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Author Topic: Birds in the back yard  (Read 289636 times)

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Online glenn57

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birds around the home front arent very plentiful, but a few around. couple different varieties of woodpeckers, chickadees and finches. and an occasional cardinal.

up at the cabin lots of chickadees, blue jays and woodpeckers. didnt take long for the squirrels to figure out the food was served either. seen 3 of the 4 black squirrels too!!!

the eagles and crows or whatever the hell there called didnt take long to polish off the fish guts on the lake either!!!!!! :happy1:
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Online LPS

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Had 5 Pine Grosbeaks the other day.  Hardly see squirrels in the feeder anymore since Cooper caught that one a few weeks ago. 

Offline snow1

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Last week during our warm snap had two morning doves below the feeder's,gave my live trap to the young neighbor boy,he's been having a ball catching the feeder robber squirrels lately,I marked a couple of these pain in the arse pests with a florescent pink spray paint as they release these squirrels down the road about a mile or so,I could swear the same fat little some beeches find they're way back...might need to dust off my .22 sniper rifle again if this keeps up.

other than that not much bird activeity.

Online Dotch

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Have 4 fox squirrels that are regulars at the ear corn feeder. Varies by the day how active they are. Seems like they're more active a day or two in advance of the weather getting real. Days like yesterday when we're heading into a warmup, less so judging by the amount of corn they consume.

Saw two resident rooster pheasants playing in the backyard when I came home yesterday after lunch. Screwballs like to squabble then pick up the mess the squirrels leave. Goldfinches have sure been erratic here. Before the storm last week they were hitting the thistle feeders hard. Down to just a few loyal customers again.  :scratch:     
« Last Edit: December 12/22/21, 10:50:03 AM by Dotch »
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Online glenn57

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this morning running water for coffee i notice about 30 plus birds in my neighbors birch tree. couldnt figure out wht none where at the feeders??? :doah: :scratch:

i couldnt make out what they where so i went and rounded up my binocs, only to see they where cedar wings!!!!!! cool birds!!!!
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Online LPS

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Those are beautiful birds.  I was walking in the woods with my first yellow lab Willy about 30 years ago and saw a Cedar Waxwing in a tree with about 4 or 5 babies in a branch right along the trail.  They were actually passing berries to each other.  I couldn't believe it.  I wish I had a cell phone with a camera then.  They let us walk within 10 or 15 feet of them too and they never did fly.  We just kept walking. 

Online Dotch

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Been a busy morning observing the backyard activity. Tried to photo a rooster pheasant eating corn but he was having no part of it. No black oil sunflower at FF so had to substitute with a blend containing black oil sunflower, confection (striped) sunflower, peanuts & safflower. Also bought a new feeder. The new feeder has a tray on it & is more of a bulk type feeder than the tube feeder it replaced. So far it's been a hit as has the different seed blend. Has attracted goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches & woodpeckers. So far the sparrows haven't liked it. Those little bastards were emptying the tube feeder almost daily when filled with black oil sunflower. Years ago I tried confection sunflower in the feeders to dissuade the sparrows. It seemed to work for a while but within a matter of a year the SOB's figured it out.

Was getting to the point recently where I was ready to resurrect the repeating sparrow trap. That thins 'em down but as long as the neighbors do nothing to control them, they'll keep coming back. Some years between under the feeders and in the barn I'd catch 100's of them. I'd freeze them & my sister in law took them to feed the raptors in the project she's involved in down in IA. The cats have done a pretty good job of keeping their numbers down in our barn but still too many here for my taste.     
« Last Edit: January 01/09/22, 09:59:12 AM by Dotch »
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Online glenn57

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Been a busy morning observing the backyard activity. Tried to photo a rooster pheasant eating corn but he was having no part of it. No black oil sunflower at FF so had to substitute with a blend containing black oil sunflower, confection (striped) sunflower, peanuts & safflower. Also bought a new feeder. The new feeder has a tray on it & is more of a bulk type feeder than the tube feeder it replaced. So far it's been a hit as has the different seed blend. Has attracted goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches & woodpeckers. So far the sparrows haven't liked it. Those little bastards were emptying the tube feeder almost daily when filled with black oil sunflower. Years ago I tried confection sunflower in the feeders to dissuade the sparrows. It seemed to work for a while but within a matter of a year the SOB's figured it out.

