Page 1 of 36 12311 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 791

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC

    Anyone still feeding birds?

    Just wondering if anyone is still keeping active feeders. Lately my suet and sunflower feeders are having lots of business. Cardinals, goldfinches, house finches, chickadees and titmice, nuthatches (both white breasted and brown headed) mourning and collared doves, several sparrow species. And several woodpecker species.
    But the one I am most interested in is the rose breasted grosbeak. They nest in our mountains here in NC, but migrate across the state in Spring and Fall.
    I've had a few hanging around the last few days. Anyone else seen them?
    https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/...ed_Grosbeak/id
    Last edited by Devilwin; 05-03-2020 at 12:20 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Just wondering if anyone is still keeping active feeders. Lately my suet and sunflower feeders are having lots of business. Cardinals, goldfinches, house finches, chickadees and titmice, nuthatches (both white breasted and brown headed) mourning and collared doves, several sparrow species. And several woodpecker species.
    But the one I am most interested in is the rose breasted grosbeak. They nest in our mountains here in NC, but migrate across the state in Spring and Fall.
    I've had a few hanging around the last few days. Anyone else seen them?
    https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/...ed_Grosbeak/id

    Yes, we keep a couple feeders well-stocked and have a suet hang. Funny you should mention the Grosbeaks because I've been very excited the last few days (much to my wife's amusement) by seeing several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at our feeders. And then today we either had an Indigo Bunting or Blue Grosbeak at the feeder. I didn't get a good, long enough look at it --- I know they're pretty different birds but I just saw it from our kitchen window and by the time I got to the closer window, it flew off. Definitely not an Eastern Bluebird or Blue Jay. A lot of the songbirds are migrating right now so getting some nice spots. I believe the hummingbirds are back in town.

    Other than the above, we really like the goldfinches and have a motley crew of sparrows, purple finches, blue jays, cardinals, and other regulars. We also have red-bellied woodpecker who hangs around. We get the occasional red-winged blackbird gang. It appears wrens have taken up residence in one of our bird boxes, not sure if the others are being used.

    Keeping an eye on the feeders makes my stay-at-home workdays much more enjoyable!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    I stopped feeding them after seeing that documentary Hitchcock did a while back.

    Devious bastards.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by bundabergdevil View Post
    Yes, we keep a couple feeders well-stocked and have a suet hang. Funny you should mention the Grosbeaks because I've been very excited the last few days (much to my wife's amusement) by seeing several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at our feeders. And then today we either had an Indigo Bunting or Blue Grosbeak at the feeder. I didn't get a good, long enough look at it --- I know they're pretty different birds but I just saw it from our kitchen window and by the time I got to the closer window, it flew off. Definitely not an Eastern Bluebird or Blue Jay. A lot of the songbirds are migrating right now so getting some nice spots. I believe the hummingbirds are back in town.

    Other than the above, we really like the goldfinches and have a motley crew of sparrows, purple finches, blue jays, cardinals, and other regulars. We also have red-bellied woodpecker who hangs around. We get the occasional red-winged blackbird gang. It appears wrens have taken up residence in one of our bird boxes, not sure if the others are being used.

    Keeping an eye on the feeders makes my stay-at-home workdays much more enjoyable!
    Haven't seen but two purple finches this season, but tons of their nearly lookalike cousins the house finches. Lots of red bellied woodpeckers. Have noticed a few indigo buntings and a couple of blue grosbeaks.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    a noted ornithologist told me you only see an indigo bunting with runners on first and second and nobody out...even the birds miss sports.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    a noted ornithologist told me you only see an indigo bunting with runners on first and second and nobody out...even the birds miss sports.
    Now that was funny. Two thumbs up.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    a noted ornithologist told me you only see an indigo bunting with runners on first and second and nobody out...even the birds miss sports.
    I can’t decide if this is fowl or foul.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Nrrrrvous View Post
    I can’t decide if this is fowl or foul.
    Eggs actly what I was afraid of..

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Eggs actly what I was afraid of..
    Impeckable timing.
    "That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, D.C.

    Hummingbirds

    I put out my hummingbird feeders a couple of weeks ago, but haven't seen any hummingbirds yet. I expect they will show up soon. Once we get into the warm months of summer, they are constantly in our backyard buzzing around.

    I used to have other birdfeeders, but a few years ago we had mice in our yard that were attracted to any spilled bird food, so I've given up on using the other feeders, at least for now. We still get lots of cool birds, however. On Wednesday, I saw a yellow warbler, something I've never been seen before here at our house.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Had very active feeders this past winter. It got particularly good in April, as we had flocks of very yellow goldfinches, plus chickadees, siskins, juncos, pine grosbeaks, Cassin's finches and other Colorado specialties.

