I've been doing this for 3 years now and it's been a lot of fun. I've always fed the birds and knew what species they were, but it's great to help out the Cornell folks to give them data to crunch to find out where our feathered friends are.

Claire, Just make sure you are careful about the screen you build. I actually had to remove some shrubs so the feeder birds had a "bolt" hole to escape the Sharp-Shinned Hawk that made my yard part of his hangout. He would use my house and garage as a visual shield and then swoop around it, catching the smaller birds unaware. Now he has a much harder time of catching them or maybe I should say I give the feeder birds a fighting chance.

Tim

Hi Claire,

Thanks for this information. I feed the birds and, like you, have found that Birding is a natural fit with gardening. The two go hand in hand. This year I am going to particiapte in the 'Christmas Count'. It sounds simalar to Project Feederwatch. People watch for birds in their given area and report the number of birds and the types of birds they see. I heard about it through Vern Locks who is the Ornathologist on the Cape and Islands NPR radio station. It will be a new experiance for me.

This year I made a fountain for my deck. I put it among my hanging pots of Impatients and the birds loved it! I made it using a $19.00 water pump, two large flower pots, rocks and stones I found in the yard and a 20ft extention cord. I made it so the water bubbled up through the pots, just above the level of the stones and splashed down the sides of the pots. The Black Cap Chickadees loved it. Several of them would que up in the brances of the forsythia bushes and wait for their turn to splash in the water. This Christmas I have requested a heated bird bath so they can have water all winter. Having birds around keeps plants picked clean of bugs.

One bush I have found that attracts birds is Box Wood. We have a few large ones along the side of our drive and the Cardinals love them. The bushes have formed a thicket which offers the cover they need. Carninals also like to nest in areas like that. Holly is also good, also forming dense growth which offers protection. Even Privit. I never knew that Privit flowers. On the Cape it blooms around the 4th of July. It gives off a sweet aroma that fills the air. All three of these stay green all year. I think I'm right on the names of these...yikes...I should have checked. I'm sure someone will let me know if I'm wrong.

Anyway, the birds love bushes that stay green all year and offer cover and protection from larger birds. Hawks are beautiful birds and need to eat, but they can do very well out in the open fields. I don't care to witness 'the hunt' in my own back yard. Ohoo...I almost forgot. This year I also want to get a roosting box so the birds can stay warm when it's cold. Cavity nesters, Chickadees, Titmouse, Blue Birds will all use a roosting box.

Enjoy the birds!

Sooey

Hello, all.
My children and I are interested in feeding (and watching) birds. Can you recommend a good website with info on siting feeders, what type of feed to provide, and other basic know-how? Any favorite bird feeder makers or vendors?
Thanks,
ML

Hi mayalena,

There are lots of good sites you can check out. I get lots of information at the Cornell web site. Try www.birds.cornell.edu I go there when I have questions about what food will attract which birds. They even have different feeders for different seeds. It's easy to navigate and even has links to their nest webcams each spring. You can watch all sorts of birds nesting. If you are lucky you can watch as the baby birds hatch.

You can also try www.massbirds.com I think thats right. If it's not, google it. Even here at Garden Web you can check out Nature Net. They have information on birding.

Have fun.

Sooey

Alas! Where I live all I will get are house sparrows, starlings, and rats.......

Tim:

Ouch! On Tuesday I was at the computer and I glanced out the window and saw a small hawk, I think a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk, land on the porch railing less than ten feet away from me. Naturally I couldn't get the camera operating in time before it casually flew away. I'll have to rethink my barrier.

The other hawks here seem to dive-bomb from the tall trees on one side of the house.

Hey Sooey:

It sounds like you're settled into Brewster - so you'll probably lose your first peeper status. I hope you'll keep up the Peeper Watch anyway.

Mayalena:

Project Feederwatch is on the Cornell site that Sooey recommends and they have a section on bird feeders, etc.

About Birds & Bird Feeding

York rose:

You never know what birds may be lurking in the city - particularly if there are parks nearby. As for the rats, think of them as skinny-tailed squirrels. At least they probably won't climb the trees and take Hail Mary leaps to get onto the feeders like my squirrels do.

Claire

Hi york,

Have you tried putting out a different feed in a different feeder. Try some thisel in a thisel tub feeder. I don't think Sparrows will eat it, and the starlings are too big to sit on feeder bar. Not perfect, but it might help.

Can't help with the rats...

