Grassroots Bird Watching Sports?

A while back, my wife mentioned that she'd like a bird feeder out back. (Yes, our back fence is old.)

The first setup turned out to be a perfect squirrel buffet. It just sat too low to the ground.

This one, though–long shepherds hook with the baffle--has proven to elude them. We've now had this setup for a few months.  

Why two feeders?

We started with the top one, but the openings for the seeds weren't big enough so it jammed up. So we added the second one below. It's just zip-tied to the end of the top feeder's cable. Both came from Lowe's. 

Most birds seem to favor the lower feeder, but the spacing keeps out the crows. (I throw some food on the ground because I care.)

For feed, we're now following my dad's playbook and using the cheapest feed found at Tractor Supply Co. with some mealworms mixed in. Seems to work. Lately we've had birds coming and going. 

So, anyone else watching and feeding their little feathery friends? 

Oh, heck yeah. This old "squirrel proof" feeder was sitting on a shelf in the garage for a couple years and was quickly put into service when I started working from home last year. This is the view from my desk in the living room (sorry for the crappy photo, not a good time to take a picture while it's in the shade):

Originally, it was hanging from that tree. We have a very large and healthy squirrel population in this neighborhood. The squirrels climbed all over it but couldn't get in, until they figured out that by jumping onto the feeder from another branch, the feeder would swing, and some food would slosh out onto the ground. Once they learned that technique, they could empty the whole thing in one night. Squirrels are smart.

I welded up that mounting bracket from an old shelf standard that was in the scrap pile and screwed it to the deck. The squirrels still climb on the cage sometimes, but they can't get any food out of it anymore. The major downside is that only small birds can fit through the holes. It's fun to watch birds that are just barely small enough figure out how it works, though.

We find it easier to just BYOB

But, yeah, that's kind of cheating. We also do a lot of wild bird feeding as well. Some tips:

You haven't actually outsmarted the crows or the squirrels. At best, you've just slowed them down a bit. And with a single feeder, even if they can't actually eat from it, they'll still be keeping other birds away by constantly trying to access it. The best way to keep good variety is with multiple feeders. Even if you're putting the same food in each, that gives multiple groups of animals a place to stay out of each others' way.

Put all your feeders over natural surfaces (grass or dirt, not a deck). That way, when seed falls, it will sprout and attract different birds, or give your existing group some variety. Throw some potting soil over top of it if you want to slow down the ground feeders long enough to create sprouting.

A water source will greatly improve variety and number of birds. Nobody wants to go to a restaurant where you can't get a Pepsi with your sandwich.

You're in a pretty heavily wooded area, so you;re less likely to get migratory flocks, but this time of the year you still might see some birds you'll only see once or twice a year.

Good point about the water for birds. Thanks. Better to hang the water or just put a bowl out there on the ground? I could perch it on the deck railing. 

I think we're getting cardinals, blue birds of some sort, little chickadee things and, did I see doves here? The hawks come to visit us, but I haven't seen them at the feeder. I'm guessing they're more into our bunnies. 

I'll notice the occasional squirrel checking out the feeder, but it must be new to the block. The rest seem to have given up on it. But they're free to eat what falls on the ground. 

I'm also assuming that they'll crawl down any line supporting a feeder from a tree, right? This feeder is in the middle of our trees, so they can't jump on it. 

So, where to add the next feeder....?

JG Pasterjak said:

We find it easier to just BYOB

Is that an Amazon Parrot? I have a friend who has an African Grey.

I am actually thinking of getting a bird if the huskies don't scare him too much.

In Southern California there are large flocks of Green Parrots , pets that got away 1

Around here are flocks of 15-20 parrots flying by and squaking , they do not seem to stay close to the ground and like the tops of palm trees , 

I enjoy them but am glad they are just passing by and seem to live a couple miles from here , 

They are LOUD

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

JG Pasterjak said:

We find it easier to just BYOB

Is that an Amazon Parrot? I have a friend who has an African Grey.

I am actually thinking of getting a bird if the huskies don't scare him too much.

That's a male eclectus parrot. Really super chill, smart and personable birds. And it's adorable you think the huskies would be the ones doing the scaring :)

californiamilleghia said:

In Southern California there are large flocks of Green Parrots , pets that got away 1

Around here are flocks of 15-20 parrots flying by and squaking , they do not seem to stay close to the ground and like the tops of palm trees , 

I enjoy them but am glad they are just passing by and seem to live a couple miles from here , 

They are LOUD

Those are mostly monk parakeets, also called quaker parrots. There's large feral populations of them in a lot of spots around the country. SoCal, Florida, Texas and even the northeast. And, yeah, they are extremely loud, not only for their size, but for a bird of any size. It's amazing that something that small can move enough air to produce the kind of volume and duration of noise that they can. 

