Birding "For the Birds"

EndersShadow

The purpose of this thread is to talk about birds and all things related......

How to attract certain types, what stuff to feed them, and even pictures of them.

@mhardy6647 should be a early and often poster here

EndersShadow

Here is my first submission. Our recently redone backyard. This morning it was all quiet but I bet its because we haven't had anything out yet this year.

I anticipate lots of ruckus in the mornings VERRRY soon.

This JUST the backyard.. we have two more in the front lol.

4 regular feeders, a finch feeder (drying from its yearly cleaning), one tray for Blue Jays (my request), Hummingbird feeder, and a butterfly feeder.

We have one more to buy and hang off the shed but we may just do suet loaves...

Out front we have a tray of mealworms and another regular feeder.

We bought a 25 bag of seed and it ONLY filled the backyard once lol....

Gonna have to have stuff sent by the truckload as I promise 90% of it will be gone by tomorrow afternoon.

Any tips on attracting hummingbirds, Blue jays or finches appreciated.

Butterfly



Hummingbirg




Regular and Finch in main part of yard




Blue Jay



Regular by shed

pitdogg2

Been feeding hummingbirds for years. One thing is there is no need to buy the pre made stuff. They do not need the red dye to attract them. You do need to wash and change daily the feeder. Anything above 75-80* and the sugar water starts to mold and ferment so thst is why it's very important to do the cleaning. The hotter it gets the faster it molds and ferments keep this in mind. I make my own as the way my granny from Arkansas tought me. One cup of sugar to one quart of water, 4cups to a gallon. Mix and bring to a hard boil for 5-6 minutes keep a lid on the pot. Boiling too long and the mix will be off and that affects them. Let pot cool then pour into a container. I use an old ocean spray gallon container. Keep refrigerated and only put enough to feed your birds no need to fill the feeder all the way up as you will be more than likely pouring it out when you clean daily. If you let the mix mold it can kill the hummers they are very delicate birds. I have at least 4-5 nests every year in my trees and then am blessed with watching the young grow. I rearly see the males early spring and late fall are the only time i see them all the rest are females all summer. Sit quietly and still and they will get used to you and you can get close to them at times. I have been able to stand less the three feet from my feeders while the fly in and out its very cool to do.

Last thing make sure you clean all parts of the feeder. Sometimes where they from is where the mold grows so make sure you disassemble all of that part and scrub with very hot soapy water and rinse well and dry. Some of the feeders are made more for us (pretty little artworks i like to call them) than the birds, if the can't be easily disassembled then stop using it. I've went through many before i landed on some that work great and clean easily. If you let it keep getting moldy and dirty they will just stop coming to it and go elsewhere.

Good luck Dan

Gosh this got wordy

Erik Tracy

I started volunteering with the San Diego Tracking Team, and got into identifying the different birds we see on our surveys, as well as those that I spot in my backyard which faces the Penasquitos Preserve.

Some more memorable shots from my kitchen window:

Coopers Hawks (juvenile and adult)


California Quail


Great Egret

mhardy6647

ooh, the quail are excellent

Here're some photos from this afternoon of a male ruby-throat that's decided he likes to perch atop the feeder pole when not eating. Lousy light but great looks @ him!

DSC_7926 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_7936 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_7939 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

As noted above, the red food coloring is neither necessary nor "healthful" for the birds; so DIY nectar is both cost-effective and better for the hummers.

For nectar, and FWIW, we make a solution of 1/3 of a cup of sugar per cup (final volume) with boiled, hot water. This time of year in the northeast, the nectar's good for about a week. After the hummers acclimate to the nectar, we cut back to 1/4 cup of sugar per (final) cup of nectar. In hot weather it's certainly a good idea to change regularly (every couple of days, I'd say).

BlueBirdMusic

This is a really good subject. Bluejays love those peanuts. My favorite birds have always been Bluebirds (of course) and Carolina Wrens. Have to find pics.

Harry
Marietta GA

mhardy6647

We tend to get more house wrens & winter wrens up here than Carolina wrens (perhaps not surprisingly)

Bluebirds are pretty common up here (thanks to the many large fields in the area), as are bobolinks. We usually see a bluebird or two every year, but we don't have nest boxes out -- it's a little logistically impractical to put them up because our farmer-neighbors kindly hay our field every year (a true win-win scenario), and I don't want to make it an obstacle course for them! In other words, some of our neighbors have far more bluebirds than do we.

