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  1. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Atlanta 'burbs
    I stopped feeding the birds out of my hanging bird feeder after noticing the feed disappearing too fast. I caught a deer standing on its hind legs tipping the feed out on the ground, then eating it. At that time, I was also feeding corn to the deer. I stopped feeding corn to the deer when I caught a momma bear and her 3 cubs eating the deer corn about 15 feet from where I was standing on the back deck.

    No more feeding.

  2. #22
    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.

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Yes. My wife and I love feeding the birds.

    We were trying to get some bluebirds to nest in our yard. I bought two beautiful nesting boxes designed specifically for bluebirds and hung them on trees in our yard.

    We attracted bluebirds using mealworms, and for a while we had several males and females around the yard and we saw them checking out the boxes.

    I have no idea what happened. They were there one day and pretty much gone the next, never to return. I assume they nested somewhere else and are busy with their young, but why did they reject our yard? Anyone have any ideas?

    We have lots of other birds coming around, including some majestic cardinals, a thrasher, a crested titmouse, finches of every variety, bluejays, and a variety of woodpeckers.

    But I really miss my bluebirds!

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by rsvman View Post
    Yes. My wife and I love feeding the birds.

    We were trying to get some bluebirds to nest in our yard. I bought two beautiful nesting boxes designed specifically for bluebirds and hung them on trees in our yard.

    We attracted bluebirds using mealworms, and for a while we had several males and females around the yard and we saw them checking out the boxes.

    I have no idea what happened. They were there one day and pretty much gone the next, never to return. I assume they nested somewhere else and are busy with their young, but why did they reject our yard? Anyone have any ideas?

    We have lots of other birds coming around, including some majestic cardinals, a thrasher, a crested titmouse, finches of every variety, bluejays, and a variety of woodpeckers.

    But I really miss my bluebirds!
    How far apart are your boxes? Bluebirds, like most thrushes, rarely nest when there are too many boxes close together. A distance of at least 60 yards apart is ideal.
    Also, be sure the entrance hole faces an open area.

  5. #25
    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...

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Colorado
    Quote Originally Posted by rsvman View Post
    Yes. My wife and I love feeding the birds.

    We were trying to get some bluebirds to nest in our yard. I bought two beautiful nesting boxes designed specifically for bluebirds and hung them on trees in our yard.

    We attracted bluebirds using mealworms, and for a while we had several males and females around the yard and we saw them checking out the boxes.

    I have no idea what happened. They were there one day and pretty much gone the next, never to return. I assume they nested somewhere else and are busy with their young, but why did they reject our yard? Anyone have any ideas?

    We have lots of other birds coming around, including some majestic cardinals, a thrasher, a crested titmouse, finches of every variety, bluejays, and a variety of woodpeckers.

    But I really miss my bluebirds!
    Last week I had a persistent Western Bluebird trying to peck a hole in the siding of my house. I heard the noise and thought it was a woodpecker. I was surprised to see the bluebird perched below an upstairs window and he had pecked a bluebird sized hole in the siding.

    I got up on the ladder and noticed that he was drilling in an area that had some water damage which had softened the siding. I patched it with wood fill and he was back the next day.

    Cute little guy who was relatively unafraid of me.

  7. #27
    Going to mix some gardening in with birdfeeding. We have a relatively small garden (not one that can support a lot of birds and give us food to eat as well).

    Does putting out a bird feeder give birds food so they stay away from a garden, or would it bring more birds and thus end up causing more damage to a garden?

    Thanks in advance!

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Northwest NC
    I live in a fairly rural area in western NC so the birds around my house are abundant. With the quarantine keeping me at home with nothing else to do I have been birding like crazy the past couple of weeks. The migrants are showing up now so it is a great time to partake in the hobby. Just yesterday I saw a Black Throated Blue Warbler and an Indigo Bunting. Earlier this week I saw a Scarlet Tanager, an Orchard Oriole, Yellow Rumped Warbler and a Chestnut Sided Warbler. Along with these I have seen a ton of the "regulars" around the house. I think I'm becoming a bird nerd
    "The future ain't what it used to be."

