Any birders out there?

I tried to be a birder twelve or fifteen years ago. I tried again six or eight years ago.
Bought field glasses, camera, loaded up on bird feed. What do I have to show for it?
An old camera, old field glasses, no pictures. Happy birds and tired old me.

I had one hummingbird show up in all the time I tried, time and again. A two tone grey.
He wasn't very pretty. Expect he didn't think I was either. He never tarried very long.
 
I enjoy watching birds and put out two hummingbird feeders every year when the Ruby Throated one start their migration. We always wind up with a full time resident near the front feeder outside the kitchen window and a full time resident in the backyard. They are very territorial about "their" feeder.

In the backyard we keep a seed feeder, and a suet feeder loaded all year around.

We had an English Setter for many years and she was a devoted bird watcher. When we hiked in the woods, she was not the least bit interested in deer, squirrels, foxes, snakes or anything else. When I tried to point them out, she would give me that "I am not that kind of girl" look and continue walking. When she died, we named her favorite bird feeder "The Bea Memorial Feeder" and I am duty bound to keep it loaded in her memory.
 

I don't make an effort to watch every day but I do keep the binoculars right by the bay window for any type of wild life I see. We had a Ruby throated Grosbeak stop by the feeder early each spring. I haven't seen him in awhile. I also counted 4 species of woodpeckers.
We have hawks,turkeys, vultures and many of the smaller birds. Pretty Cardinals and a few Blue birds also.
Our Humming birds aren't that pretty either.
 
I don't put out feeders, but I get a lot of birds in my back and front yard and I like to watch them, except for the crows and magpies that can be very aggressive. When we go camping I often have binoculars to see interesting birds better. When the sun shines on our taillight lens on our truck, hummingbirds are always attracted and hover around our camper.
 
I used to put out a bird feeder when I had a nice porch but don't anymore..no porch. However the managers and others here put out bird feeders in front of the buildings. There are all sorts of birds flocking to this place...such cuties too!

I sometimes look out my back window at the birds in the big tree behind. I also sometime throw out leftover pizza crusts for them to the roof and then they spar over it! 😄 😊
 
Fed the birds in the yard for many years until the missus became allergic to their mites. We counted over 50 different species that came to our feeders, natives and migrants, and participated in the Cornell feeder census twice. Can't have the feeders anymore, but we still enjoy watching and identifying the birds in our neighborhood...including a pair of red-tailed hawks that have been around for a couple of years now...
 
I'm probably in the minority regarding Magpies. They are one of my favourite birds from my years in Australia. They are saucy and very smart. One flew into the caravan and sat behind me, waiting for a bit of chicken while I made sandwiches. It kept coming back. Cheeky little thing!
 
We've had a place set up in the back yard that has both bird, n' hummingbird feeders. It's mostly been Mrs. Hazy's project over the years but I'll pitch in when needed. Also put in a shallow concrete bird bath which I have to keep an eye on. The sun will heat up the concrete and dry up the water really fast ..
 
I feed the hummingbirds every year. At times I have had 3 feeders, separated of course. Try to get some pictures of them....lol.
They even tell me the food is low, my desk faces a lake window and I hang a feeder there. Last two years a male will hover in the window
watching me. When I look up he would go up to the feeder then right back down to look at me again. They are so curious, and friendly once they settle in.
 
I have 4 feeders in my garden... and a bird bath and fountain. We don't get exotic birds here but we do get ground feeders , The robins, Blackbirds , the wood pigeons and collared doves... and the vastly superiorly intelligent Jays , goldfinches, blue-tits, sparrows, Blackcaps, Long-tailed tits, all feed at the feeders, ( murdering starlings are blocked from getting into the feeders.. )... Kites fly above and swoop down silently on the small mammals like voles, .. Murdering Sparrowhawks, swoop onto the screaming pigeons .. and magpies galore in the Mature trees in their hundreds (noisy sods) .....and occasional crows. Mainly woodland birds because we have large woodland close to our house
 
