Feeding The local Birds
- Thread starter PeppermintPatty
- Start date
PeppermintPatty
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That’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing it. I will do that this winter.
So beautiful, I love hummers, sadly I have not seen any in the past week, but I know they are also fed by many of my neighbours.
I do that as well.
oscash
Member
- Location
- Sydney - Australia
My husband used to love feeding the pigeons in our back yard. It was like an Alfred Hitchcock movie scene, "The Birds." Every morning and afternoon there they were there sitting on the fence, waiting, waiting. There was a great flutter and feathers flying everywhere and then they were gone. After my husband died, I never went outside to feed them, and they were gone forever. I think they sensed that he was never coming back. When this happened the rats never came back as well. Good riddance to them, they were disgusting.
MarkD
Keeper of the Hounds & Garden
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
I"m hearing the theme song for Mission Impossible.
I've avoided using feeders in hopes of growing enough useful plants that they wouldn't be missed. But beyond that we just don't have views into the garden from the house so we're not missing intimate views. But I'm enjoying seeing and learning about what I'm missing out on.
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Naturally
Senior Member
- Location
- Corner of Walk 'n Don't Walk
I bought a 5 Pound Bag Of Peanuts for squirrels but Cardinals and Blue Jays hit it harder than the squirrels.
I only put some out every few days ... and 5 pounds of peanuts is a lot of peanuts that last a good long while.
On the back of the package it states, "This product is only intended for feeding wild birds and wildlife."
It's a great source of protein, fat and crude fiber for them.
I only put some out every few days ... and 5 pounds of peanuts is a lot of peanuts that last a good long while.
On the back of the package it states, "This product is only intended for feeding wild birds and wildlife."
It's a great source of protein, fat and crude fiber for them.
PeppermintPatty
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It’s too early here also. Those pics are from last year. We don’t get them here until May-ish. We do track their migratory flight from the Gulf of Mexico though. The hummers are the most entertaining bird of all the ones we get.
PeppermintPatty
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So sorry for your loss. If nobody is feeding them, they leave quickly and it’s true that the food attracts unwanted animals. We store ours in the garage which is quite a ways from the house.
PeppermintPatty
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The jays love peanuts
as do the squirrels. At our old house we used to feed them nuts with the shell on them. The jays are the only birds that act like you’re trying to steal their food. Plus they are really loud. My husband once asked his father how he could stand the noise from city traffic and his answer was how do you handle those squawking blue jays. Lol They can be excessively loud.
Our chippies loved the peanuts
So much so, I built a little chipnic table
Fun watching their deshelling process
The little connoisseurs would turn it all around, sniff and turn
Then start on the desired end
Widow of Vietnam Vet
Member
- Location
- Cohocton NY
I just saw some chickadees at my feeder and yesterday a large Blue jay was eating there- but I have to empty the feed for them as this time of year the bears come out. There is a bear den on the hill that is next to mine. One year I saw the mother and two cubs run out of the den.
Bears can smell seeds from a distance they say- but I think they watch where the birds land to feed. A bear tore up my metal suet feeder like it was plastic, years ago.
Bears can smell seeds from a distance they say- but I think they watch where the birds land to feed. A bear tore up my metal suet feeder like it was plastic, years ago.
Same here
demolished it like it was made of straw
...along with the 5 gal bucket of cracked corn
Tore the sealed lid off
tipped over the bucket
laid on his stomach
and shoveled it in
then moseyed off
JBR
Senior Member
Yes, we've been feeding birds during the year, provided indications are that bears likely won't come in for the suet or sunflower seeds. At our feeders, we get mostly chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinches, pine siskins, Stellar's jays, and red-shafted flickers. Very occasionally a red-wing blackbird. (Ravens also come in, but only to raid our compost piles.)
We've also at times put up a hummingbird feeder, although in the last few years they'll come into our side garden or onto our deck for red-colored flowers.
Some years ago our MaineCoon cat liked to hunt a bird now & then, but he's always been far more interested in catching mice. On the basis of evidence, the cat's ratio of mice killed to birds, overall, has been roughly 15:1 (maybe even 20:1). Two or three years back, he occasionally caught a hummingbird on the deck... seemed to be just a phase, as apparently he's quit doing it.
We've also at times put up a hummingbird feeder, although in the last few years they'll come into our side garden or onto our deck for red-colored flowers.
Some years ago our MaineCoon cat liked to hunt a bird now & then, but he's always been far more interested in catching mice. On the basis of evidence, the cat's ratio of mice killed to birds, overall, has been roughly 15:1 (maybe even 20:1). Two or three years back, he occasionally caught a hummingbird on the deck... seemed to be just a phase, as apparently he's quit doing it.