Sooey

Hi Claire,

Yes, we are working on moving into Brewster full time. Getting rid of 22 years worth of 'stuff' and trying to get ready for a move, is a huge job. It's not fun but it must be done. Yep, I fear I will be forced to give up my 'first peeper' status. In fact, once I'm in Brewster, I'll have get into my car and drive down the street and around the corner before I'll be close enough to hear them at all...bummer. Here in CT all I have to do is open my slider door and I am surrounded by that sweet sound.

I have looked at the Feeder Watch info at the Cornell site and will join tomorrow. It sounds wonderful. Can't wait to get my poster! Thanks again for the info.

Sooey

york rose,
My dh insists that a rat is a squirrel with his city coat on. kt

Just to give an idea of what to expect, this week's count shows the typical number and species of birds I get. None of these are unusual for my location.

The count shows the highest number of birds seen at one time during a two day period.

3 blue jays
7 cardinals
23 mourning doves
1 chickadee
2 tufted titmice
11 house sparrows
2 song sparrows
5 white-throated sparrows
1 downy woodpecker
3 house finches
3 goldfinches
4 crows
1 white breasted nuthatch
2 robins
1 northern flicker

If it's like last year, the blue jays will start massing in late winter - my greatest number was 28 in one day! and the cardinals and house sparrows will easily double in number. I'm sure other people here have much more impressive tallies.

Claire

Hi Claire,

Great numbers! You have a good variety of birds. From looking at your list I can see that, even though we live within 50 miles (?) of each other, our birds are much the same, but different in number. In Brewster, we have a great number of Chickadees, Titmouse, Nuthatch, House Finches, Goldfinches, flickers. We get Sparrows but I can not yet tell the difference between the Song Sparrows and the White-throated Sparrows. I make sure to keep the House Sparrows away. We get a lot of Cardinals but I don't think my count would be as high as 7. I might see 5 Mourning Doves but I don't think I would see even two Blue Jays. I hear the Crows and can see them up in the trees, but we have more cover than they like. How many feeders do you have and what food do you offer?

I just finished the process of joining Project Feederwatch. I look forward to getting my packet so I can start counting.

Keep counting and, enjoy!

Sooey

This is Project Feederwatch at our house.

{{gwi:1098608}}

Mostly we get chicadees and titmice with various finches showing up later on. Occassionally bluejays and flickers. It's a squirrel-proof feeder that works much better for smaller birds.

Sooey:

You're about 50 to 60 miles by car and 25 to 30 miles by boat (or wing) straight across the Bay.

One good thing about Feederwatch is that having to identify the birds forces you to dig into the field guide. After one year I'm much better at little brown birds, but only the common ones. Unless your eyes are a lot sharper than mine, a pair of field glasses really helps with the sparrows.

This was my very first flicker! I've had downy woodpeckers all year, and last winter a couple of red-bellied woodpeckers.

I don't mind the house sparrows, they make a perky twitter in the brush and the native sparrows are on a different schedule. There are a lot of crows in the woods, but a team of four have adopted the feeders. A crow on a suet feeder is a startling sight. They seem to act as a hawk warning system by screaming and alerting the little birds.

I have a hopper feeder and a suet feeder both on a shepherd's hook, a tube feeder hanging from an arbor and I spread bird feed on the ground for the ground feeders. I have squirrel baffles on the shepherd's hook and arbor. They work pretty well but sometimes fail a determined squirrel assault.

I use a combination of black oil sunflower seed and cracked corn for the birds and I'll sometimes toss corn cobs for the squirrels.

I'd use thistle seed as well for the finches but my next door neighbor has a thistle seed feeder and I don't want to compete.

Claire

Great photo mad gallica!

I have a similar photo from years back showing my cat slavering after a pigeon on the fire escape.

Claire

We have fed the birds for quite a few years now. In the beginning we had a lot of problems with squirrels and sparrows eating all the food, but never even mice, let alone rats! That is where I would draw the line. I just couldn't stand them.

I did have one of those spring loaded feeders that squirrels couldn't get into, but the spring broke too soon and it was expensive. Tried a second spring loaded one that was inexpensive and that lasted two years and the spring broke. I did a search for a good feeder and after looking at some specialty shops with specialty prices, I found a great one at Lowes for about $40. It was a three tube feeder that came with a pole and held a lot of seed...maybe 12 pounds? It is very easy to fill as well.