  9. #29
    I live on the coast of NC and put a feeder on my back porch a couple of weeks ago, but still not much action... I usually have a ton of chickadees, finches, cardinals, wrens in past summers, so maybe it's still a little early? IDK... I did see a large flock of royal terns on a sand bar in the sound last week, which was really cool to see as they are migrating now I assume (because they aren't usual customers around here). I love identifying birds and teaching my daughters the different species. Any suggestions on drawing more birds to the house feeder are welcomed!

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by dukebluesincebirth View Post
    I live on the coast of NC and put a feeder on my back porch a couple of weeks ago, but still not much action... I usually have a ton of chickadees, finches, cardinals, wrens in past summers, so maybe it's still a little early? IDK... I did see a large flock of royal terns on a sand bar in the sound last week, which was really cool to see as they are migrating now I assume (because they aren't usual customers around here). I love identifying birds and teaching my daughters the different species. Any suggestions on drawing more birds to the house feeder are welcomed!
    sounds nice! Different styles of feeders attract different birds...some prefer the vertical tube feeders, other like flat surfaces...try different seeds as well, e.g. thistle...I agree, watching the birds is wonderful...I read outside for hours, with binoculars by my side, checking out the action...it's the time of year when some unusual species are apt to wander by...

  11. #31
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    I normally live in Richmond, VA and haven't had much success with feeders there. The squirrels literally clean them out in a day or two.

    But, I've spent the last couple months quarantined at our place on a branch of Smith Mountain Lake that we just bought last fall. I brought my one feeder here and have a single hummingbird feeder. It's been awesome seeing what shows up. Nothing exciting but definitely fun to watch. So far I have daily visitors...
    A Chipping Sparrow that is the first to the feeder everyday, sometimes before sunrise.
    A pair of Cardinals (m/f)
    A couple Tufted Titmice
    A couple Chickadees
    A pair of Mourning Doves
    I have a few Woodpeckers that don't go near the feeder but hang out in the trees around the property every day.
    A pair of Wood Ducks have been roosting in a particular tree or two down by the water. (The male has absolutely beautiful markings!)
    A few Herons that will swing through regularly along with the multitude of Canada Geese.
    A Kingfisher or two that like to buzz by me when I take the Kayak out.
    An Osprey that seems to reside around the bend of the lake, see it almost every time.
    Crows and Turkey Vultures everywhere.

    And then the visitors whom I've only seen once/twice -
    Blue Jays
    Eastern Bluebirds
    Some sort of Oriole that I barely got to see and then he disappeared.
    A Bald Eagle that went by the other morning as I was having breakfast. It was huge and beautiful, made my day.
    A Hawk or two that I haven't been able to identify yet.
    An owl that I listened to one night for a while but haven't heard/seen since.

    Oh, and then I have a couple of hummingbirds that have been enjoying the feeder daily for about a week now. I believe I have one male and one female. Trying to get some better pics.

    Sorry, I just wanted to share with someone who might be interested. My kids think I'm nuts, talking to my birds...
    "That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."

  12. #32
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    How far apart are your boxes? Bluebirds, like most thrushes, rarely nest when there are too many boxes close together. A distance of at least 60 yards apart is ideal.
    Also, be sure the entrance hole faces an open area.
    About 15 yards, maybe. This is likely the problem.

    Thanks.
    "We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust

  13. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Northwest NC
    My buddy who is also into birds sent me this
    IMG_3721.JPG
    "The future ain't what it used to be."

  14. #34
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by TruBlu View Post
    I stopped feeding the birds out of my hanging bird feeder after noticing the feed disappearing too fast. I caught a deer standing on its hind legs tipping the feed out on the ground, then eating it. At that time, I was also feeding corn to the deer. I stopped feeding corn to the deer when I caught a momma bear and her 3 cubs eating the deer corn about 15 feet from where I was standing on the back deck.

    No more feeding.
    No problems with deer in our backyard. The squirrels won't let them get close enough.

