Any birders out there?

That's very disappointing, @Lee :(

Even though it doesn't change the situation at this time, there is a good possibility that they might come in the future, if you re-start at a different time of the year,
and with less disruption from the crows.

The smaller songbirds and other species such as cardinals
might even stay next winter, or come next winter,
if you start feeding them earlier in the year, and continue without break, and they get you on their established route, sooner than you started this time.

Just ideas.
It's still disappointing for now!!
 

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Another thought I have, @Lee
is that I wonder if there are enough shrubs or plants, for the birds to have some cover to hide in, to go back and forth, from those and your feeders....
Having other plants near enough to your feeders definitely helps them feel safe and like the feeding area you create for them.
They dont like to cross too wide open space between the trees and your feeders.
 
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Kaila, I am not giving up. I talked to the gentleman down the street and he does get a few stragglers so you are right when you say to feed year round. During the summer I noticed dozens of jays at a time on the tree across the street, none now. At the last place I lived we had many varieties visiting, even rare visits from the arctic a time or two.

For now I will content myself with crow watching.....they are birds after all :LOL:
 

Lee said:
For now I will content myself with crow watching.....they are birds after all
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Good idea. :giggle:
If you can possibly enjoy that, for now, and look at it that way, then do it.:)

Consider leaving out bagels or old donuts or dry crusts, from bread or pizza, for the crows? :LOL:

And a large bowl of water, they truly like to dunk their foods in water puddles, I have noticed, out my own windows! :ROFLMAO:
They dunk them, before they eat them.
We do learn from watching most anything in nature.

Btw, it's probably a generally good idea, to put those items, well away from your regular feeders,
in case any smaller wild birds do visit!
 
When this Winter got here, I put out the regular seed, but they didn't come for a couple of days. So, I noticed the finches and sparrows didn't come much anymore. I took down the hanging feeders, and just put out seed for the Grackles, Ring necked doves, and Cowbirds. They are fewer in number but still come. Some of the sparrows and finches come and I do spread out some on the ground for them. I will put up the feeders for the smaller ones once Spring gets here. I do miss them when they stop coming and see the uneaten seed. Oh, I figured out why they weren't coming, once they were all eating and big hawk came and got a dove. Just stood there with a foot on the poor thing. That hawk is probably why. I had seen quite a bit of feathers around and not knowing why all the feathers. Hawk!
 
fancicoffee13 said:
When this Winter got here, I put out the regular seed, but they didn't come for a couple of days. So, I noticed the finches and sparrows didn't come much anymore. I took down the hanging feeders, and just put out seed for the Grackles, Ring necked doves, and Cowbirds. They are fewer in number but still come. Some of the sparrows and finches come and I do spread out some on the ground for them. I will put up the feeders for the smaller ones once Spring gets here. I do miss them when they stop coming and see the uneaten seed. Oh, I figured out why they weren't coming, once they were all eating and big hawk came and got a dove. Just stood there with a foot on the poor thing. That hawk is probably why. I had seen quite a bit of feathers around and not knowing why all the feathers. Hawk!
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Yes, a bird of prey will keep your little ones away, but it never lasts long so don't despair.

We have had an unusual run on Pine Siskins this year. We have between 30-50 that visit daily, and in one big swarm. I don't remember us having Pine Siskins in January, but we've been enjoying a mild winter, so that could be why we're seeing such a large concentration of them.
 
Well, I am looking forward to Spring so I can see all the little finches and the red breasted ones with a red head. Plus, I love seeing them about a certain time every morning gathering to eat. Plus, my water stays frozen a lot this winter. But, I still love my flock that comes and sits on the telephone wire watching when I come out in the morning to feed them.
Aunt Marg said:
Yes, a bird of prey will keep your little ones away, but it never lasts long so don't despair.

We have had an unusual run on Pine Siskins this year. We have between 30-50 that visit daily, and in one big swarm. I don't remember us having Pine Siskins in January, but we've been enjoying a mild winter, so that could be why we're seeing such a large concentration of them
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fancicoffee13 said:
Well, I am looking forward to Spring so I can see all the little finches and the red breasted ones with a red head. Plus, I love seeing them about a certain time every morning gathering to eat. Plus, my water stays frozen a lot this winter. But, I still love my flock that comes and sits on the telephone wire watching when I come out in the morning to feed them.
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You can get an electric doggy dish for the water, that way it won't freeze, but line the bottom of the doggy dish with a few large (ish) flat rocks so the birds can stand on them while drinking.
 