    Nine days ago a bear showed up and started eating the seed and husks that had fallen to the ground. My wife pointed it out to me while I was in an on-line bridge game. By the time the game finished, the feeders were g-g-g-one!
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by MChambers View Post
    I put out my hummingbird feeders a couple of weeks ago, but haven't seen any hummingbirds yet. I expect they will show up soon. Once we get into the warm months of summer, they are constantly in our backyard buzzing around.

    I used to have other birdfeeders, but a few years ago we had mice in our yard that were attracted to any spilled bird food, so I've given up on using the other feeders, at least for now. We still get lots of cool birds, however. On Wednesday, I saw a yellow warbler, something I've never been seen before here at our house.
    I'm surprised that you didn't see them in early April...I used to enjoy looking at this map each year before it was discontinued: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

    I put up my hummingbird feeders yesterday, expect to see some this week as they almost always show up for Mother's Day...as you say, great fun to watch (though thuggish males who chase others away are a drag)...

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    I'm surprised that you didn't see them in early April...I used to enjoy looking at this map each year before it was discontinued: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

    I put up my hummingbird feeders yesterday, expect to see some this week as they almost always show up for Mother's Day...as you say, great fun to watch (though thuggish males who chase others away are a drag)...
    This isn't quite the same as that old hummingbird map but you might be interested in checking out motus.org.

    They have a drop down of various tagged bird species and you can map the activity of individual birds. It's essentially crowd-sourced radio telemetry tracking.

    https://motus.org/data/tracksSearch

    And here is another interactive hummingbird migration map from google.

    It's a little like a hummingbird-specific eBird...

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, D.C.

    Yep

    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    I'm surprised that you didn't see them in early April...I used to enjoy looking at this map each year before it was discontinued: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

    I put up my hummingbird feeders yesterday, expect to see some this week as they almost always show up for Mother's Day...as you say, great fun to watch (though thuggish males who chase others away are a drag)...
    20 years ago, conventional wisdom was that they wouldn't show up in DC until mid-April. With climate change, that almost certainly has moved into early April, but I didn't get my traps out then. Usually, if we see them in April, they are just passing through on their way to your neck of the woods.

    Later this month, I expect we'll see some that will spend the summer here. I have three feeders, which seems to help spread the aggression a little.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by MChambers View Post
    20 years ago, conventional wisdom was that they wouldn't show up in DC until mid-April. With climate change, that almost certainly has moved into early April, but I didn't get my traps out then. Usually, if we see them in April, they are just passing through on their way to your neck of the woods.

    Later this month, I expect we'll see some that will spend the summer here. I have three feeders, which seems to help spread the aggression a little.
    Let me know when you see them...we have several feeders, and at their peak we'll have a dozen or more hummingbirds zooming around...then a lull (when lots of other food is available), then they gas up for the return South in late August...so far nothing, but should be any day now...

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, D.C.

    Finally!

    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    Let me know when you see them...we have several feeders, and at their peak we'll have a dozen or more hummingbirds zooming around...then a lull (when lots of other food is available), then they gas up for the return South in late August...so far nothing, but should be any day now...
    We were eating dinner last night on our back porch and a hummingbird showed up, took a sip from both feeders and then perched in a nearby tree, ready to chase others away.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Have to log into that site to see it, unfortunately.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh
    Cannot resist any longer. Apologies in advance. Been considering this for several days:



    [redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.

  20. #20

    Piliated Woodpecker

    I have been seeing a couple of really large piliated woodpeckers in the wooded area behind my house. They are rare to see, but when I do, you know their pecking sounds, and calling sounds. I was wondering if you can lure them to a feeder to eat. I have never seen them come to the feeders we have in the yard.

Similar Threads

  1. Deer Feeding Trough In Maine Live Cameras
    By Devilwin in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 57
    Last Post: 03-18-2020, 05:08 PM
  2. ForThose That Feed The Birds.
    By Devilwin in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 02-25-2019, 04:57 PM
  3. Feeding the birds in winter.
    By Devilwin in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 01-20-2018, 09:46 AM
  4. Cheats v dirty birds
    By Fish80 in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 02-23-2017, 12:17 AM
  5. Soccer and Angry Birds collide @UNC-Asheville
    By 94duke in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-06-2011, 10:27 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •