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Author Topic: Bird Feeders and Backyard Critters  (Read 146735 times)

Online Mordyk

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #20 on: May 04, 2020, 08:36:45 AM »
Does a bird feeder come with a daily subscription to car wash? 

That's all i remember from my childhood with my neighbor feeding the birds.

Offline CountValentine

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #21 on: May 04, 2020, 08:39:51 AM »
Great thread.
Never had an issue with bird droppings.
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Offline Live N Learn

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #22 on: May 04, 2020, 08:41:03 AM »
Have you ever taken a timelapse video?
".איזהו חכם, הלומד מכל אדם"

Offline Savingsbeast

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #23 on: May 04, 2020, 08:48:18 AM »
Wow, these are beautiful birds. And, your pictures of them are just amazing.

How much would you say it costs to feed them?

Offline Chapshnell

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #24 on: May 04, 2020, 09:48:05 AM »
I put up some feeders in my backyard, but the squirrels are a huge problem, I see these birds too, so beautiful & relaxing to watch with my binoculars

Offline CountValentine

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #25 on: May 04, 2020, 09:51:41 AM »
I put up some feeders in my backyard, but the squirrels are a huge problem, I see these birds too, so beautiful & relaxing to watch with my binoculars
Squirrels can jump 10+ feet so keep that in mind when placing feeders.
Only on DDF does 24/6 mean 24/5/half/half

Offline Dawie

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #26 on: May 04, 2020, 11:06:37 AM »
As a kid, there was a little while that my father put food out in our yard and attracted dozens of birds. It was awesome. But then we were told that it makes the birds become too dependent on humans and we should stop. Is that a concern?

and attracted a flock of Hadedas' and never had to worry about waking up for minyan again......

Online Yehuda57

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #27 on: May 04, 2020, 11:09:26 AM »
and attracted a flock of Hadedas' and never had to worry about waking up for minyan again......
Wake you up vs eating parktown prawns? Hmm, tough choice

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #28 on: May 04, 2020, 11:27:25 AM »
Sounds like a nice idea, but there's no way my pictures will even come close to these, so instead I'll just follow this thread....

It's not about the photography, that's just a side benefit.
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Online Something Fishy

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #29 on: May 04, 2020, 11:28:54 AM »
Wow, these are beautiful birds. And, your pictures of them are just amazing.

How much would you say it costs to feed them?

Thanks!

Not counting the cost of the feeders themselves, I estimate I spend $10-20 on food per month.
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Online Something Fishy

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #30 on: May 04, 2020, 11:34:17 AM »
I put up some feeders in my backyard, but the squirrels are a huge problem, I see these birds too, so beautiful & relaxing to watch with my binoculars

Squirrels can jump 10+ feet so keep that in mind when placing feeders.

Indeed. There are steps you can take to mitigate it (@lfas25 for example has it pretty much down pat), but like @CountValentine says it depends a lot on the feeder placement. Personally I don;t have too many options, so squirrels are a problem sometimes. We mitigate it by using mainly foods that squirrels don;t like too much, and my daughter likes to sit and read by the window and scare them away when they show up.

For most feeders, the main options are keeping them at least 10 feet away from branches, gates, roofs, etc. and installing a baffle on the pole, or using only squirrel-proof feeders (some work better than others).
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Offline Chapshnell

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #31 on: May 04, 2020, 11:37:53 AM »
Thanks!

Not counting the cost of the feeders themselves, I estimate I spend $10-20 on food per month.

Costco has a tremendous bag for like $15 but I get sunflower seeds from work for free, when we manufacturer sunflower seeds (I am in the nuts business) its so small & it flies all over the place so it generates lots of garbage on the floor. Perfect for birds.

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #32 on: May 04, 2020, 11:41:17 AM »
Costco has a tremendous bag for like $15 but I get sunflower seeds from work for free, when we manufacturer sunflower seeds (I am in the nuts business) its so small & it flies all over the place so it generates lots of garbage on the floor. Perfect for birds.