Aunt Marg said:
You can get an electric doggy dish for the water, that way it won't freeze, but line the bottom of the doggy dish with a few large (ish) flat rocks so the birds can stand on them while drinking.
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What about those fountain things that are going all the time? You just set them in the water and they are a fountain. Would that freeze too?
 
fancicoffee13 said:
What about those fountain things that are going all the time? You just set them in the water and they are a fountain. Would that freeze too?
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This time of year it would, because it would draw from the dish which would freeze, unless you were using an electric heated dish, but those solar-powered little fountains are great from spring until fall, because the sound of water draws birds in.
 
Aunt Marg said:
This time of year it would, because it would draw from the dish which would freeze, unless you were using an electric heated dish, but those solar-powered little fountains are great from spring until fall, because the sound of water draws birds in.
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Ok, thank you. They are back this morning! So glad to see them eating and mingling.
 
fancicoffee13 said:
Yes it is. I had parakeets for awhile, but I didn't interact with them much. I found them a lovely home. I love interacting and watching these outside birds more so.
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I wouldn't be a good candidate for a bird inside the home, they require unlimited attention and time, whereas wild birds come and go as they please, and that appeals to me more knowing wild birds are free.
 
fancicoffee13 said:
looking forward to Spring so I can see all the little finches and the red breasted ones with a red head.
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Those would most likely be either house finches, or purple finches.

Just curious, Are you in northern Texas or southern Texas, FanciCoffee?
The climates would be significantly different, I assume, though I am in Northern USA.
 
Marg, do you get those small perky junco's up there , farther North than me?

They are cute ground feeders, who come in our winters.
 
Kaila said:
Marg, do you get those small perky junco's up there , farther North than me?

They are cute ground feeders, who come in our winters.
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Oh, yes, we sure do, Kaila!

The males are so aggressive towards one another in the spring when looking to establish their territory and find a female.
 
juliet799 said:
I enjoy bird watching through the window so I put a bird feeder pole outside our kitchen window so I can watch blue jays and hummingbirds real close. That great to see colorful birds dropping by during the day at your house.
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I love watching them also. I have two plate feeders on the ground for the ring necked doves and cowbirds and two finch feeders hanging up above. They start appearing about 8:30 in the morning on the telephone wires and then I get out there and talk to them and feed them. They just sit up there looking down at me. So, far I have about 5 different kinds of birds that stop by and feed.
 
fancicoffee13 said:
I love watching them also. I have two plate feeders on the ground for the ring necked doves and cowbirds and two finch feeders hanging up above. They start appearing about 8:30 in the morning on the telephone wires and then I get out there and talk to them and feed them. They just sit up there looking down at me. So, far I have about 5 different kinds of birds that stop by and feed.
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Sibley's and Audubon are two excellent names to look for if ever you are interested in acquiring a birders identification guide.

Peterson and Kaufman also offer identification guides.
 
bird.jpg
Credit: Melody Mellinger who says

I have been watching, feeding, and photographing the Eastern Bluebirds that nest on our property for the past five years. Finally, in Spring of 2020 I was able to capture this sweet, courtship moment of the male bringing his mate a tasty morsel; or in this case, a beak full of mealworms from the nearby feeder!
 
snowy owl.jpg
Snowy Owl in Central Park

On January 27, a crowd gathered in New York’s Central Park to see a rare spectacle: a snowy owl that made a pit stop at the North Meadow baseball and softball diamonds.

Reports of the Central Park owl began to spread on Wednesday morning, and the birder who runs the Twitter account Manhattan Bird Alert amplified the message to over 38,000 followers just after 10:30 am. That’s when crowds converged. Luckily for the owl, the baseball fields it picked that day had been fenced off to let grass regrow, which kept onlookers at a respectful distance. Urban Park Rangers managed the crowd, and just one photographer crossed a line in pursuit of a birds-eye view.



https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/snowy-owl-stops-central-park-first-time-1890-180976882/
 
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