I also got that book out of the library called 'Squirrel Wars'. Very funny and fascinating. I got enough tips reading it to turn the tide. [g] The best one was to only offer safflower seed, as they hate it. Sure enough, I saw many squirrels approach the feeder, examine it closely and turn their nose up at it. Now they don't even bother with it. So two tubes have safflower and one has thistle. Squirrels don't bother with that either. The Lowes feeder has an adjustment that allows you to even use thistle.

I used to offer corn and tried mixed seed...wow..does that attract squirrels. I imagine that is a problem with mice and rats too. I thought I needed corn for the mourning doves that I love, but turns out they love safflower. I counted 15 doves at one time in the yard in September. We also have one squirrel proof feeder to offer sunflower seed. We replaced the spring type with the type with the feeder inside a cage with small openings that they can't get into. They do sit under it and catch what falls though, and one chipmunk started showing up this year.

Last week, it was quiet in the house and I heard this sudden rush of wings and looked up in time to see a mourning dove flying directly away from my bedroom window. I went back to what I was doing, but I was wondering what that was all about. Then I thought, oh, what if there was a cat out there, as it was odd that I didn't even hear the usual sound the dove makes when it took off. So I went to the window and looking out saw no bird in sight and it was perfectly still and quiet. I thought maybe I had missed some problem and just as I was about to go back to what I was doing, a hawk flew directly in front of me about 8ft away. It took me a minute to realize what it was but I could see it land in a tree. Went to get the binoculars and watched it for about 5 minutes before it flew away. This was only the second time in 10 years, that I have seen a hawk in the yard.

All day long there was barely a bird in the yard. I have felt so bad for attracting the hawk with the feeders, that I haven't filled them all week and have barely noticed a bird in the yard. I am sure I will go back to feeding soon, I just wanted to give it a rest for awhile so the hawk wouldn't think he had found a perfect hunting ground. I will be keeping my eye out just to make sure that it doesn't become an ongoing problem. I do have hopes though that it will work itself out. The hawk appeared to go away empty handed and since it is only the second time we have had one, I am not too worried about it.

I would hate to give up the feeders as I would really miss the birds and our yard doesn't really have enough berries etc to attract them right now. I may have to miss the feederwatch project this year though.

:-)

Oh My...Mad...what a great picture. I'll bet those cats can sit there for hours, swishing their tails. I like your wall paper.

Claire, I have two tube feeders, one for thistle and the other for sunflower seeds. I feed Thistle for the Finches, Chickidees, Titmouse and flickers. The other tube feeder has black oil sunflower or safflower seeds. I try to control the squirrels the best I can. They can emptly a feeder in a day. I am trying safflower seeds for the first time. I am told that it is a favorite of the Cardinals and that the squirrels don't like it as much. I also have a window feeder, the type that fits into an open window and the birds come into it to feed. They really don't like it, so I haven't had much luck with it.

This winter I would like to attract Blue Birds. I hope the heated bird bath will do the trick. I have them in CT by the hundreds. There, I have a Blue Bird box at the back of our yard and over the past several years they have had several broods. I've seen them at the house in Brewster but not very many and never during the winter.

I do what I can to keep the House Sparrows away. I have seen them kill both Blue birds and Chickadees. HS are not a fav of mine.

Keep on counting...

Sooey

Sooey:

I'm very surprised that you've seen house sparrows kill bluebirds and chickadees.

The house sparrows here are very skittish (probably because of the hawks) and I've never seen any aggressive behavior. In fact, it's very hard to count them because they're always flying back and forth in panic.

I've never even seen a bluebird, except the junior Camp Fire Girls type (I was one myself).

The squirrel baffles I'm using are the cone shaped type:

squirrel baffles

I wouldn't mind if the squirrels just ate and left, but one of them started draping itself over the hopper feeder for hours and snacking away. None of the birds could eat while the squirrel was there. I can tell when the ground feed has been eaten up because the squirrels desperately start attacking the baffles. I just throw some more feed on the ground and they calm down.

I haven't tried safflower seed - I spend enough money on the sunflower seed and cracked corn.

I'll feed pretty much anything that shows up in the winter, so long as it doesn't try to eat the other visitors (no hawks, coyotes, etc.).

Claire

Have you tried putting out a different feed in a different feeder. Try some thisel in a thisel tub feeder. I don't think Sparrows will eat it

Yes, I thought so too. My second winter here I put out a thistle sock on my deck, and for a month or so it worked. I got some house finches to hang out nearby - and then I noticed they weren't around anymore.