  15. #35
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Black oil sunflower seed is tops for most back yard birds.

  16. #36
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Nrrrrvous View Post
    I normally live in Richmond, VA and haven't had much success with feeders there. The squirrels literally clean them out in a day or two.

    But, I've spent the last couple months quarantined at our place on a branch of Smith Mountain Lake that we just bought last fall. I brought my one feeder here and have a single hummingbird feeder. It's been awesome seeing what shows up. Nothing exciting but definitely fun to watch. So far I have daily visitors...
    A Chipping Sparrow that is the first to the feeder everyday, sometimes before sunrise.
    A pair of Cardinals (m/f)
    A couple Tufted Titmice
    A couple Chickadees
    A pair of Mourning Doves
    I have a few Woodpeckers that don't go near the feeder but hang out in the trees around the property every day.
    A pair of Wood Ducks have been roosting in a particular tree or two down by the water. (The male has absolutely beautiful markings!)
    A few Herons that will swing through regularly along with the multitude of Canada Geese.
    A Kingfisher or two that like to buzz by me when I take the Kayak out.
    An Osprey that seems to reside around the bend of the lake, see it almost every time.
    Crows and Turkey Vultures everywhere.

    And then the visitors whom I've only seen once/twice -
    Blue Jays
    Eastern Bluebirds
    Some sort of Oriole that I barely got to see and then he disappeared.
    A Bald Eagle that went by the other morning as I was having breakfast. It was huge and beautiful, made my day.
    A Hawk or two that I haven't been able to identify yet.
    An owl that I listened to one night for a while but haven't heard/seen since.

    Oh, and then I have a couple of hummingbirds that have been enjoying the feeder daily for about a week now. I believe I have one male and one female. Trying to get some better pics.

    Sorry, I just wanted to share with someone who might be interested. My kids think I'm nuts, talking to my birds...
    Me too. Always liked birds, and have gone on many trips to add to my life list. (over 239 species now.)

  17. #37
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    sounds nice! Different styles of feeders attract different birds...some prefer the vertical tube feeders, other like flat surfaces...try different seeds as well, e.g. thistle...I agree, watching the birds is wonderful...I read outside for hours, with binoculars by my side, checking out the action...it's the time of year when some unusual species are apt to wander by...
    Try black oil sunflower seed.

  18. #38
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Maybe you guys can fill me in on a mid-air battle I watched the other afternoon...

    Three crows were going ballistic on a hawk in mid-air. I watched for a good few minutes as the crows were cawing and pecking at it endlessly to chase it. From what I could tell they eventually chased it around the bend and then I saw one of the crows come back toward where it all started. Maybe the hawk was stealing eggs/baby crows? I've known crows to steal eggs before, not sure about hawks.

    Thoughts?
    "That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."

  19. #39
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Try black oil sunflower seed.
    yeah, that's our staple, I was just responding to a question about how to attract a variety...some other feeds can be helpful

  20. #40
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by Nrrrrvous View Post
    Maybe you guys can fill me in on a mid-air battle I watched the other afternoon...

    Three crows were going ballistic on a hawk in mid-air. I watched for a good few minutes as the crows were cawing and pecking at it endlessly to chase it. From what I could tell they eventually chased it around the bend and then I saw one of the crows come back toward where it all started. Maybe the hawk was stealing eggs/baby crows? I've known crows to steal eggs before, not sure about hawks.

    Thoughts?
    We've had quite a few crows in our area for 30 years, and they're quite interesting to watch. What you saw is extremely common: crows will harass hawks all day long as they pose an existential threat so they dive bomb them...similarly, smaller birds will chase off the crows who often raid their nests...a former UVM prof, Bernd Heinrich, was a world renowned expert on crows and ravens (corvids, not covids!) and his lectures were fascinating...extremely intelligent birds with complex interactions. They've been known to fashion tools, e.g. bending a piece of wire in order to retrieve food from a tube...

    Also not unusual to see crows chase foxes down our driveway, dive bomb pecking them as they go...

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