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Author Topic: Birds in the back yard  (Read 289606 times)

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Online Dotch

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What all do you have eating your suet glenn?

I need to spray the neighbor's pasture fence this weekend. Was one nest of bluebirds back in June but after I got done working on the fence, I left them alone. Seems like they're happiest that way. Sometimes they'll re-nest in the same house. Haven't had to monkey with the fence much this summer after I put in all the new electric fence posts but can tell the weeds are starting to build up on it. Gives me an excuse anyway.  :coffee: 
« Last Edit: August 08/03/22, 10:06:44 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)

Online glenn57

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I've seen robins, finches, redpolls?? and a few others I can't think of. I get the suet cakes that have sunflower seeds in it and other seeds. They seem to like that better then the ones I buy at FF buy the box for the cabin.
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Offline Steve-o

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Second nest of robins in the back yard.  The first time all the eggs fell out except one.

Four robins hatched in this nest.  They are growing fast.



Those birds birds did grow fast.  They flew away on July 1.  (Their picture is attached to the next post.)

The day after that, there was another set of robins building the third nest in our yard in that very same bush.

Today August 3rd, and those robins from the third nest left the nest today.  I know that second picture thru the screen is crappy, but the baby robin is clinging to the side of the house.  I tried to go outside and get a better photo, but it flew 20 feet away into the hostas.  Momma bird followed and so I decided to leave them alone.  Its fun to see those baby bird fly with tiny tail feathers.
« Last Edit: August 08/03/22, 01:05:05 PM by Steve-o »

Offline Steve-o

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Second nest of robins in the back yard.  The first time all the eggs fell out except one.

Four robins hatched in this nest.  They are growing fast.



Those birds birds did grow fast.  Here they are on June 30.  They flew the nest the next day.

The day after that, there was another set of robins building the third nest in our yard in that very same bush.

Today August 3rd, and those robins from the third nest left the nest today.  I know that second picture thru the screen is crappy, but the baby robin is clinging to the side of the house.  I tried to go outside and get a better photo, but it flew 20 feet away into the hostas.  Momma bird followed and so I decided to leave them alone.  Its fun to see those baby bird fly with tiny tail feathers.

OK. so I didn't get both pics added to the post.    These are the babies from the second nest almost ready to go. 

The bird on the side of the house was from the 3rd nest.

Online glenn57

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Steveo.... The robin whisperer!! :rotflmao:
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Online roony

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They sure do grow fast!

Online mike89

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that's why there are so many around here too...
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline Steve-o

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So 30 minutes after I chased the robin away, this guy shows up just outside the very same window as the baby bird.  I got one pic of the hawk and chased him away trying to get a better pic.

5 minutes later, he is back, and I get the second pic.  Again I chase him away trying to get a better pic, and as I see him flying away, mamma and papa robin are chirping at him and dive bombing him.

Never seen a hawk so close to the house before today.

Can anyone tell me what type of hawk this is?

Offline LPS

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Coopers hawk I would say.

Online mike89

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a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Online Dotch

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Prolly a Cooper's Steve O. Could be a sharp shinned but looks a little too big for that.

When I sprayed the kindly neighbor's pasture fence this a.m., I checked to see if there were any bluebirds in any of the bird houses. Saw & heard some bluebirds, cleaned an old wren nest out of one house and found baby wrens in the other one. Was hoping the bluebirds would re-nest in that one but as is so often the case, wrens take over. Lucky they're not in roony's jurisdiction... :police:   
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Online fishwidow

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I’m with you, Dotch. Looks bigger than a sharpie. The end of the tail in the second picture also looks to be rounded, which is another difference. Sharpies tails are more straight across at the end.

Online Dotch

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Just finished cleaning and refilling the hummingbird & oriole feeders. Nectar was starting to get cloudy & gunky again so it was time. Looks like the migration might be underway. Seems to be a bunch of males and they don't like it when someone else messes with THEIR feeder. They have so much other stuff besides the nectar feeders to graze on now the cannas, morning glories and four o'clocks are hitting their stride. The rose-breasted grosbeaks have hung around, A couple fully colored males and one that's transitioning. Several females as well. They occasionally hit the jelly feeders along with about everything else. Back to blowing through 4+ quarts a week of that after thinking perhaps the orioles were gone. Not so much.
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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Unreal that you go through that much jelly.  We go through one jar and we think we are really having a lot of action.  Good for you.

Offline Jerkbiat

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Unreal that you go through that much jelly.  We go through one jar and we think we are really having a lot of action.  Good for you.
Right. We go through about a jar a week here too.
Hey look your bobber is up!