I then realized a mob of house sparrows had learned the trick............

Hi Claire,

Yes, House Sparrows, Chickadees and Blue Birds are all cavities nesters. The male HS will kill any birds, distroy any eggs and kill any babies he finds in a nest cavity that is in his area. He will do this even if he already has a female in an established nest in a different location. I have watched it happen, helpless to stop it, from my windows. It breaks my heart when I have to clean out a bird house with a dead Chickadee in it who had been siting on a clutch of eggs, all broken, because she had been atacked by a male HS. Once I realized what was happening I installed a Chickadee portal on the bird house so the fat little HS can not fit in. But even that does not stop the HS from trying. It has happened to my Blues only once, but once was enough. Last spring I watched two male HS gang up on a poor little Chickadee. They forced it to the ground and pecked and pecked and pecked it until I ran toward them, yelling and waving my arms, the Chickadee got away. During the nesting season HS are mean. mean. mean. No...I do not like HS...not even a little...

The squirrels are another problem. They drape themselves from the top to the bottom of my tube feeder and eat until it's gone. I do not have any baffles. We have so many trees that the squirrels can just jump down from above. I need to control them by the food that I offer.

I offered safflower for the first time last Wednesday. It was not until Monday that I noticed a squirrel eating away. I had to leave for CT that afternoon so I do not know what has been happening since I left. My husband is in charge when I'm not there. I hope the safflower seed workes because I want the Cardinals. I don't mind the cost if the squirrels will leave it alone. I stay away from corn beacuse of the squirrels and HS.

Now, I need to go upstairs to start painting. If we want this house listed by mid January I must get busy!

Sooey

Hi york...

Yikes...I hate to hear that...I must stay on my toes...

Sooey

Sooey:

We have a lot of chickadees around here but mostly they stay in the woods. I hear them in the summer, but they don't come to the feeders, probably because there's plenty of food out there. Same with the titmice.

In the winter they'll start coming here to feed. I've seen 5 at one time, but usually they alternate. The point is that there's plenty of nesting space here so they probably don't compete with the house sparrows.

Thinking about it, there was an incident last spring when a nearby song sparrow nest was decimated by unknown perpetrators. It could have been the house sparrows.

I'm not going to hate house sparrows for defending their territory, just as I can't hate hawks for eating birds. Although I haven't forgiven the red-tailed hawk for eating my baby towhee.

Claire

Hi Claire,

I have and update on the safflower/squirrel question. When I returned to the Cape on Wednesday, the tube feeder with the safflower was not empty. That had been 10 days and the feeder was down by 2/3. If that had been sunflower seed it would have been empty on day 2...make that the morning of day 2. So, I would say that our squirrls do not care for safflower seeds.

But, on the other hand...the feeder was only 2/3 down after 10 days !?! Do any birds really LOVE safflower seeds? Hummmmmm....

I haven't gotten my FeederWatch stuff yet. It looks like I won't be able to get started until after the holidays. :(

Sooey

Sooey:

They usually say that the birds can be "trained" to eat safflower seed. Sounds to me as if they don't really like it but will eat the stuff if necessary.

Another reason why I haven't bothered.

Claire

Sooey, I suspect it happened because of where I live. I live right in Lynn, just one lot off the ocean. It's as urban as can be so you're not talking about an environment friendly to many of the birds one typically draws to a feeder. I would imagine that in the area you live house sparrows probably would never bother with thistle seed. They are usually especially fond of it and there's too much else around to eat for most house sparrows to want to try and figure it out.

I doubt that's as true where I live.

I think when I first started using safflower seed, I may have had that experience of the feeder being slow to empty, but it has been a few years since I started using it and that is no longer the case. My 3 tube 10 lb feeder has 2 safflower and 1 thistle and sometimes it is empty in 5 days.

I have the following birds eating at the safflower feeder

mourning doves
cardinals
chickadees
juncos
titmice

I have other birds on that feeder, but it has one tube of thistle, so I am not sure they are eating the safflower. The mourning doves hang around that feeder off and on all day. I have no idea which seed they are eating but I am surprised, because I thought they liked other food. Cardinals love safflower seed and the chickadees are on it all day off and on. I have seen them both eating the safflower so I know that is what they are eating. I also have lots of finches that are eating the thistle. And although it is reported blue jays don't eat safflower, I have seen them on my feeder a few times this past fall.
This is pasted from another website..
One of my favorite seeds for birds is safflower, a white seed, slightly smaller than a black sunflower seed. Squirrels don't like it. Neither do grackles, blue jays, or starlings. (I did, however, once watch an overworked mother starling stuff safflower seeds into the mouths of four nearly-grown babies that were screaming for food. The adult wouldn't eat it herself, but it shut the kids up.)