Was getting to the point recently where I was ready to resurrect the repeating sparrow trap. That thins 'em down but as long as the neighbors do nothing to control them, they'll keep coming back. Some years between under the feeders and in the barn I'd catch 100's of them. I'd freeze them & my sister in law took them to feed the raptors in the project she's involved in down in IA. The cats have done a pretty good job of keeping their numbers down in our barn but still too many here for my taste.     
:scratch: :scratch: really.....you have issues with sparrows feeding sunflowers???? i never had.

yea them striped sunflowers suck. last time i went to fleet for sunflowers then only had like a 20 or 25 lb bag.  :surrender: :bs: that place is pathetic. stopped at the local country store and bought a 50 lb bag and was cheaper then 2-25's at fleet.
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Online Dotch

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FF was supposed to have 40# bags of black oil sunflower seed on sale for $16.99. None in sight. Also supposed to be a sale on suet cakes that were nowhere to be found. A lot of shoppers wandering around in that area with lost looks on their faces. Overheard employees muttering "They must all be looking for the same things". Well, duh!  :doah: I get that sunflower prices are high due to tight supply. But if you advertise stuff, you better have it or offer something as a substitute or a raincheck if you don't. Getting so sick of this half fast attempt at customer service, not just at FF but it's become rampant everywhere. Let's go Brandon!  :angry:

I need to check out the outfit in Meriden. They bag & distribute a lot of bird seed & sunflower seed. A friend who trucked a lot of stuff in there said they sell all kinds of product direct, a lot cheaper than you can buy it retail. Be worth the short trip for me just see what they've got.
« Last Edit: January 01/09/22, 10:56:25 AM by Dotch »
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Online glenn57

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I friend of mine lives in montecillo, I talks about some place there that sells all kinds of critter good. But I ain't driving that far. I can get everything I need at the country store here in town.
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Online Dotch

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Looks like I can get you a hopper bottom rail car of black oil sunflower seed. How much room do you have in yer garage?  :scratch:
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Online glenn57

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Looks like I can get you a hopper bottom rail car of black oil sunflower seed. How much room do you have in yer garage?  :scratch:
:rotflmao: not that much. :rotflmao: about 4-5 years ago I asked my former boss who lives out by Mandan ND if he could get me sunflower seeds since his neighbor grew them. I asked just for stuff that fell on the ground. He was told a no go . Everything he had was already contracted out  :pouty:
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Offline Bobberineyes

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We have 2 screen feeders up with 1 having black oil seed and the other with safflower,  but the birds really haven't been hitting them much. Thinking about bringing out the tube feeder and trying Nyjer seed??? Menardos seems to have plenty of food when I check. Say you guys hear about the Parrot that's been hanging around the east metro? The wif has been following it on the book of faces..

Offline dutchboy

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Going to be gone for a couple of days so I filled the feeders yesterday.

Just stepped outside.......damn that wind is cold today!
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Online mike89

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that's cool!!  and interesting!! 
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Online Dotch

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:scratch: :scratch: really.....you have issues with sparrows feeding sunflowers???? i never had.

yea them striped sunflowers suck. last time i went to fleet for sunflowers then only had like a 20 or 25 lb bag.  :surrender: :bs: that place is pathetic. stopped at the local country store and bought a 50 lb bag and was cheaper then 2-25's at fleet.
[/quote]

Ya, the house sparrows eating black oil sunflower seed here has been an issue since not long after we moved here. All the bird feeding sages at the time said they wouldn't eat black oil sunflower seed. Within a matter of a year or two that was proven wrong. The bastards would eat some but dump most on the ground underneath the tube-type feeder, wasting a bunch of it. Tried confection sunflowers and the larger, harder to open seeds helped for a while. Within a year or so they figured that out. As I've mentioned here before, the sparrows started eating suet cakes & raw suet too. Not only that, within a few years of my brother moving onto his farmstead near Cedar Falls IA, guess what? I got a call from him complaining about the exact same things!  :angry: They're also tough on the bluebirds, with the male house sparrows pecking female bluebirds to death inside the nesting boxes on the nest. Ya roony, the house wrens can peck holes in their eggs but I only gotta put up with them 6 months out of the year. Besides, they sing so beautifully, starting about 3:30 - 4 a.m.!  :rotflmao:

