Bird Feeders and Backyard Critters

[Something Fishy]

I wrote this up for a friend in Monsey, figured I'll post here. Applies to Lakewood etc. as well.

Listed in order of the best feeders for our area.

*Hopper feeder:*
Basic seed feeder for sparrows, finches, chickadees, titmice, cardinals, and a little bit of everything else.
Feeder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WWNSFRV
Seed: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/royal-wing-black-oil-sunflower-wild-bird-food-40-lb
Can also mix with this: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/royal-wing-safflower-20-lb
Do online order pickup at Stony Point location.

*Finch tube:*
For goldfinches, house finches, and purple finches.
Feeder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M332N0
Seed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OOKJ58 or https://www.walmart.com/ip/Premium-Sterilized-Nyjer-Thistle-Seeds-Fresh-and-Sealed-New-10-lb-Bag-for-Wild-Birds-1-Pack/55502972
Compare prices by lb. Always fluctuates. Njyer, Niger, and Thistle seed are all the same thing.

*Suet cage:*
For woodpeckers, blackbirds, nuthatches, grackles, wrens, and more.
Feeder: https://www.amazon.com/Stokes-Select-Suet-Feeder-Capacity/dp/B00B280SQU or https://www.walmart.com/ip/C-S-Products-Hanging-EZ-Fill-Metal-Suet-Cake-Wild-Bird-Feeder-Green/16457480
Cakes: https://www.walmart.com/ip/C-S-Products-Woodpecker-Suet-Treat-11-oz-Cake-Fresh-Wild-Bird-Food/21899515 or https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/royal-wing-woodpecker-suet-pack-of-10
*Note that this is 100% chometz*

*Tray feeder:*
For juncos, cardinal, wrens, bluejays, catbirds, doves, and more.
Feeder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RS8XGQV/
Seed: same as hopper feeder

*Oriole feeder:*
For orioles, catbirds, and warblers.
Feeder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PKL676F
Food: orange halves and grape jelly

*Hummingbird feeder:*
For hummingbirds.
Feeder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CBJ7LV6
Nectar: https://www.amazon.com/Perky-Pet-238CL-Hummingbird-Concentrate-32-Ounce/dp/B004PR2AOI or make your own. Don't buy any red ones.
Takes a lot of patience and effort to make this feeder work.

[~King Lake~]

I wrote this up for a friend in Monsey, figured I'll post here. Applies to Lakewood etc. as well.

This is gold!
Thanks

[Something Fishy]

Rose-breasted Grosbeak at my feeder right now.

[mhpc2023]

I put up a feeder in my backyard and I am only attracting the same 5-6birds. How can I attract more species?

[Something Fishy]

62 birds:

• American Crow
• American Goldfinch
• American Redstart
• American Robin
• Bald Eagle
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Black Vulture
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• Blue-headed Vireo
• Blue Jay
• Broad-winged Hawk
• Brown-headed Cowbird
• Canada Goose
• Carolina Wren
• Cedar Waxwing
• Chimney Swift
• Chipping Sparrow
• Common Grackle
• Common Nighthawk
• Common Raven
• Cooper's Hawk
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Downy Woodpecker
• Eastern Towhee
• Eastern Wood-Pewee
• European Starling
• Fish Crow
• Fox Sparrow
• Golden-crowned Kinglet
• Gray Catbird
• Great Blue Heron
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Hermit Thrush
• House Finch
• House Sparrow
• House Wren
• Mallard
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Cardinal
• Northern Flicker
• Northern Mockingbird
• Peregrine Falcon
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Purple Finch
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Rock Pigeon
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Song Sparrow
• Tree Swallow
• Tufted Titmouse
• Turkey Vulture
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• White-throated Sparrow
• Wild Turkey
• Winter Wren

7 mammals:

• Common Racoon
• Eastern Chipmunk
• Eastern Gray Squirrel
• Little Brown Bat
• Groundhog
• Striped Skunk
• White-tailed Deer

Hermit Thrush:





Pileated Woodpecker - been trying to get this to my yard for over a year! It's a massive, dinosaur-like bird that eats trees for breakfast:





You can see him lapping up insects with his tongue from the holes he made:

He made this huge hole in under a minute:

[Randomex]

A bunch of (what I think are) grackles have moved into the area and we're not seeing as many
sparrows. Would some sparrows avoid a feeder if grackles frequent it? (The ones that are there
don't seem intimidated by the grackles, which I haven't seen being aggressive towards them.)

[Something Fishy]

A bunch of (what I think are) grackles have moved into the area and we're not seeing as many
sparrows. Would some sparrows avoid a feeder if grackles frequent it? (The ones that are there
don't seem intimidated by the grackles, which I haven't seen being aggressive towards them.)

Grackles will often crowd out a feeder and either bully smaller birds or simply take up too much space.