I bit into a safflower seed myself once and found it extremely bitter. Cardinals, titmice, chickadees, and downy woodpeckers munch it like candy, though, so I keep a good supply available on the platform feeder. The squirrels don't bother to climb up there any more.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I also noticed one site reported that some squirrels like safflower and some don't. My experience is with gray tailed squirrels, I don't know about other types, but they really really don't eat the safflower seed or the thistle and leave that 3 tube feeder completely alone. I used to have a problem with the squirrels all over my feeders when I had nothing but sunflower. I do still offer sunflower in a squirrel proof feeder and get lots of other birds there too.

If it wasn't for safflower seed, I may have stopped feeding birds as the squirrels were making such a nuisance of themselves.

:-)

Hi Kids,

This morning, 3 days after filling my tube feeder with safflower seeds, it is down by 1/2 and the tube feeder with thistle is down only 1/4. I watch the birds at both feeders off and on all day. I have noticed lots of mourning doves around which is a bit unusual but I have seen only one Cardinal. We had several cardinals this spring and summer but now I hear them much more than see them. The Chickadees flit on and off the feeder then fly up into a tree to eat the seed. The Titmice will sit for a short time then do the same as the Chickadees...fly off into a tree to eat. Many people around us also feed the birds so they have a great assortment of locations as well as feed.

York, I think you are right. HS love urban areas. they will nest in any nook and/or cranny and they seem to be most comfortable close to houses and buildings. I hear them around gas stations, shopping malls, grocery stores, any place they can find a cavity to nest in.

prairie, I agree. The gray squirrels we have, so far, have left the safflower alone. I never went so far as to eat one for myself so I'll take your word that it is a bit bitter. What type of squirrel proof feeder do you have? I'll be fooking for one after the first of the year.

Thanks Kids...enjoy the birds!

Sooey

Sooey, no, I didn't try the safflower seed..lol...I just posted that from another website that someone else described having tried one. As for the squirrel proof feeder, we have not had much luck with two different kinds of 'spring loaded' feeders. They didn't last long before the spring mechanism stopped working. So this year we replaced one with the 'cage in a cage' type feeder. Does that make any sense? Not sure what the name of them are. They do keep out all but the small birds though and I think that will keep away a few birds I am used to seeing on the sunflower feeder. So it isn't a complete solution for me and I am going to have to work on something else. It was inexpensive @ $30. and is small and just a stop gap measure to hold us until we find a better feeder.

:-)

The most recent issue of Fine Gardening has an interesting squirrel proofing technique in it (in a letter from a reader). For a pole feeder, the reader bought a Slinky, attached one end to the base of the feeder (at the top of the pole), wrapped the spring around the pole (so that pole was in the center of the Slinky), and anchored the Slinky's other end in the ground.

No squirrel has yet figured out how to get to the feeder. (Obviously this will only work for a pole feeder far enough away from trees and building ledges.)

Hi prairie,

I have looked at the 'cage' type and almost got one last month. So many birds love sunflower seed and my hope was to be able to fill a feeder inside a cage for the birds and not the squirrels. The wonen in the Birdwatcher Store told me that the small birds will go in and out, but the gage is not big enough for Cardinals. I know the Cardinals will feed on what falls to the ground and at this point, that is almost good enough. She was the person who told me about the safflower seed.

Sorry, I just re-read your last post and, I stand corrected. It was some other brave sole who bit into a safflower seed. Who ever it was, I'm glad to have that information...safflower seeds are bitter.

Enjoy the birds tomorrow. They were thick and heavy at my feeders for most of the day today.

Sooey

May I join in? I am not a youngster by any means, and have been feeding the birds longer than most of you have been alive! One of my unoffical hobbies in making bird feeders and accompanying necessities.
Probably one of the best necessities is squirrel baffels. Very durable and easy to make for yourself out of a metal trash can cover. If you are going to hang it, leave the handle on and drill a 1/4" hole in the middle of the handle, and at the same time drill a 1/4" hole right below it in the cover. Buy yourself two 1/4" eye bolts with 1" "eyes", with a shank about 1" long. You'll also need four 1/4" washers and four 1/4" nuts. Thread 1 of the 1/4" nuts onto the eye bolt, then a 1/4" washer. Put this as-is thru the handle of the trash can cover, put on a washer, and then a nut. Tighten so that the eye bolt just comes thru the nut. Now do the same thing to the cover, but of course you will have the eye bolt on the down side of the trash can cover. By doing so you can suspend the cover with a chain and have a hook under the cover to hang a feeder on.

