Who Has a Bird Feeder in Their Yard?

[CincySportsFan]

I've had a group of 3 or 4 common grackles that have totally housed the suet I've put in my feeders over the last couple of weeks. I'd like to figure out how to run those off because they don't let any other birds around while they're at the feeders.

 

I have the same problem with the grackles. A few things that I've found suggested as "cures" involve the following:

- Use safflower seed. Apparently they don't like the taste. (I've got a mix of safflower and sunflower right now...going to go all safflower when I run out.)

- Change the type of feeder. Use one that they can't perch on, or has smaller "windows" that the littler birds can get thru, but the grackles can't. (Hate getting rid of the feeders I've already got, but may get a different one, just to try it out.)

- Don't leave the feeder out all the time. (I can't do this one, would be too much of a pain in the butt.)

- And finally, give them their own feeder. Put cracked corn or something in a ground-level feeder as a decoy from your other feeders.

 

Let me know if you try any and they work.

[gold sunrise]

Have seen a few hummingbirds but not everyday like I did last year so far. Lots of cardinals and bluejays.

[Hangman]

We get a lot of swallows at our birdhouse. They’re beautiful. Not sure the specific type of swallow, as there’s so many variations and I can’t get close enough to determine those key differences. My wife loves to watch them.

[BBsports]

One of my favorite things to do on weekends set on back deck in the morning drink my coffee and watch the birds come and go at feeder.

Also have a Bluebird box and a Martin House.

[doomer]

I hang a duet basket and have two finch feeders. I love the Goldfinches. Also have a hummingbird feeder and several red flowering plants they like.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

I hang a duet basket and have two finch feeders. I love the Goldfinches. Also have a hummingbird feeder and several red flowering plants they like.

 

Any idea what the plants are? I have a couple of hummingbird feeders that I keep meaning to put out. My wife wants to put in some flowering plants to help attract them too.

[doomer]

Any idea what the plants are? I have a couple of hummingbird feeders that I keep meaning to put out. My wife wants to put in some flowering plants to help attract them too.

 

Looks like Million Bells, a cousin of the petunia. Got them at Lowes.

[Wireman]

We have one hanging from a tree but no bird seed. What do you guys recommend? I enjoy the sites and sounds of birds in the back yard.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

We have one hanging from a tree but no bird seed. What do you guys recommend? I enjoy the sites and sounds of birds in the back yard.

 

I put black oil sunflower seed in mine, and then added a couple of suet cages near it later on. The black oil sunflower seed really got me a wide array of different birds, and you can pick up a 40lb bag at Lowe's or Home Depot for roundabout $20. My feeder holds about 5lb of seed, and it takes the birds a couple of weeks to empty it out. If the squirrels were to hit the feeder hard, though, it would definitely go a lot faster - which is why I spent the money on a squirrel proof feeder: Amazon.com : Squirrel Buster Plus 6"x6"x28" (w/hanger) Wild Bird Feeder with Cardinal Ring and 6 Feeding Ports

 

A couple of other things I've learned:

 

- If you want to attract woodpeckers, then get a suet feeder. Woodpeckers' natural diet is insects, so they really don't feed on dry seed. They will go for suet though because of its soft texture, similar to burrowing worms/insects.

- Cardinals are much more likely to come to feeders where the perch allows them to stand and face the feeder head-on rather than a feeder where the perch has them standing parallel to the feeder. They have short, thick necks and are not as capable of turning their heads about as other bird varieties are. The feeder I linked above has a 'cardinal ring' that you can put on the perch and it works great for attracting Cardinals.

[Kentucky Windage]

I got a couple woodpeckers hitting up the feeder. Funny watching them pick up a seed then crack it open against a tree or the fence post

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Yes there is. 1 part cane sugar to 4 parts water, combine in pan stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. To kill chlorine in water and any type of mold in sugar, minute as it may be. Do not add red food color. I start with a small amount like 1/4 sugar to 1 cup of water in 2 feeders to see how many are feeding. Store leftover in refrigerator, I pour into a thoroughly cleaned liter bottle. Makes refilling easier. Nectar should be changed every 3 days @80 degrees, every 2days @90 degrees.

 

I finally got my hummingbird feeders up this evening. Two hanging in the backyard, and one hanging in the front. My wife also had someone give her a little suction-cup feeder to put on the window, so I've got all of them out with the nectar recipe the @Sportsaholic Mamaw posted. We shall see how this goes.

[Kentucky Windage]

Keep us posted.

[theguru]

My bird-feeders attract several species of birds that I have no idea about.

 

I have Red-Winged Black Birds on and off and I just watched three of them chase and attack a Turkey Vulture for several minutes. I was surprised the Turkey Vulture got real low and into the woods behind my place and started flying through the trees like smaller birds do with all three Red-Winged Black Birds in hot pursuit and the Red-Winged Black Birds kept "attacking" the shoulder area of the Turkey Vulture which easily had a wingspan of 5 feet.

 

I was lucky enough to be within 30 feet of the birds a couple of different times and on the same elevation as them.

 

Additionally I get tons of Cardinals, some occasional Blue Jays, Robins, Pigeons, and some other smaller birds that I am not sure about.

[Kentucky Windage]

I'm currently dealing with a squirrel or raccoon problem. Bird feeder is right off of the fence line and they'd have easy access to it. It'll only be a problem for another week or so as we're moving out of the house.

 

But I wanted to see what others do to keep the smaller rodents from being a problem with the bird feeder.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

My bird-feeders attract several species of birds that I have no idea about.

 

There's an awesome app put out by the Cornell University laboratory of ornithology that makes it super easy to identify birds. The app is called Merlin.

 

It asks you like 3 or 4 really easy questions about the bird's size, your location, what the bird was doing, time of year that you saw it, and any colors you might have noticed on the bird, and then it shows you pictures of any native bird species in that region that would match that description, plus gives you the option to hear those birds' calls.

 

I highly recommend it if you're interested in identifying what you see at your feeder.