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Author Topic: Birds in the back yard  (Read 287626 times)

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Offline LPS

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Mostly chickadees and nuthatches here.  Had 4 Evening Grosbeaks around noon.  We even had a pileated woodpecker pecking at out suet thing yesterday.  Don't think we have seen that before. 

Offline delcecchi

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It is strange.  They come and go.   Yesterday we had a whole bunch, like 50, lbj birds (little brown jobs).   They would mob the feeders and the ground for awhile and then take off all at once.   Little while they would be back.    Today, not much, they aren't around.   Just the regulars.   The redbelly, the downy the hairy, the cardinals, chickadees and the nuthatches.   


Offline Dotch

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Getting a few more goldfinches as of late. Song sparrow seems to keep hanging around too. Maybe spring is around the corner... :scratch:
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline Bobberineyes

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We ran 2 single tube screen type feeders for a long time, they were getting emptied every couple of days. Put up this 3 way feeder with 3 different types of seed and I haven't refilled it in 4 weeks, they don't like something..  :confused:

Offline Dotch

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Are there smurf birds? Asking for a friend... :scratch:
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline glenn57

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Are there smurf birds? Asking for a friend... :scratch:
:confused: suppose dat be mikey??/ :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :confused:

boober i havent had much for birds either. maybe having 3 different types of bird seeds altoghter in the same place aint a good idea??? :scratch: :scratch: 
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Bobberineyes

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Are there smurf birds? Asking for a friend... :scratch:
:confused: suppose dat be mikey??/ :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :confused:

boober i havent had much for birds either. maybe having 3 different types of bird seeds altoghter in the same place aint a good idea??? :scratch: :scratch:
Very well could be, FF sells em so it has to be top notch.. :bonk:

Offline glenn57

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i'm somewhat skeptical about all these new fancy looking feeders. especially the hummingbird and oriole feeders. the old simple ones seem to be best, but the same with the new fangled seed feeders, yo me the more plain jane the better they seem to like them.

i usually get all all my bird feed at FF too!!!!!! i feed only

sunflowers
thistle seeds
safflower seeds and suet cakes. anything else seems to draw unwanted birds like sparrows.
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Dotch

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I agree glenn. Stuff with lots of millet and other grain tends to be a house sparrow magnet. The Chinese chickens don't seem to mind however. They love corn, millet & milo (sorghum). The pheasants scared the crap out of me late this afternoon when I came home early to unload straw. Got out of the car to get the mail and a half dozen of 'em exploded out of the Austrian pine by the driveway. I damn near needed a G&T to calm my nerves after that! Made a good excuse anyway... :rotflmao:

Simple feeders seem to work best here too. After getting all the stuff cleaned up at Mom's I remembered there was a feeder in a box of junk in the pickup. Not a huge feeder but the birds always liked it where it hung on the shepherd's crook by her kitchen. I looked at it more closely and saw there was a hole in the plastic on the feeder, possibly squirrel damage. Patched the hole with Gorilla tape, filled the feeder with a sunflower/safflower blend and hung it out there on her same shepherd's crook on Tuesday. Chickadees were after it nonstop almost immediately. It was completely empty tonite when I refilled it.  :happy1:
« Last Edit: January 01/07/21, 08:00:00 PM by Dotch »
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline LPS

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I sure wish we had pheasants up here.  I have seen a few but they were released by people that raised them.   

Offline glenn57

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Got a feeder with 8-10 purple finches this morning. Wonder if there stocking up pending the incoming weather???
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline Steve-o

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Got a feeder with 8-10 purple finches this morning. Wonder if there stocking up pending the incoming weather???

Is there bad weather coming?  (I try not to watch the news these days.)

Offline delcecchi

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Moderate Weather Hysteria.      Few inches of snow for us here in the southland

Offline roony

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4 to 7 inches for us according to nws

Offline mike89

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saying it could be 3 to 6 here
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline glenn57

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Depends on who you look at. Some say 3-6, others 4-9. :crazy:

And there talking 3-6 up north. Hope Gunner gets outta Inger before it gets to bad. :sleazy: well thrn he might be scheming to get stuck there. :rotflmao:
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline delcecchi

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What's gunnar doing in Inger, and who is she?

Online Gunner55

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 :tut: :mooning: :pouty: Been @ the cabin for almost 24 hours already , glenn, so don't worry I won't be botherin any of your girlfriends down there. Besides they're ALL TO OLD for me anyway.  :thumbs:  :nerd: :nerd: Just looked the WWA in effect here says 2-6 & cable weather station out of Bemidji was more like 3-5" last I looked. :scratch: :confused:
Life............. what happens while your making other plans. John Lennon

Online Gunner55

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What's gunnar doing in Inger, and who is she?
:tut: :mooning: :pouty: Not you too!!  :doah: :shocked:
Life............. what happens while your making other plans. John Lennon

Offline glenn57

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2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline glenn57

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seen 2 morning doves this morning on the neighbors  TV antenna while cleaning out the driveway this morning. they musta got into dotch's gin last night!!!!!!!!1 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline delcecchi

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I have had bunches of mourning doves off and on, as many as a dozen, more or less.

Offline Dotch

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seen 2 morning doves this morning on the neighbors  TV antenna while cleaning out the driveway this morning. they musta got into dotch's gin last night!!!!!!!!1 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

 :tut: It's a little known fact the only birds that like gin are pine siskins and cedar waxwings. :nerd:

We've had a few mourning doves this winter when the weather was warmer and there was less snow. Also some collared doves. More of both kinds in town where it's more sheltered though.
« Last Edit: January 01/24/21, 06:28:03 PM by Dotch »
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline delcecchi

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Collared Doves?    Guess I need to look those up, since I never heard of them.   Maybe they are coming around here and I didn't even know it.   

How much do they look like a mourning dove?   The black collar it? 
« Last Edit: January 01/24/21, 08:23:42 PM by delcecchi »

Offline Dotch

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They look a lot like mourning doves only more pigeon-sized with a dark collar behind their neck. First noticed them here about 5 years ago probably. The sound they make is almost more owl-like.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Collared-Dove/overview
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline delcecchi

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They look a lot like mourning doves only more pigeon-sized with a dark collar behind their neck. First noticed them here about 5 years ago probably. The sound they make is almost more owl-like.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Collared-Dove/overview
Thanks.  I'll keep an eye out for them.   I hear they are good eating.. :doofus:

Offline glenn57

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yes Del there supposed to be good eating........lot of states have a hunting season for doves.....including minnesota now. i'll never get to try it though. :pouty: my wife wont let me hunt them........knowingly!!! :smoking: :sleazy:
2015 deer slayer!!!!!!!!!!

Offline mike89

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ya can get all the pidgins ya want, same thing... 
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline Dotch

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We had this discussion over coffee about whether or not the collared doves were included in the mourning dove season and appears they are. Not protected it appears.

Did the dove hunting thing the first year it was legal when I lived in ND. Walking tree strips & shelterbelts, it was a great way to sharpen your eye for sharptail & Huns that opened later. Dove was OK but it took a bunch to fill a guy up. Usually wrapped them in bacon and grilled them along with a bunch of turkey gizzards.  Washed 'em down with Schmidt big mouths. All this on the deck of a '59 Marshfield trailer house in Cando ND. Now that was livin'!  :happy1: 
« Last Edit: January 01/25/21, 11:00:56 AM by Dotch »
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline HD

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Wood Peckers and Bunnies
Mama always said, If you ain't got noth'in nice to say, don't say noth'in at all!