You can also use a metal trash can cover as a baffle on a post by twisting off the handle and drilling whatever size hole is necessary to fit the post. Hold up the cover with a machine bolt and nut either replacing an existing nut and bolt or drilling the necessary hole in the post.

During 2005 I had a lot of squirrel trouble at a window feeder. There was just no way I could deter the varmits from getting to it. During the summer I concocted an idea using 1" x 1" plastic coated wire netting, took the idea to a area person who makes suet feeders and similar items for bird feeders. He was very accomodating, and made exactly what I wanted. I added 2 plastic window feeders to the inside of the feeder to hold the seed, plus a plastic container cover to hold peanut butter. Squirrel problem solved !, although one squirrel did land on the feeder but got very tired very soon of being unable to enter the feeder.

I did make another feeder that could be hung that had a redwood top and bottom, with glass sides and masonite ends into which I drilled 1" entrance holes, but the birds really did not take to it. I also fashioned a feeder using a 1 gallon plastic "jug", and used one of the small "T" shaped feeder attachments that are available.

The latest feeder that I designed and made is also made from a 1 gallon wide mouth plastic "jug". (Using the wide mouth containers is advisable because the seed flows easier than in a small neck container.) I used the same method described above in making the hanging trash can cover, with the same size eye bolt, however, it is necessary to losely attach the correct size socket from a socket set either to an extention piece (or in one case I used a star drill) to tighten the nut onto the eyebolt. When this was done a thistle seed "stocking" was tied around the neck of the jug. Of all the different thistle feeders on the market I think that the birds like the "stocking" type feeders the very best. Six goldfinches have been seen on the feeder at one time--an that is lately---12/15/2006

Maybe some of you have designed and made a feeder. Let us all know what you did and how it turned out. "Thanks for listening." --"corgicorner"--

That is a neat idea for using an old slinky, york rose! [g] I'll have to remember that one. It might also look like yard art. :-)

Sooey, I also heard someone report that a bird got caught in the outter cage part of the feeder once. I really stayed away from them for a long time because of that. I hope I won't have that problem with it. It would be nice to have some way like the 'slinky method' that york rose mentioned, then you could use any feeder you wanted.

I haven't had many birds in the yard for a couple of weeks. The day I had the hawk in the yard, they scattered and I tried discouraging them from coming back for awhile so the hawk would not figure out he had a new hunting ground. I didn't fill the feeders for about 10 days, so they have moved on to somewhere else for the winter I am sure. I filled them up again and I am sure some new birds will show up sooner or later. Thankfully it is still warm here and plenty of food and water around.

Hi corgicorner...glad you decided to join us. :-) Sounds like you have come up with some creative solutions to outwit those pesky squirrels! I can remember when I first started feeding the birds, that I found the squirrels interesting to watch too. For a little while anyway, until they became a nuisance. Then it was so frustrating to want to feed the birds but not want to fill up the feeder just to see the squirrels hog it and empty it in less than a day. Plus, the feeders were drawing them into the yard more and they were getting into all kinds of mischief, chewing on plants, digging in pots, etc. I can remember for awhile, I kept finding myself thinking about how I could keep the squirrels out of the feeders..lol. It becomes your 'mission' ! [g] It does get the creative juices going trying to come up with some way to thwart them. I did see a book in the library called 'Squirrel Wars', and from what I have heard others say about squirrels in their yard, I imagine there are many people who see it as a battle of wits. lol

No, I haven't designed or made any feeders. Maybe someone else has? Your creations sound very effective and easy to make with inexpensive materials. Thanks for sharing your ideas. :-)

Glad to hear so many people here are interested in bird watching.

I just got an email reminding me about the Great Backyard Bird Count, to be held this year on February 1619, 2007.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2007 press release

By mid-February New Englanders will be really climbing the walls, and you don't have to drive two hours in the snow to participate.

Claire

Thanks claire for the link. I stopped filling my feeders for about 10 days after seeing a hawk and they have been refilled for about a week now and no birds back yet. Looks like they all find other feeders. Maybe by February some birds will show up again.

