Do YOU like to feed and watch wild birds?

[ams3651]

I have white breasted nuthatch pairs, hairy woodpecker pairs and Red breasted woodpeckers in the winter that i fed suet cakes. I found after I fed birds last fall and winter that I had much more this summer and I wasnt at all bothered by mosquitoes or many other bugs.


THanks for that website, Ive had a hard time identifying birds and finding websites.

 

[bluey]

I am a wildbird junkie. I feed them as much as i do my chickens. Plus now it's suet season. We've got breeding pairs of just about every bird portagegirl mentioned plus a few others.

My favorites are the downy and hairy woodpeckers....

I keep saying I'm going to catalogue them all in pictures but I always sit there too mesmerized on the weekends watching them.

 

[PortageGirl]

Quote:
That one on top is a very inexpensive one from Wal-mart, which I detest buying from there, but as with so many other things, it's what I can afford these days, it's how they undermine so many small businesses. It cost something like $19.95 and the pole was about $12.00. the pole took some extra support to get it to stay in place right, a longer fencepost driven in and fastened to it for stability... but it is working nicely all the same.

The feeder to the left is one of those 'squirrel proof' ones made from the interlocking chain. Others have said they're ineffective but it seems to work well for me.

The one in the middle is a Droll Yankee one, rather expensive but it’s full of peanuts and the birds that hang onto it are fairly husky and tough on it, so I thought it was a good one to splurge on. The woodpeckers go after those peanuts pretty intensely, and the titmice and others aren't shy about it either!

The one on the far right is a goldfinch feeder, quite inexpensive at a local feed store … they have to hang upside down to get to the feed holes, and it took them forever to figure it out, (I thought our local goldfinch were mentally challenged) but once they did, they just went NUTS for the thistle seed! It took one who either figured it out or knew how from another feeder to teach the others, then it became a free for all.

 

[PortageGirl]

This is the site I use to narrow down the choices! http://identify.whatbird.com/mwg/_/0/attrs.aspx

The Cornell site however, http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/ has better info once you have the specific bird figured out, or else have it narrowed down to one or two choices.

Just my opinion though!

Most people need to find out what works best for their-own-selves!

 

[Dawn419]

Here are pix of some of our wild birds (clickable thumbnails)...

Male Red-Bellied Woodpecker:





Juvie male Red-Bellied Woodpecker:




Male Downy Woodpecker (upper left) and male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak:



Rose-Breasted Grosbeak pair:




Male Indigo Bunting:



Female Eastern Bluebird and male Cardinal:



Carolina Wren:

 

[fizzy]

Oh, boy, do we feed wild birds!! We live in middle Tennessee, and I have lost count of the number of species we have on our farm.
The "regulars" at the feeders are jays, cardinals, titmice, chicadees, downy & redbellied woodpeckers, hummingbirds, purple finches, goldfinches. In addition, we feed wild turkeys & crows (crows being my husband's favorite bird). We have a pair of wrens that roosts in a gourd every night on our front porch, and they nest in another box during the summer -- they are a delight to watch. We have a pair of pileated woodpeckers on our farm, and a red-tailed hawk that nests on our property. Other regular nesters are phoebes & bluebirds.
Wendy

 

[spook]

Oh we have such joy watching the birds and feeding them. Here in Maine, our yard isn't good for blue birds and some of the ones that like the open area's. But its not uncommon to see the family of Cardinals (the firs year we have EVER seen them), social buggers, in the good weather or summer we whistle and the male comes in to whistle back at us. Its so unbelievable still.
Tufted Titmouse, chick-a-Dee's, Juncos, wood peckers of several different kinds. Owls, hawks, osprey no less! One day found a juvenile Bald Eagle in the apple tree. Oh how I love to see the raptors, but not looking for a chicken meal! We have the Baltimore Oriel in summer, and I wish I had the camera today, a Pileated Woodpecker. Those we hear, sounds like someone is building a house and the a Jurassic park type clu-clu-clu-clu-cluha(really fast)! Two flew from the tree in front of me, to the next trees and then "Passed" me while going to the house! What a treat.

I do have to say, I would love to see the birds that most of you have! Someday. DH thinks bird watching is for old ladies...hmph. I guess I'm his old lady then! ha ha!

 

[Tiramisu]

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[setter4]

Quote:
Did you take those pics? I like the cedar waxwings. We have gotten a flock of them for the third time this year

Yes, I did take the pics. We don't usually have a lot of cedar waxwings here but last winter for a few days they were here and then gone....

 

[Tiramisu]

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