I've just started up with a new set of feeders. I used to feed the birds here, then it just petered out over the years. Now it's back with a passion. I have two regular feeders (one with finch seed, one with nyger). I refuse to have sunflower seeds near these ones because the blue jays are very bold and chase the other birds off. I may set up a feeder for them in the distance at a later date. I also have a hummingbird feeder I just set up today. We have a lot of hummingbirds here, and they're saucy. They'll fly right up to us when we sit outside and scare us (we also have a lot of hornets, so the buzzing is startling). The resin bird bath I just set up has attracted an amazing following. :)

Plus the usual hawks, turkey vultures, and bald eagles on occasion.

We have a large pond, so it attracts plenty of waterfowl: mergansers, mallards, eiders, Canada geese, cormorants (thankfully rarely), and occasionally, loons. We have a resident blue heron that stays until autumn. The most thrilling bird I've seen down there once was a white egret. For me to get any decent photos, I would need something better than my phone, sadly.
 
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Hi, Jane and welcome to the forum. :)

Thank you for that nice and pleasant, and interesting post of yours.
You have a terrific location and environment for bird watching....it sounds great.

I love to see any wild birds that come in sight of my windows!
I see a lot of American Goldfinches.... and Cardinals....Nuthatches.... woodpecker varieties....and others.

In many years past, i did see some of the birds that you named,
in marshes or in the woods, or in lakes.

I did see hummingbirds here, in recent years, but none came this year, I don't know why,
but I missed them.
 
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.
 
I can't say I'm a "birder" since I am not a bird encyclopedia like some enthusiasts. I have a home-made feeder in back hanging from a clothes line just high enough so squirrels can't jump up to it, but they will climb the poles and dangle from the line to get to the feeder. I have to get a squirrel baffle.

Mostly I'm getting song sparrows with sunflower seed now with the occasional cardinal. Once in a while blue jay "raiders" visit but don't stay long.

In the winter I get juncos using seed mix in a ground feeder.

I get some I see very infrequently so I have to look them up.
 
I am partially a "birder" or bird fan. I started by buying two feeders and the sparrows really love those, then I got another one because so many doves and grackles and cowboy birds showed up. However, they are too big for the feeders so, I put out feed for them on the ground in planter bottoms and old iron skillets. I also bought a bird bath and keep clean water in it. I feed them once a day in the morning. I have seen a blue jay and roadrunner stop buy. Now, I have my usual crowd of birds that count on coming every morning for breakfast. Now, I don't know what to expect in the colder weather. Plus, I don't know whether to put out a bird house. We have trees around our apartments and we had plenty of baby birds this past Spring show up and get fed by the mother birds. I just love watching them in the morning and evening.
 
Plus, I really LOVE your thread about birders. It gives me other posters to say what they are doing and things they share here. That helps a lot. So, Thank You!
 
Oh, you are so welcome! When I saw this post, it just excited me! I love watching the many birds, but don't know how to atract others like finches, and my hummingbird feeder got blown down and it was glass so it crashed and no more.
Finches like niger seed and millet more than any other type of seed. You can get special feeders for them.
You can also get hard plastic feeders for the hummingbirds. Watching birds is very relaxing and enjoyable
 
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Oh, you are so welcome! When I saw this post, it just excited me! I love watching the many birds, but don't know how to atract others like finches, and my hummingbird feeder got blown down and it was glass so it crashed and no more.
There's a general rule of thumb in the birding world, the 3 things or requirements rule in order to draw-in birds to visit.

Food, trees, and water. Over and above those 3 main things, knowing which birds are ground feeders and which aren't, also helps.
 
There's a general rule of thumb in the birding world, the 3 things or requirements rule in order to draw-in birds to visit.

Food, trees, and water. Over and above those 3 main things, knowing which birds are ground feeders and which aren't, also helps.
Thank you Aunt Marg! I figured the doves and grackles were ground feeders, so they get fed there. I love reading other posts, it helps a lot. Thank you.
 


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