I did see one last week; I think I posted a photo of it before. I know I didn't post this photo of it, though

DSC_7801 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I also think I saw an indigo bunting on one of our feeders on Saturday. By the time I got the camera, though, it was gone... and Mrs H was off birding on the MA "north shore" for the day, so no positive ID was made.

Speaking of bobolinks -- I have to remember to ask our farmer-neighbors, if possible, not to hay the back field 'til after the Fourth of July (so that the bobolinks, that nest on the ground, might have had the chance to raise their young before the field mower comes through!).

ZLTFUL

We have a couple of feeders set up in the back yard.
Eurasian Collared Doves, Martins, Sparrows, Finches, Swallows, Robins, Red Winged Black Birds, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Brown Headed Cow Birds, Crows, Ravens, Ducks (nesting pair of Mallards at one of our neighbor's). Fortunately, the Canadian Geese haven't bothered to visit although the conservation areas in our development attract them heavily. We also have Killdeer (incorrectly identified as "Sandpipers" although we do have a prodigious sandpiper population around the Army Corps of Engineer reservoirs in the state) that live around the pond at the bottom of the development and frequent the sandy washes leading down to it.

My wife also likes to feed the local rodent population so we get chipmunks, squirrels, cottontail and jack rabbits, deer, feral cats, and raccoons.

But we also get a handful of raptors, Bald Eagle (nesting pair at the end of our block), Red Tailed Hawks, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Goshawk, etc.

And once we even had a turkey vulture visit to take care of the remains of a few juvenile Robins that got knocked out of their nest by a storm.

I have some pictures but I am on my work computer and am too lazy to walk all the way upstairs and get my personal laptop.

mhardy6647

While Cliff Clavin might not have been noted for his ornithology I wanted to channel him again for a moment if I may.

IF one wishes to feed "good" birds but minimize the attraction of "trash birds" (doves, pigeons, starlings, house sparrows, e.g.) to one's feeder(s) -- offer a feeder filled with safflower seed. Cardinals & grosbeaks love safflower, but squirrels, chipmunks and many other birds have no interest in it at all.

ZLTFUL

We don't mind the less desirable birds. The sparrows tend to try and kill each other but otherwise, most tend to leave the others alone.

But the big draw is primarily for our cats. We have 5 and 4 of them will sometimes spend most of the day watching the birds. The 5th one doesn't give a **** what you think and is tired of your ****.

WagnerRC

We love the birds and have all types. The gold finches are very happy now.

mhardy6647

I'll bet they are! They even get a view with their dinner!

EndersShadow

We finally have a group of about 3 hummingbirds at our feeder.

But now we have a different problem. We have wasps that are starting to hang out on the feeder and chase them away.

Any good solutions to that? I'm afraid to spray them as I'd get the feeder, but they see me coming with a flyswatter and are gone before I can get to em.

mrbiron

A fly swatter?.....how much water is in that head of yours

Look up Soda Bottle Wasp Trap. Problem solved!

pitdogg2

EndersShadow wrote: »

We finally have a group of about 3 hummingbirds at our feeder.

But now we have a different problem. We have wasps that are starting to hang out on the feeder and chase them away.

Any good solutions to that? I'm afraid to spray them as I'd get the feeder, but they see me coming with a flyswatter and are gone before I can get to em.

Get a different feeder. Problem solved.

Dennis Gardner

We have about 6 hummingbirds that I can ID from each other. The males are pretty territorial and chase each other away from our feeder. The females are more personable and will hover right in front of our faces when their feeder gets low or sour. They really came out this week since we are having record cool temps with 2 weeks more on the way. Nothing near 90! Never seen it so cool in OK in July/Aug. Our neighbors grapes finally bloomed too, so that helps with birds and bees.

The cardinals and blue jays are fun too as they love to pick up the wasted seed from our sparrows feeders. I went through 40 lbs of seed in July!

Our wasp issue is curbed by wiping the surface of the feeder off each morning to get the spilled sugars off the surface of the feeder. Warm wash cloth works just fine. They don't bother the feeders as much if they are clean.

BlueBirdMusic

Wanted to post this even though it is not well focused. It is a juvenile Pileated woodpecker that has been to the feeder twice. It's rare to see them this low, and rare to see them at all in the Atlanta suburbs.

Notice the "deer head" at the end of the limb.

EndersShadow

@BlueBirdMusic

Nice!

I just found out my wife is right and we have a woodpecker that likes to visit us in the mornings on occasion. Not something I'd expect up here in the Indianapolis suburbs but it was cool.

@Dennis Gardner
Thanks for the tip on cleaning it off. I will try that and see what happens.

