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  1. #301
    Quote Originally Posted by TeacherTom View Post
    I’m In Asheville now until Sunday. Walking at the Biltmore Estate today, we saw at least ten bluebirds. They are the most magnificent hue of blue. I have never seen them in Florida and am thrilled every time I see one.
    You caught gorgeous weather

  2. #302
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Purple finches in force today at my feeders. At least 25 including 5 adult males. A few house finches, goldfinches, and titmice and chickadees and cardinals..Really going at it.
    Downy woodpeckers, Carolina wrens, white breasted nuthatches on the suet. Had a ruby crowned kinglet yesterday.

  3. #303
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    West Palm Beach, Fl
    Quote Originally Posted by Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15 View Post
    You caught gorgeous weather
    We certainly did! Another beautiful Biltmore walk today but with fewer bluebirds; however, there were lots of lucky turkeys in the fields.

  4. #304
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Found sunflower seeds in my ski boots. The feeders have attracted mice (big surprise, I know). Need to work on some anti-mice strategies because I like the feeders too much to remove them completely.

  5. #305
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by bundabergdevil View Post
    Found sunflower seeds in my ski boots. The feeders have attracted mice (big surprise, I know). Need to work on some anti-mice strategies because I like the feeders too much to remove them completely.
    Here is your golden tip for the day, if you can deal with the side effects: cotton balls moistened with peppermint oil.
    Years ago we had mice invade an air conditioning unit, and it cost us $500 to fix (they ate wiring, as they do).
    So I get online, and many state extension agencies lauded peppermint oil as a great mouse deterrent (I put some cotton balls under the hood if I'm on vacation during the winter to keep them out)...

    Funny thing was, I get the peppermint oil from Amazon, via Now Foods. All the sales pitch was about aromatherapy, soothing nature of peppermint oil, etc...but the first 15 reviews were ALL about the effectiveness as a mouse deterrent.

    Just get a bag of cotton balls, gently upend the oil container to moisten the cotton balls, place them where you wish...good for several weeks at least...

  6. #306
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
    Here is your golden tip for the day, if you can deal with the side effects: cotton balls moistened with peppermint oil.
    Years ago we had mice invade an air conditioning unit, and it cost us $500 to fix (they ate wiring, as they do).
    So I get online, and many state extension agencies lauded peppermint oil as a great mouse deterrent (I put some cotton balls under the hood if I'm on vacation during the winter to keep them out)...

    Funny thing was, I get the peppermint oil from Amazon, via Now Foods. All the sales pitch was about aromatherapy, soothing nature of peppermint oil, etc...but the first 15 reviews were ALL about the effectiveness as a mouse deterrent.

    Just get a bag of cotton balls, gently upend the oil container to moisten the cotton balls, place them where you wish...good for several weeks at least...
    Can’t spork but thanks for the tip!

    I’ve read mixing cayenne with the seed deters rodents but not birds. We shall see. If all my Blue Jays start sneezing I’ll know it was bunk.

  7. #307
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Northwest NC
    I worked from home yesterday and was able to watch the feeders more than usual. Although they weren't on the feeders but rather my Bradford Pear trees I watched two Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers frolic around for a good 20 minutes. Sorry no pics.

    As for the mice problem I keep my seed stored inside totes or tubs with a good lid that snaps tight to keep them out. I've already caught a couple in traps this winter. Pesky little varmints.
    "The future ain't what it used to be."

  8. #308
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Quote Originally Posted by bundabergdevil View Post
    Can’t spork but thanks for the tip!

    I’ve read mixing cayenne with the seed deters rodents but not birds. We shall see. If all my Blue Jays start sneezing I’ll know it was bunk.
    We had marmots eating flowers on our deck. They like to sit on exposed perches that provide views -- and the flowers were there. Cayenne pepper solved that problem -- they never came back.
    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

  9. #309
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    We had marmots eating flowers on our deck. They like to sit on exposed perches that provide views -- and the flowers were there. Cayenne pepper solved that problem -- they never came back.
    I had a close encounter with a marmot in Glacier National Park a couple of years ago. He was really into licking the sweat off hikers, presumably in pursuit of the salt content. He was a cute, persistent, and a tad weird little bugger.