Whatever falls on the ground by me is quickly eaten by ground-feeding birds. I have a consistent flock of 30-40 mourning doves and grackles who show up whenever some other bird made a mess.
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Online skyguy918

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #33 on: May 04, 2020, 11:45:29 AM »
I put up some feeders in my backyard, but the squirrels are a huge problem, I see these birds too, so beautiful & relaxing to watch with my binoculars
+1. My son's science class project was to make a bird feeder from a carton and all the kids said the squirrels ate everything.

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #34 on: May 04, 2020, 11:55:08 AM »
Thar are funny to watch sometimes though.

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Offline lfas25

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #35 on: May 04, 2020, 12:33:54 PM »
Anyone else here into this? I've been feeding wild birds for a couple of years now and gotten a few DDFers hooked. I've also spoken to people recently who've wanted to get started now that they're stuck in quarantine.

The main thing I've found is to attract the biggest variety of birds you need to put out a variety of foods. That generic mixed bag of bird seed has its place, but most birds prefer certain types of food and have a preferred way of eating. The more you cater to their whims, the more birds you'd get.

At the moment my feeding station consists of 5 different feeders plus a bird bath, and I've observed 24 different species to date:

3 kinds of finches (american goldfinch, house, and purple)
4 kinds of sparrows (chipping, house, tree, and white-throated)
3 kinds of woodpeckers (downy, hairy, and red-bellied)
American robin
Black-capped chickadee
Blue jay
Carolina wren
Common grackle
Dark-eyed junco
European starling
Gray catbird
Mourning dove
Northern red cardinal
Northern mockingbird
Pine warbler
Tufted titmouse
White-breasted nuthatch



Unlike your pictures, I have you beat with species count..

I have so far identified 33 different species in my backyard, there has been a few which I couldn't identify as well.

I will try to get some pictures uploaded eventually but for now this is my list of confirmed species:

1. American Goldfinch
2. American Robin
3. Baltimore Oriole
4. Black Vulture
5. Blue Grosbeak
6. Blue Jay
7. Boat-tailed Grackle
8. Brown-headed Cowbird
9. Carolina Chickadee
10. Carolina Wren
11. Chipping Sparrow
12. Common Grackle
13. Dark Eyed Junco
14. Downy Woodpecker
15. Gray Catbird
16. Hairy Woodpecker
17. House Finch
18. House Sparrow
19. Indigo Bunting
20. Mourning Dove
21. Northern Cardinal
22. Northern Flicker
23. Purple Finch
24. Red-bellied Woodpecker
25. Red-winged Blackbird
26. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
27. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
28. Song Sparrow
29. Tufted Titmous
30. Turkey Vulture
31. White-Breasted Nuthatch
32. White-throated Sparrow
33. Yellow Rumped Warbler


« Last Edit: May 04, 2020, 01:30:01 PM by lfas25 »
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Offline CountValentine

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #36 on: May 04, 2020, 12:49:33 PM »
I think we need a bird DO.  :)
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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #37 on: May 04, 2020, 01:03:20 PM »

3. Baltimore Oriole
6. Blue Jay
21. Northern Cardinal

Wake me up when you see a Pinstriped Yankee, an Elongated Judge, or a Strutting Sanchez chest bumping the Gardner.

Offline Chapshnell

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #38 on: May 04, 2020, 01:05:57 PM »
Whatever falls on the ground by me is quickly eaten by ground-feeding birds. I have a consistent flock of 30-40 mourning doves and grackles who show up whenever some other bird made a mess.

I see you didnt understand what I meant.. We produce nuts & seeds in our factory so when we run sunflower kernels they are so small that they fly all over the floor which = garbage not for human consumption. Perfect for birds though! So I dont need to buy seeds.

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Re: Bird Feeders and Backyard Birding
« Reply #39 on: May 04, 2020, 01:12:19 PM »
I see you didnt understand what I meant.. We produce nuts & seeds in our factory so when we run sunflower kernels they are so small that they fly all over the floor which = garbage not for human consumption. Perfect for birds though! So I dont need to buy seeds.
Some birds won't eat it.
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