@pitdogg2
New feeder wouldn't really solve the problem I dont think, and I really like the one we have now

@mrbiron
I'm gonna build one of those for giggles to see how it works. Dumb question, but I see lots of folks bait them with sugar water, like you know, whats in the bird feeder......

Wouldn't that cause the hummingbirds to try and get into it, get frustrated and leave?

Also I'd think I'd need to put it near the birdfeeder, potentially compounding the issue

mrbiron

I can't answer that as i don't have hummingbird feeders.
All i know is that it works quite swimmingly. Setup a couple around the house in the backyard and see how it goes. The hummingbirds are established and know where the feeder is now so i don't think mountain dew bottles will through them off.

Do you not know where the wasps are nesting? Around/under the deck? In the eaves/rakes of your house?
In the ground?

EndersShadow

mrbiron wrote: »

Do you not know where the wasps are nesting? Around/under the deck? In the eaves/rakes of your house?
In the ground?

I do not know where they are, or I'd have killed em already.

I dont really have any "good" place for em to nest that I wouldn't be able to see pretty quickly.

We just repainted the shutters and so I know there aren't any around the front of the house or we would have seen them.

They "could" be in the ground, but then I'd guess when I mow I'd disturb em and make em try to get me, giving me their location to seek and destroy.

mhardy6647

Hummingbirds don't frustrate easily -- they're amazingly pugnacious, too.

pitdogg2

Dan they're some feeders that put the water deeper out of reach of the bees and wasp's. Hummers have no problem. I'll send you a picture so you can see what I'm talking about. They are not expensive at all but can be had to find. I lucked into mine last year at the start of the season. With my old feeders I had ant, bee and wasp problems as the nectar was right below the flower part and they could get to it.

EndersShadow

^Gotcha. In my case the wasps actually just sit ON the reservoir rather than actually landing on the fake petal, which is NOT what I'd expect.

Dennis Gardner

The wasps are getting the left over drops that the Hbirds drop off their beaks when they fly away quickly. Should wipe off and solve the issue.

mhardy6647

FWIW. The wasps (actually mostly yellow jackets, at least here in the northeast and in the late summer) at the feeders bother me much more than they do hummers.

Dennis Gardner

Wasps don't hurt anything unless you are swiping at them to keep them away. Hbirds are faster that wasps anyway.....I actually didn't even know that we had hummingbirds in our town as I always thought they we big bees/moths flying around until did some research and I put out feeders.

mhardy6647

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

Wasps don't hurt anything unless you are swiping at them to keep them away....

Exactly so. I don't like 'em for just that reason
There are some wood boring wasps, but most are pretty benign.

I suspect that in most of the US, the feeder visitors are mostly yellow jackets (which are a hornet species). They love sugar water and rotting fruit. At least here in New England, their presence (in large numbers) is a signal that the end of summer is near

As to hummers, they're around most everywhere, at least in the continental US. East of the Mississippi, unfortunately, we only get one species (the ruby-throated hummingbird).

Put out a feeder with clean, fresh nectar and they will come.

DSC_2126 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(in full disclosure, we don't usually get five at a time -- I think that was a whole family!)

pitdogg2

EndersShadow wrote: »

We finally have a group of about 3 hummingbirds at our feeder.

About this time of year Dan you are probably seeing mothers and young hummers. Now that you know keep the feeder clean and change often. I never fill mine up just enough to last a day or two. The nectar sours fast when temps get past 80*. I clean mine daily and refill just enough till tomorrow. I can tell when I skip a day I go out after work and grab to clean as soon as it is back out they go at it for a few hours. I had one last year try to feed as I was walking with the feeder to its hanging place. That will scare you for a moment, its like you have a 9 horse bumblebee in your ear

mhardy6647

Yup.

scubalab

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Dennis Gardner wrote: »

Wasps don't hurt anything unless you are swiping at them to keep them away....

Exactly so. I don't like 'em for just that reason
There are some wood boring wasps, but most are pretty benign.

I suspect that in most of the US, the feeder visitors are mostly yellow jackets (which are a hornet species). They love sugar water and rotting fruit. At least here in New England, their presence (in large numbers) is a signal that the end of summer is near

As to hummers, they're around most everywhere, at least in the continental US. East of the Mississippi, unfortunately, we only get one species (the ruby-throated hummingbird).

Put out a feeder with clean, fresh nectar and they will come.

DSC_2126 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(in full disclosure, we don't usually get five at a time -- I think that was a whole family!)

Look at the SIZE of that hummer out of focus in the background!!! You must feed 'em well up there Doc - it's as big as a TURKEY!