  10. #310
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    West Palm Beach, Fl
    I’m back in my South Florida home and today a kingfisher landed on my feeder. It perched on the top of the pole, not the seed tray. It was absolutely beautiful. I had never seen one up close. When I reached for my phone to snap a pic, it must have detected movement through my sliding doors and flew off leaving me an extremely fond memory.

  11. #311
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Mix red pepper corns in your seed, the rodents will leave it alone.

  12. #312
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Northwest NC
    Quote Originally Posted by TeacherTom View Post
    I’m back in my South Florida home and today a kingfisher landed on my feeder. It perched on the top of the pole, not the seed tray. It was absolutely beautiful. I had never seen one up close. When I reached for my phone to snap a pic, it must have detected movement through my sliding doors and flew off leaving me an extremely fond memory.
    Beautiful bird - I saw one on a telephone wire over a creek this past weekend.
    "The future ain't what it used to be."

  13. #313
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Two crows acting in tandem at the suet, on a daily basis. One sits on the suet cage, tearing off chunks which drop to the ground, where the second crow gobbles them up.

  14. #314
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    West Palm Beach, Fl
    I live on the water, not literally, and have a nesting limpkin in the bushes at water’s edge. The male stands guard daily in order to chase away iguanas and other pesty creatures. Yesterday, I noticed the limpkin move aggressively towards something. I stood up from my desk and it was an iguana refusing to move. With that, a Florida otter bolted out of the water, into the yard and chased the iguana away. It was hilarious. What a film clip that would have made. Since I’ve been teaching online, I’ve found there is so much going on in the yard that for years I never noticed🦎!

  15. #315
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Vermont
    Quote Originally Posted by TeacherTom View Post
    I live on the water, not literally, and have a nesting limpkin in the bushes at water’s edge. The male stands guard daily in order to chase away iguanas and other pesty creatures. Yesterday, I noticed the limpkin move aggressively towards something. I stood up from my desk and it was an iguana refusing to move. With that, a Florida otter bolted out of the water, into the yard and chased the iguana away. It was hilarious. What a film clip that would have made. Since I’ve been teaching online I’ve found there is so much going on in the yard that for years I never noticed🦎!
    Ah, a limpkin, couldn't get Limp Kin to register! Fascinating when the wildlife acts out.
    We're pretty short on iguanas here, but on several occasions we've had a rather voracious mink chase rabbits and squirrels down the driveway, like something from a cartoon, they know they're toast if the mink catches them. Major zigging and zagging.

  16. #316
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Quote Originally Posted by TeacherTom View Post
    I live on the water, not literally, and have a nesting limpkin in the bushes at water’s edge. The male stands guard daily in order to chase away iguanas and other pesty creatures. Yesterday, I noticed the limpkin move aggressively towards something. I stood up from my desk and it was an iguana refusing to move. With that, a Florida otter bolted out of the water, into the yard and chased the iguana away. It was hilarious. What a film clip that would have made. Since I’ve been teaching online, I’ve found there is so much going on in the yard that for years I never noticed🦎!
    Took me a long time to see my first Limpkin. It was in one of the refuges east of Lake Okeechobee, and a Limpkin was standing on the roof of one of the buildings.
    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

  17. #317
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    West Palm Beach, Fl
    They feast on the abundance of apple snails in the water. My yard is full of empty shells. They hatch two to three chicks a year but there are too many alligators around for some to make it. The cry they make at night is a high-pitched shriek. I guess it’s to scare predators.

  18. #318
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Very rare here in NC. Would love to see one.

  19. #319
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Catching up...

    I'm back in Richmond so not watching any feeders. I do have a wren that will come up to my screen and look at me for a few seconds before disappearing.

    We have a couple Kingfishers that will buzz us when we go kayaking up at the lake. They are a lot of fun and beautiful to watch.

    Never seen a Limpkin.
    "That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."

  20. #320
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Outside Philly
    Quote Originally Posted by TeacherTom View Post
    They feast on the abundance of apple snails in the water. My yard is full of empty shells. They hatch two to three chicks a year but there are too many alligators around for some to make it. The cry they make at night is a high-pitched shriek. I guess it’s to scare predators.
    Not bird related but your post reminded me of the first time I heard a red fox “vixen cry” at night. It sounds like someone shrieking in the woods and has resulted in many a soiled sheets and even calls to the police*.


    *Not me though. I would never call the police after pulling a Kendall Roy.

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