Do you try to attract/feed wildlife in the winter?

I don't mind squirrels, as long as they don't eat everything in sight, but I sure am not trying to attract them. ;) We put out stuff they'll like in an effort to distract them from the feeders, where they'll sit and eat for long periods of time and keep the birds away. And we do NOT try to attract raccoons -- they'll eat the entire 10lb hopper of black oil sunflower seed in one night!

I would be more likely to try to repel them. I have the most audacious collection of wildlife on the planet, 12 months of the year. The opossums and raccoons are so bold, they prance right up to the cats' bowls when I feed them, chasing the cats away. Raccoons have attacked my kitchen door with a vengeance, then backed off and stared defiantly at me through the glass, as if to be protesting the lack of food after I began feeding the cats only during daylight hours. Opposums come onto the porch during daylight, and it seems there is no wall too steep or slick for them to scale. There is more than ample food in the woods for all of the wildlife here, but some still want to eat with my domestic animals. I do grow shrubs and trees that provide food for the birds, so they are attracted to the yard, but nothing is there specifically for them. Only butterflies influence my choices.

i just feed the birds, i have a feeder with wild bird seed in it and i also just got a 'fat ball' hanger, which they seem to love. it just attracts run of the mill birds here, sparrows, blue tits, robins, starlings, and if i put bread out i can sometimes get a few visiting crows. it's nice to watch them through the window and also has the added bonus of the birds eating all the pests for you in the spring and summer, so you need to keep feeding them.

we dont get squirrels round here, we get the odd hedgehog and sometimes (eek) mice can wander in from the fields, but the birds seem a greedy lot anyway, a full feeder lasts 2-3 days!! there'll be a lot of fat birds this summer!!!!

lil

We work to attract a number of different animals all year round. Birds come in for the food we put out (along with a few squirrels too). The ducks dislike other birds in the garden, they will sometimes stand under the bird table and will make a racket in an effort to scare them. The wild birds of course ignore them LOL.

As the garden hadn't been used for several decades and was more over grown than Sleeping Beauty's castle (I kid ye not), we found a large number of frogs and toads as we cleared the place. My brother and I duly built a pond and within half an hour of filling it with water a frog occupied it. It's heirs still do.

We provide untidy areas of bits of wood, leaves etc partially through not liking a sterile garden, sheer lazyness and partly because they are great hibination places for frogs, toads, hedgehogs, grass snakes and a number of insects like lady birds and the increasingly disappearing stag beetle. We also grow Yellow Flag in the pond to attract damsel and dragon flies. Various flowers are chosen to provide nectar from March through to Novemeber, we try and keep up with the different species of insects which visit the garden, last year we bought a small tube, filled with more tubes, which bees will supposedly inhabit, we shall see.

This message was edited Sunday, Feb 24th 8:07 PM

I make my own bird food and also buy seed for them. We really enjoy them! I enjoy all wildlife as long as they don't eat my flowers and shrubs :-)

Vic, I'd be interested in your bird food recipe! Good timing on this "vote" ~ reminds me to put out the thistle ;)

We have fed birds and squirrels for years. We've never had many squirrels tho because of the dogs. We've had a couple who could easily outrun a squirrel so they kept the population down to just a couple. We bring home scraps from the cafe where I work part time so we always seem to have opposums around. We usually shoot them if they get too close to the poultry/pigeon house. They are not very bold here tho. I haven't seen evidence of 'coons' since the old barn burned years ago.
Many of the wild birds eat at the poultry yard. We have found that Starlings don't like black oily sunflower seeds so that is what we offer the wild birds in the feeders.

We feed the birds and therefore attract the squirrels. We have had baby squirrels for two years now and they are a lot of fun to watch. This year we have been feeding the neighbors peacocks too. I make our own suet cakes, feed sunflower hearts, black oiled sunflower seed, niger thistle seed, and old bread soaked in pan drippings and then browned to be crisp. Also ear corn for the jays and squirrels. It is fun to watch, but can become a lot of work and expense. I wouldn't quit for anything. Especially love the bluebirds and when they start to nest, I'll be buying mealy worms by the thousands for them. I think the birds around here definitely live the good life.

