bird feeders in Feb?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I sure wish I had put up bird feeders last year. I'd love to be watching the chickadees and nuthatches interrupt the white landscape. I've got tube feeders and a big baffle in the shed I can't get to...'fraid I'd fall in the snow and not be able to get up. I bought hulless sunflower seed a few weeks ago but never fetched the feeders....so much time,....so little motivation.

I've been away for months and re-entered though the on-going 'wildlife and other....thread. That was delightful.

My autumn was pretty crappy. Back pain unremitting, shoulder hurt when I shoveled. Finally got to the cause of the back pain and I hope a non-invasive procedure in a couple of weeks will settle it down.

It turns out I pretty well ripped my rotator cuff off the bone and will need a "reverse shoulder replacement" . Fortunately the pain is bearable and I've got excellent range of motion, so I'll hold off because the recover is 3 months in a sling. Did that before when I broke my shoulder and it was very limiting.

Under the snow are dozens of plastic pots which never got put away and dozens of hosta divisions that did not get planted. As it began to snow yesterday I noticed the rake which hadn't been put away

The front stoop pots never got emptied or decorated for Christmas. The lights on the magnolia have been up since Christmas '19 and were never taken down. They worked fine until I fiddled with the yesterday and they went off. I am sad about that; they cheered me up. If we have a bit of a thaw maybe I can dig them out.

I think I should go buy a fragrant orchid....one of the orange-ish small flowered ones that are fragrant.

Back to the "topic" I'll find the sunflower and thistle feeders and a place to hang them. Suet?

What will increase my chances Of attracting birds at this late date?

.....water.....I wonder where the bird bath heater got to?

It is reassuring and fun to come back and see familiar names...

Marie

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Comments (5)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
5 years ago
I put the bird feeder out on Sunday, before the storm. The birds haven't found it yet, but it was snowing and blowing hard all day yesterday, and it takes them a day or two. I usually wait until the first big January snow to fill the feeder, and the birds have no problems finding it. Then they empty it in a day.
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
5 years ago
It's never too late to put out feeders, Marie, and water is just as important. Suet is very welcome to many birds.

A bowl of seed on your deck could be a good test if there are birds around (of course the squirrels may find it but they're fun to watch too).

The important thing is start carefully so you don't hurt yourself and get discouraged.

Good luck and good healing!

Claire
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nekobus
5 years ago
Suet doesn’t need to be hung very high for birds — a railing should be fine — and it’s a huge draw when there’s snow on the ground. The issue is deterring squirrels. You can solve that temporarily with a little hot sauce, but you can also now buy suet premixed with hot sauce *in* it. It works great — the squirrels steer well clear of my feeders, but the jays, woodpeckers, catbirds, etc. love it.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
5 years ago
It's the first sunny/not snowing day since I put out the feeder, and the birds are here. Right now, I'm looking at a male cardinal, which isn't something that usually comes to my feeder, but he is pretty to look at against the snow.
diggerdee zone 6 CT
5 years ago
Hey Marie! So nice to see you! It's been awhile (and same to you MG and Claire - I know I haven't been around so much myself but I haven't see you guys either! Honestly I double-checked the date of the post to make sure it wasn't an old one lol!) Marie hope you are feeling better. I'm going in to the doctor as soon as I make the appointment to see about my rotator cuff. Hurt it back in August, scraping wallpaper of all things. The wallpaper was absolutely one with the wall - had to scrape in quarter-inch pieces. Took weeks and lots of scraping, scrubbing and sanding. All that and now my shoulder injury, which I've been putting off dealing with because since I lost my job my insurance stinks. Saw my GP a few months back but will have to go to a specialist. Hoping to avoid surgery. Ah well. Anyway... Funny, I was still able to roll paint on the walls, and have been exercising, etc. (with limitations on the affected shoulder) but then do some stupid small thing like open the fridge door, or reach for something in the cabinet, and it feels like my arm's been ripped off. Yikes.

Sorry, can't help much with the bird feeders, since I haven't used them in years and luckily we still get a good share of birds - weirdly, some days more than others. I swear some days I feel like I'm in a Hitchcock movie. I do wish sometimes I had feeders up - like you I think it would be nice to sit and watch them. Being stuck in the house for almost a year does things to a person....

Actually, today while at my desk a bird (think it was a nuthatch) flew, not blindly into the window, but flew and was trying to perch mid-way up the window. Then he latched onto the screen and tried to walk around on the screen. He made a few attempts at both activities and then flew off to better perches, I guess! He was fun to watch, though!

:)

Dee