JG Pasterjak said:

Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:

JG Pasterjak said:

We find it easier to just BYOB

Is that an Amazon Parrot? I have a friend who has an African Grey.

I am actually thinking of getting a bird if the huskies don't scare him too much.

That's a male eclectus parrot. Really super chill, smart and personable birds. And it's adorable you think the huskies would be the ones doing the scaring :)

They might just team up and eat all my food.

This guy sure is holding his own.

Today I noticed a squirrel beneath the feeder. And is that another one actually in the feeder!?!?

Nope, just a dove-like bird eating up. Whew. 

May be a repeat, but seemed relevant to the squirrel challenge:

We'd been keeping a couple bird feeders full for about 2 years, but the feral cats decided our yard was their buffet. So between the cats & the migratory bird disease that seemed to be impacting the northeast earlier this year, we decided to stop feeding them for a while. 

We've been doing feeders for a few years now- and have added a few more over time.  The most recent for finches, which are really cool- they have a very sweet sound.  Great addition to hearing chickadees.  

Can I suggest raw peanuts?  If you have blue jays around, they will come quickly once they find it.  We got a feeder this year, and after a month or so of them not noticing, now they see me fill it- and it's empty again in just over an hour, LOL.  Great birds.

It's great to hang out in the afternoon when they all come by to eat.  

In reply to alfadriver :

We can try some raw peanuts. Thanks. 

My dad says that their birds wait for him to refill the feeders. He has a collection of them (feeders but I guess birds, too). 

In reply to alfadriver :

Oh yeah, we put out whole peanuts in the shell for the critters & the bluejays love picking through their leftovers!

We get a lot of different types of birds in our yard. My wife knows all about them. I know the common types, like jays, robins, thrashers, sparrows and towhees, cat birds, cardinals and a few other types. We've got a barred owl and at least two different kinds hawks that drop by, too.

We get blue jays eating the cat food my wife leaves for the elderly outside cat. The cat really can't be bothered to chase birds anymore and seems to not mind sharing. Our blue jays are stunning in their coloration and impressive with their size. 

The only birds that aren't welcome are the Canada Geese. To damnation with those waddling E36 M3 factories. 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to alfadriver :

Oh yeah, we put out whole peanuts in the shell for the critters & the bluejays love picking through their leftovers!

We had a friend fill one of the feeders while we were gone, and she though we were feeding the critters.  Little did she know that the Jays finished them well before the squirrels even knew they were there.  That feeder gets cleaned out in 30 min.   From what I can tell, we have 5 jays that know we feed them.

Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:

We get a lot of different types of birds in our yard. My wife knows all about them. I know the common types, like jays, robins, thrashers, sparrows and towhees, cat birds, cardinals and a few other types. We've got a barred owl and at least two different kinds hawks that drop by, too.

We get blue jays eating the cat food my wife leaves for the elderly outside cat. The cat really can't be bothered to chase birds anymore and seems to not mind sharing. Our blue jays are stunning in their coloration and impressive with their size. 

The only birds that aren't welcome are the Canada Geese. To damnation with those waddling E36 M3 factories. 

 Not on topic but, It is goose season...

I watch them till they are directly overhead. Shortly thereafter we have all kinds of good gooses, goose jerky, goose fried, goose baked, goose soup, unlimited possibilities of good gooses. 

Mom buys an entire pallet of black oil sunflower seeds every fall.  Whatever the mice don't get in the garage goes into the feeders.  She has dozens of feeders... then she complains about the squirrels.

She gets hundreds of species of birds, partly because she puts them near trees and shrubs.  The smaller birds in particular feel more confident feeding if they have protection nearby, which means the squirrels have access to it all.

My wife just got into it this year, three feeders, a couple of things with seed blocks and suet.  We're getting several kinds of finches, chickadees, doves, a couple kinds of woodpeckers, nuthatches and squirrels and chipmunks.  Also the occasional hawk and a, heard but as yet unseen , bard owl.

So far, squirrel baffles are only partially effective.

Family Farm and Home is a great store for bulk seed and supplies. 

Apparently the one cool Canada goose in the galaxy comes to my house every winter. She's super chill, and as of year 3 of her annual visits this past January, she was even hanging out with the ducks and pretty much acting local (except she'd sleep elsewhere). One day about a dozen other gooses circled the property honking and making a big racket, until she honked her final farewell and flew up to join them, and that was the last we saw of her. 

Hopefully if she comes back this year it's just her again and she doesn't bring a bunch of a-hole friends.

So, an update. JG was right, birds like water. 

And they're regularly visiting us and eating. 

I put out a new feeder yesterday, filled with safflower seeds. Birds are loving it, getting cardinals, a few different kinds of woodpeckers, red winged blackbirds, chickadees, and all sorts of sparrows and finches. Squirrels haven't touched it yet...but it's only been a day so far.