Offline LPS

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We were just going to start trying to make jelly out of juice awhile back when we were all talking about it.  All of a sudden the orioles were gone and we still had some jelly left.  ???

Online Dotch

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The first few days after I was back from Canada there wasn't much activity. Picked up pretty fast after that. Two kinds of orioles, red-bellied woodpeckers, downies, hairies, grosbeaks, catbirds, and house sparrows all pulling on it. It would help to eliminate the house sparrow population. Too many of those little ass hats. 
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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Man the birds have been busy lately. All the feeders are getting hit. Great to see the activity.
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Offline dutchboy

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I have a troop of sugar ants working my Hummingbird feeder. They remind me of the cartoons. Anybody have a idea how to get rid of them?
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Online Gunner55

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Same issue here db, & ours is next to steps down to the lake so I've been keeping a close eye on it. When I see them taking over the feeder, I take the pump style sprayer that we keep ~ a 1/2 gallon of insecticide mixed in & spray the Sheppard's hook that it hangs on down really good. I will spray around the base of the hook too. I've had to do it 2-3 times in the last couple months, but it has really put a kabash to their party here. :happy1: :cool:
Life............. what happens while your making other plans. John Lennon

Online glenn57

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that seems to be an issue i havent had this year. a few but not as many as in the past. i've put these ant bait thingys around the bottom when i did have issues, seemed to work.

havnet had to many issues with wasps yet either..........that might come yet!!!!!!!
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Offline LPS

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I cleaned the hummer feeders the other day and filled them with fresh juice.  When the NFL regular season is on is when we get bees.  The guy has them across the road which is a quarter mile from the feeder but they hit it hard and even scare the hummers away.  I keep my small shop vac out there and during breaks in the game I just vac up the bees.  They aren't even afraid of the vac noise. Works great!

Online Dotch

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I have a troop of sugar ants working my Hummingbird feeder. They remind me of the cartoons. Anybody have a idea how to get rid of them?

The ant moat thingys on the top of the hummer & oriole feeders seem to do the trick as long as I keep them full of water. The other birds like using them as a source of drinking water so every couple days I need to fill them. I've also used the green little ant repellent dealies too that you hang the feeders from. They contain a disk up inside them that's impregnated with permethrin. Keeps ants of all types out. They've become expensive tho, $5 or $6 apiece the last time I saw them. Have not seen them at FF in Owatonna for a long time. No surprise there.  :coffee: 
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)

Offline Jerkbiat

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Same issue here db, & ours is next to steps down to the lake so I've been keeping a close eye on it. When I see them taking over the feeder, I take the pump style sprayer that we keep ~ a 1/2 gallon of insecticide mixed in & spray the Sheppard's hook that it hangs on down really good. I will spray around the base of the hook too. I've had to do it 2-3 times in the last couple months, but it has really put a kabash to their party here. :happy1: :cool:
Same here. I have a spray bottle with tempo or talstar in it that I spray the pole with and that keeps them out. Bees in the fall, that is another story. Mostly get those in the jelly for the orioles. And when there gets to be to many the orioles give up.
Hey look your bobber is up!

Offline markn

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Monday morning we had three hens and 18 or 19 little ones in the back. I also got Ringo our "guard cat" in the picture.
mm

Online mike89

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dats one big cat!!!!    :rotflmao: :happy1: :happy1:

looks like he gets along with the wildlife too!!!   :rotflmao:
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Offline HD

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Just a question ⁉️ shouldn't gold finches be done breeding and nesting by now?

 I brushed out one of the dogs and left the hair by the side of the driveway. As I'm sitting here, there's a breeding pair... and after they were done doing their "thing" the female started to gather up the dog hair and flew away with it.
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Online mike89

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found this so they just might be breeding now...  it's interesting and never realized that either... 

 Its breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. This species is generally monogamous and produces one brood each year.
a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work!!

Online glenn57

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Never knew that either!!
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Online Dotch

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Thanks mikey! I knew goldfinches were late nesters but wasn't sure how late. Also didn't know they'd use dog hair in their nests. Knew they'd use thistle down. Had watched the chipping sparrows pick up hunks of dog hair & when they'd fly off, they looked like Wilford Brimley. Still lots of male goldfinches at the feeders here. After a week without jelly, can still hear a few orioles in the windbreak. Filled the feeders again yesterday so be interesting to see if they reappear. They're usually gone for good around Labor Day here.
Time itself is bought and sold, the spreading fear of growing old contains a thousand foolish games that we play. (Neil Young)