Thread: The Birds

Real nice photos, Ketchn! I have to reload the feeders this morning. 50s out there right now and a quick freeze kamakazi coming tonight into the 30s. With all of our rain there will no doubt be black ice out there everywhere. A good night to stay in.
Bob

21 here with a 3 or 4 inches of snow , Texas is really unpredictable .....we were a balmy sunshined all up and 70 plus less than 5 days ago

Awesome photos!!!! We tried feeding birds one time and just created really aggressive and crazy squirrels instead.

I like to feed the finches that visit here in Florida every Winter. They can really pig out. I found that the expensive niger seed is not what they really want. They want millet, like in parakeet seed. So I slop them with that and man do they fight at the feeder. My flock has about 30 or so birds and they will visit and leave, visit and leave all day long. The dove come in good numbers to waddle about below the feeder and gobble what had been wasted by the finches. If I was a finch I would want to leave Pennsylvania and visit the nice man in Florida for the Winter. Yeah, good stuff.

My suet feeders just get nasty so I stopped putting them out. The squirrels are always competitive for seeds and such but I have outsmarted them. Hung it from a tree limb. Too high to jump up from the ground, and too far down to get aboard from up in the tree. They too are reduced to exploring under the feeder.

I was concerned that the seed might attract rats, coons or possum, but so far it doesn’t seem to be the case. What lands usually gets eaten pretty quickly.

Seed can be expensive, but I get enjoyment from providing it to the birds. Surely God has provided for them, but I am kind of like a supplement. Get them fattened up and ready to head North come Spring. I always wondered if the birds I see each Winter are the same ones coming back or if they are all new each year. Once the feeder is found they do not venture very far away. I stop feeding next month to encourage them to make their migration in a timely fashion. they make their move according to the availability of food along the way. Too early and they don’t make it, too late and they don’t make it. Wild seeds and such along the trip are very necessary, and I don’t want them hanging at my dump eating for free, when they should be on the road getting ready to make a nest and get busy.

We have sandhill cranes all Winter down here. They fly from great distances up North to come eat our bugs. Lots of pairs with a baby about the area. They make a loud noise as they fly, and an even louder one if you get too close to that baby. A challenge will ensue pretty quickly if you dare. I acted like I was sneaking up, hunched over and moving slowly, why you would have thought I was some sort of idiot had you been within sight. Them things are vicious. Anyways they leave in March, too. Go outside and you can hear them when they are migrating. A few stay year round and that’s fine I guess.

Our area used to be along a major flight path for ducks and geese. Not so much these days, but the old timers tell stories of what they saw. Huge flocks and they would shoot and shoot all day. Now from those same locations you might hear six shots all day. The birds ventured away and changed their flight path. I suppose they discovered a food item being planted at some farm and that was what altered the course. We planted food for doves and saw how they would hit those fields. I imagine Texas has a lot of doves.

So tell me. Did you ever get that big buck you wanted ?

Beautiful photos Ketch. We feed here too. Just peeked outside and the feeders are getting lots of business in the ice.

Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Awesome photos!!!! We tried feeding birds one time and just created really aggressive and crazy squirrels instead.

when the undesirables show up ,we chase them off , squirrels bring lots of fleas and my dogs really don't like them or the fleas
yes that is crunchy peanut butter smeared on the tree btw

I've had up to 17 species of birds in one day at my feeders in the spring time. I only feed sunflower and suet. The undesirable birds, blue jays, are too lazy to feed heavy on the sunflower seeds. Daily I have 4 species of woodpeckers feeding on suet. My favorite is the majestic Pileated Woodpecker.

Originally Posted by Micanopy

I like to feed the finches that visit here in Florida every Winter. They can really pig out. I found that the expensive niger seed is not what they really want. They want millet, like in parakeet seed. So I slop them with that and man do they fight at the feeder. My flock has about 30 or so birds and they will visit and leave, visit and leave all day long. The dove come in good numbers to waddle about below the feeder and gobble what had been wasted by the finches. If I was a finch I would want to leave Pennsylvania and visit the nice man in Florida for the Winter. Yeah, good stuff.

My suet feeders just get nasty so I stopped putting them out. The squirrels are always competitive for seeds and such but I have outsmarted them. Hung it from a tree limb. Too high to jump up from the ground, and too far down to get aboard from up in the tree. They too are reduced to exploring under the feeder.

I was concerned that the seed might attract rats, coons or possum, but so far it doesn’t seem to be the case. What lands usually gets eaten pretty quickly.

Seed can be expensive, but I get enjoyment from providing it to the birds. Surely God has provided for them, but I am kind of like a supplement. Get them fattened up and ready to head North come Spring. I always wondered if the birds I see each Winter are the same ones coming back or if they are all new each year. Once the feeder is found they do not venture very far away. I stop feeding next month to encourage them to make their migration in a timely fashion. they make their move according to the availability of food along the way. Too early and they don’t make it, too late and they don’t make it. Wild seeds and such along the trip are very necessary, and I don’t want them hanging at my dump eating for free, when they should be on the road getting ready to make a nest and get busy.

We have sandhill cranes all Winter down here. They fly from great distances up North to come eat our bugs. Lots of pairs with a baby about the area. They make a loud noise as they fly, and an even louder one if you get too close to that baby. A challenge will ensue pretty quickly if you dare. I acted like I was sneaking up, hunched over and moving slowly, why you would have thought I was some sort of idiot had you been within sight. Them things are vicious. Anyways they leave in March, too. Go outside and you can hear them when they are migrating. A few stay year round and that’s fine I guess.

Our area used to be along a major flight path for ducks and geese. Not so much these days, but the old timers tell stories of what they saw. Huge flocks and they would shoot and shoot all day. Now from those same locations you might hear six shots all day. The birds ventured away and changed their flight path. I suppose they discovered a food item being planted at some farm and that was what altered the course. We planted food for doves and saw how they would hit those fields. I imagine Texas has a lot of doves.

So tell me. Did you ever get that big buck you wanted ?

I think so , there was some doubt though ,as right after the harvest , 2 days later another one that was a slightly larger twin showed up on our cameras .
you might want to try thistle feeders for the finches , they tend to really lose it over thistle seeds
this area don't seem to have goldfinches and the purple finches dont hang around at our house .
but both of those are pretty common in the winter in and around here .
we saw a pair of purple finches in the park the other day .