:-)

Hello All,
I'm a regular at the Cottage Garden Forum but I've been lurking at this forum since I just moved to western Mass from Ohio. I'm delighted to see there are so many of you feeding the birds.

Claire, I just checked my Ohio list from last year (when I participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count) and our lists are nearly identical except that I had 16 goldfinches and you had many more mourning doves. I'm excited to see what birds I can attract here in the new garden.

My two cents on feeding birds after doing this for 30+ years:
The seed mixes that contain MILLET are the worst. Millet attracts house sparrows, which I loathe and starlings and grackles. We too have had tragic experiences with house sparrows attacking and killing bluebirds and chicadees. The male house sparrow chooses the site for his nest during the WINTER and godhelp other birds who nest in his area. So I try my best to discourage the sparrows from hanging around during the winter. The house sparrows also like the black oil sunflower seeds and so do squirrels of course, so I stopped buying it and have used safflower seed instead for several years. As I've said, my list of birds pretty much equaled Claire's and that was using only safflower seed, suet and niger/thistle. (I guess I should also mention that while squirrels do NOT like the safflower, the chipmunks do . . . )

I love the goldfinches and found that the more aggressive house finches would drive them away from the bag and tube type thistle feeders. I began using the "upside down" tube thistle feeders, which only the goldfinches can use and the other finches still come to eat the safflower, but in fewer numbers which is fine with me. I feed the goldfinches all year round. Seeing the males in their bright yellow summer suits is a cheery sight indeed.

I hope you'll all participate in the bird count!

PattiOh

PattiOh:

It's very interesting that your Ohio bird counts were so similar to my coastal MA counts.

The mourning dove counts are extremely variable; I suspect there are several flocks of 5 or 6 doves that visit at different times, and occasionally happen to meet up at the same time. The crowds seem to occur at dusk when it's hard to see beige birds among wood chips and pine needles. Usually I'll walk out unawares and hear a frantic thunder of wings as a whole lot of birds head for the trees.

There are more goldfinches around, but my neighbor has a thistle seed feeder that attracts more of them.

I'll keep an eye on the house sparrows this winter and spring to see what happens.

As far as grackles are concerned, I actively encourage them because they eat caterpillars. I don't know if the winter moth has gotten to your area yet, but defoliation of trees is a major problem in eastern MA. And it's not just winter moths; tent caterpillars and cankerworms can also devastate trees.

Claire

Patti,

Welcome to New England! :-)
I have done the same with using safflower and thistle but I also put the black oil sunflower seed out in a squirrel proof feeder. I always have a flock of sparrows around the yard. They nested in one of my boxes one year and I was not able to keep them out of it. I kept emptying the box of their nest material to no avail. Finally we just had to take the box down. Even then, they returned for 2 years to that same location looking for the box and hanging around for quite awhile checking the area out.

I would hate to give up my sunflower just to keep them out of the yard. I wonder if they would still come back any way?

I am so surprised that I still haven't gotten any returning birds, since the hawk was here and I stopped filling the feeder that week.

Claire, I thought I read that grackles ate caterpillars. I used to get grackles a lot but not in a few years for some reason. Maybe my choice of birdseed. I have an awful infestation of winter moths here. What do you put out to attract the grackles, millet?

Enjoy the day! :-)
pm2

Claire, I didn't know/realize that grackles ate caterpillars. How nice! Now that you are pointing out their "good side" I do recall reading that they also enjoy eating adult house sparrows on occasion, which would be a big plus in my mind. Grackles also eat those disgusting white grubs and grasshoppers and I think snails too.

Since you raised the excellent point about the grackles and caterpillars I have to add that I've seen starlings eat caterpillars. Lots of them. They also love the grubs. SO I guess I will grudgingly allow both of them to feed in my yard instead of shooing them away! But I will still strongly advise people against using millet.

Prairiemoon,
I've not had many birds around either. I wonder if the weather is a factor?

The starlings and grackles in my experience are attracted to suet. They really love it.

I have used the black oil sunflower in a squirrel proof feeder while getting the birds acustomed to eating the safflower. But the minute I would see more than a couple of house sparrows coming to it, I'd remove the sunflower seed and use the safflower exclusively. They WILL eat the safflower too, but only as a last resort. I think they will seek other feeders in the area that have millet and sunflower. (Thanks for the welcome. I was actually born and raised in New England. . . grad of UMass Amherst in fact. . . sure is good to be back!)

