to the ground.
Farmgirl sister #3926
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon |
|
|
|
Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2015 : 12:38:31 PM
|
I saw, but heard first, a hummingbird yesterday. What a wonderful sound! Spring is here.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
|
|
|
YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7020 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7020 Posts |
Posted - Mar 24 2015 : 3:41:52 PM
|
I just saw a woodpecker visit my ice plant on the deck then on the ground where I feed birds. First time I have ever seen a woodpecker someplace besides on a tree. Made me smile.
Sara
FarmGirl Sister #6034 Aug 25, 2014
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
|
|
|
|
ceejay48
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm/Sharpshooter
13643 Posts
CeeJay (CJ)
Dolores
Colorado
USA
13643 Posts |
|
|
YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
7020 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
7020 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2015 : 05:02:23 AM
|
CeeJay, we don't have magpies so I looked them up. They are members of the crow family ~ that says it all. I am not fond of any bird that travels in gangs and terrorizes the song birds.
I did learn something else. The facing page next to crows was Cuckoos and roadrunners are part of that family. Love to see roadrunners running along the side of country roads. Before I moved one used to cross my front yard on it's way to the open field in front of my house. Another time at the lake my son chased one that was as big as a turkey. Guess who won that race ~ beep beep - roadrunner by several yards.
Sara
FarmGirl Sister #6034 Aug 25, 2014
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
|
|
|
|
newfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
101 Posts
Janis
Baker
WV
101 Posts |
Posted - Mar 26 2015 : 11:03:57 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by YellowRose
I just saw a woodpecker visit my ice plant on the deck then on the ground where I feed birds. First time I have ever seen a woodpecker someplace besides on a tree. Made me smile.
Sara
FarmGirl Sister #6034 Aug 25, 2014
Lord put your arm around my shoulders and your hand over my mouth.
|
|
|
|
newfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
101 Posts
Janis
Baker
WV
101 Posts |
Posted - Mar 26 2015 : 11:07:02 AM
|
| I have a woodpecker who has managed to hang off the bird feeder and swing while eating. Of course everyone else quickly makes room. It really is funny. My birdfeeder is nearly touching our window and it is a joy to just sit and watch. I've got some great close-ups that way, but not of the woodpecker. |
|
|
|
newfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
101 Posts
Janis
Baker
WV
101 Posts |
Posted - Mar 26 2015 : 11:08:18 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Bear5
I saw, but heard first, a hummingbird yesterday. What a wonderful sound! Spring is here.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross
|
|
|
|
newfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
101 Posts
Janis
Baker
WV
101 Posts |
Posted - Mar 26 2015 : 11:09:01 AM
|
Send them north, please!
|
|
|
|
edlund33
True Blue Farmgirl
1504 Posts
Marilyn
Renton
WA
USA
1504 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2015 : 09:21:29 AM
|
We have Anna's humminbirds year round. But it always excites me to see the tiny Rufous Hummingbirds return every Spring. I saw two of them for the first time yesterday. We have a family of Nuthatches raising a family in a birdhouse outside the kitchen window. We have a starling-proof suet feeder hanging out and they spend all day packing it home to their babies. Nuthatches are cute, but they are also nervy and like to poke holes in the cedar siding on the house. Flickers have been busy doing the same thing so I've been hanging out streamers or putting dolls in the windows to discourage them. And then there is Mr. and Mrs. Mallard duck who visit the standing water on our 2nd story flat roof almost every day during the spring and summer. They tap their beaks on the clearstory windows and quack alot. Then when they get ready to go back to their duckpond down the golfcourse a ways they make a dive bomb landing on the grass between some large trees. Once they land they waddle through my garden and then off across the fairway. Sometimes they will bring their babies once they learn to fly, or will bring them for a walk but Mr.and Mrs. Duck will take turns staying with them on the ground. They are very silly and quite entertaining but they have been doing this for a long time. So this is how I know Spring is really here!
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
http://blueskyanddaisies.blogspot.com
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
|
|
|
quiltee
True Blue Farmgirl
7540 Posts
Linda
Terrell
TX
USA
7540 Posts |
Posted - Apr 10 2015 : 9:05:47 PM
|
I love the hummingbirds who come to share on the feeders I have on my porch. They have only been here for about 2 weeks this year, but these pictures I took last year show them around the feeder. At times there were over 15 of them at one time on each of the two feeders.
 
When I sit on the porch, they will fly so close I can hear the soft fluttering of their wings.
Farmgirl hugs,
Linda O
Lone Oak, TX
Farmgirl #1919 |
|
|
|
Barnyard Buddies: Bird Watching |
|
Bird Watching