Cool beans about the parrot boober! Been getting more goldfinch activity as of late so your idea about putting out thistle seed might work. Can see they're pulling our tube feeders down faster. Not much except cardinals eating the safflower here and then usually if it's on the ground (effing sparrows again!) or in a tray on the feeder. They also seem to like the striped sunflower. We've had 3 male cardinals hanging around periodically, usually at dawn and towards dusk. It's like Where's Waldo when they show up.

     
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Online glenn57

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Kinda late in the day to report, but man where my feeders busy today.

All kinds of finches. :happy1:
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Offline HD

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Yup, the finches have been hitting the tube feeders here hard to.
I have that Menards finch blend in there, and the only pick out what they want.
Good thing that what lands on the ground is cleaned up by the Morning Doves and Junco's

Do you guys run a heated bird bath? My daughters got me one for Christmas. I put it out, but man, the water gets dehydrated out of it quick. I've never saw a bird on it yet...Jr said he did, but not me.
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Online glenn57

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HD ,mom  and dad had one. Well more my dad. When he passed away she was to tight to plug it in.

They did have some birds use it. Not sure how much. :scratch:
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Offline Bobberineyes

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I read something about those winter bird baths, the writer downplayed them with the birds being wet in really cold conditions...who knows. I pulled my the screen feeders yesterday and put up 1 tube with a Midwest blend and thisle in the other,  the nut hatchers were on the feeders pretty fast. They preferred the blend tho.

Online LPS

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My Mom and Dad used to have a heated bird bath and they had birds visit it too.  I never have had one but have thought about it. 

Online mike89

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https://www.startribune.com/evidence-that-winter-baths-can-be-bad-for-birds/504380032/

HD's question and then Bobber's answer had me wondering..  so I looked into it..  looks like folks are about 50/50 on those heated ones..  the above article I thought was interesting..  but most say block so the birds can only drink and and not splash..  rather interesting.. 
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Online LPS

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Ya I think my Mom had a small brick in theirs so birds could sit on it.

Offline HD

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Yeah, the sides get all frosted up and I don't think they could get to the water if they wanted to.
Mama always said, If you ain't got noth'in nice to say, don't say noth'in at all!

Online Dotch

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Had a smaller heated bird bath for several years. It worked pretty good at first, stayed thawed well. It didn't hold enough water tho so I was constantly filling & cleaning it. After a while it  only worked half-fast and then not at all. Gave up on it.

Goldfinches have been hot & cold here. Yesterday they were all over the thistle seed tube feeders. Today, a couple here and there is about it. Plenty of other birds tho including blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, downy, hairy & red bellied woodpeckers plus a few juncos, Need to refill the sunflower seed feeders after making a FF run yesterday. Our 2 pet rooster pheasants are picking away under the spruce trees so will put some corn out as well. 

« Last Edit: January 01/17/22, 02:09:48 PM by Dotch »
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Online LPS

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We have a group of redpolls at our feeder today. 

Online Dotch

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Miss those little guys. Think it was winter of '09 we had an irruption that sent lots of redpolls & pine siskins this direction. There were days I'd count over 100 between the two species. Between them & the birds that were already here, they emptied the feeders daily for quite a stretch. Haven't seen anything like it since.
« Last Edit: January 01/17/22, 12:01:51 PM by Dotch »
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Online glenn57

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Miss those little guys. Think it was winter of '09 we had an irruption that sent lots of redpolls & pine siskins this direction. There were days I'd count over 100 between the two species. Between them & the birds that were already here, they emptied the feeders daily for quite a stretch. Haven't seen anything like it since.
Wrens?????????/ :evil: :scratch: :scratch:
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Online Dotch

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 :rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

...in their winter plumage
« Last Edit: January 01/17/22, 02:07:12 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)

Online Dotch

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Have had a flicker here today. Likes the suet feeders. Only one pheasant but guessing the other one is napping nearby.
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)