Oh, you mentioned the moths, Prairie, I recall seeing them flying around the bags of mixed seed in stores. Could they be coming from inside your seed bags?
PattiOh

Hi Patti...still not many birds out there, but I am sure that will change at some point. I did get a new birdfeeder for Christmas. I am curious to see if adding a third feeder in the yard, will increase the number of birds I get or just give the birds that come regularly more choices.

Patti, no the 'winter' moths, are not coming from the seed bags. They started on the Cape and have spread to lots of other areas of Massachusetts. They are defoliating acres of trees. Last year there were so many caterpillars that over 1/2 the leaves on my trees were eaten.

Not sure if anyone in Western Mass has them yet. You are lucky. I hear they are working on a solution but it is at least 5 years away from being effective.

:-)

Sorry I was so obtuse about understanding about the winter moth even after Claire clearly said that they defoliated the trees. Thanks for telling me AGAIN, Prairiemoon. I get it now!!! Well, that is sad news. When I moved my garden here I did leave all of my lilium in Ohio, knowing you had the red lily leaf beetle marching my way, but this is the first I've heard of the winter moth. Another challenge I guess!
PattiOh

pm2:

Grackles aren't particularly fussy; they seem to eat whatever is around. I use a mix of black oil sunflower seed and cracked corn year round and put up suet feeders in cooler weather. I've never used millet - the mix I have seems to please most birds.

As PattiOh says they like suet. During the nesting season this spring the grackles would grab a beakful of suet, dunk it in the birdbath, and fly off to feed the babies. They've migrated south now, but last year they came back the beginning of March with a whole bunch of blackbirds.

I rarely see starlings.

PattiOh:

You pushed one of my buttons - red lily leaf beetles. You CAN have lilies here if you're willing to spray once a month with Bayer's Rose and Flower spray (or similar product). There are a few areas in MA where the infestation has gotten out of hand, but most of us can control it.

Claire

There's also supposed to be one hybrid cultivar, Black Beauty, that the beetle mostly avoids.

Black Beauty's been around since the 1950's I think (1960's?), and has a famous reputation for being both beautiful (in that Oriental lily way) and close to indestructible.

Concerning squirrel baffles:

I bought one a few days ago at Home Depot for $10 - half of what I'd paid online. Normally I wouldn't buy anything called "Perky Pet", just out of annoyance, but the price and convenience was worth it.

This photo shows that squirrel baffles don't always work. I don't know how it got there, but there's a tube feeder underneath that squirrel. I take the feeder in at night because something, maybe a raccoon, takes it down and throws it around.

Claire

Hi all, I am pretty new to bird feeding and do not participate in the Project Feeder watch, but I think it sounds interesting.

Last spring I put up a small ceramic tube feeder and fill it with Black oil sunflower seeds. It attracts chickadees, titmice and nuthatches, and an occasional House finch.

The squirrels have managed to jump on the pole it is suspended from, but they give up trying to get the seed because the holes and perches are too small for them to get the seed out and the ceramic is impenetrable.

A month ago, I decided I wanted to add a suet feeder so I built a suet log feeder. I chose a red pine log about 20" long and 4" diameter that already had some natural perches. I drilled 1 1/4" holes all about the log, and have glued a total of six perches under some of the holes.

The log is pole-mounted on about six feet of leftover copper heating pipe. I drilled a 15/16" hole up the middle of the log, and simply slide it over the pole. Very easy to remove.

I made a simple suet mixture using suet from the grocery store, peanut butter, rolled oats, whole wheat flour, and some leftover nuts.

Total cost of feeder: 0$. Total cost of suet mixture: $5 (only used 1/3 of it so far too)

The birds LOVE the new feeder. So far, I have regular visits from Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches, and even Juncos and Bluejays jump up and eat some suet. No woodpeckers yet though (that I've seen).

NO squirrels have managed to get up the pole to the suet (as yet).

Here are a couple photos of the new feeder, with little friends.

{{gwi:1098613}}

{{gwi:1098572}}

terrene: Sorry I didn't comment on your post earlier. The suet feeder is a fine design - it's practical and looks great!

This morning I saw the first red-winged blackbird of the season! A sign of impending spring, even though they're forecasting a winter storm this Wednesday.

Robins don't count here, I've had a resident robin for at least a month now - I think it's roosting in the shrub border of the lot. As soon as I put out fresh water in the bird bath the robin hops out from the border and starts drinking.

Claire