Living not all that far from the water..rats are on the run! Yuk!!!!!!rats..two years ago, we had a colony of them, that took up residence in our old greenhouse..and to add to that, we fed some of the birds..the seed on the ground attracted them(the rats), and that was enough!!!! 1601

I have 7 bird feeder. I have 2 bird feeder that each hold 5 gallons of black oil sunflower seeds. We have all kinds of birds, squirrels and raccoons.
During this fall and winter I fed the deer close to or over 3000 pounds (1.5 tons) of various kinds of food. The rabbits enjoyed it too. I also have an owl that has hung around more this winter catching the mice that feed on the seeds.

I live in the city. We occasionally see an opposum, lots and lots of squirrels, which I feed. I put out scraps of fat/skin left over from the chicken or meat. The crows love it and the squirrels must as I see my plants dug up so they can plant their bonus goodies, I'm sure they think it's Holloween. I have gathered acorns at our parks to feed my squirrels, they have become quiet bold, stealing the oranges off the trees, eating the seeds and tossing the rest on the ground. We love to watch the crows hop across the lawn, and the baby squirrels go around and round the trunk the tree that is in front of our house. Norma

We have 4 birdfeeders up during the winter by the window of the computer room. DH and I enjoy watching the birds come, but I think the biggest fan is our cat, Tippy. Birdwatching is his absolute favorite hobby. Later on, we usually have 3 hummingbird feeders, too.

i have bird heaven here. they come and eat the chicken scratch i put out. we have all sort of birds that come through. dove and cardinal live and breed in the trees and brush sometime the dove leave eggs in the chicken yard. we get hummingbird that spend the summers with us. we even had a juvinial snow goose stay through bad weather this winter about a week that was very exciting. we do have squirrels that come and eat the nuts that fall from the trees. i have a lot of live oak trees so the squirrel don't dig up my bulbs so far. the racoon learned not to come around because of the dogs. in hot months we have snake that come through the rat snakes we find in the chicken house we catch and release down the road. copperhead well they are a different story. we have over population of red tail hawk, most beautiful bird but they are multilplying so fast and people are building faster that they are becoming a problem. and i never see but do hear the owl at night, i fed them guinnea last yr. when the guinnea didn't go in the house at night.

We live in the country too and are nature lovers,all including the snakes' I'm growing birdhouse gourds this year and make them to give to my neighbors to encourage more interest in "birdwatching" We have installed a large planter with trees/hosta here on the prairie and the deer haven't bothered our August Moons one bit' We use the big liter soda bottles for feeders for the birds and the squirrels haven't bothered them either,surprising too' Natural habitat areas for breeding is essential but you have to take the good with the bad as "natures'food chain"is sometimes cruel to observe' The cats that are allowed to run loose are our biggest problem here,not to mention using everything for their "litterboxes",can't leave our truck windows down either' We had plenty on the farm and they earned their keep but in the cities it's a different story' The owners let them roam,get injured and spread diseases,it's a terrible thing to see animals suffer because owners are irresponsible' Then because they haven't the brains to neuter them,guess where the litters get"dumped"???? I don't like my tax $ being used either for the euthanizing of stray animals when it can all be PREVENTED''' I APPOLIGIZE FOR THE "RANT",chalk it up to "CABIN FEVER,LOL"

If it finds are house than it can eat whatever this is that we have put out.

Just birds here! Don't need any of the other critters cause they eat my veggies!

I used to feed the birds in the winter, but since I've got my german shepherd, she's fast, I can't anymore unless I toss a bit in front of the house, then she will bounce off the front window!

I voted that I don't feed anything but that isn't quite true. I do feed hummingbirds in the summer and I attract lots of other things that take from my animals. We have quite a bunch of Cardinals around this year eating the chicken feed and last summer there were way too many crows attracted to the hogs corn. Had to get barn cats to control the mice that were multiplying like crazy due to dropped feed in the goat shed. The people who lived here before had a dog that hunted everything but since that dog has been gone almost 3 years now we see rabbits quite often and an occasional squirrel. I do hope the opposums and raccoons stay away, they would not be good for the chickens. Of course the deer are here all the time but they don't bother anything, until we put the garden in of course!

Lana

we feed birds, as long as my father doesnt eat it first.. made that feed with peanut butter and he came in and started eating it.. was it funny!!RACOONs anyone want to feed mine.. there eating everything they can and pooping all over the hay loft.. its so nice and cozy for them.aggh I growl at them, but there not scared. Wish the deer would come and eat, but they must be afraid of the lab..she would just sniff 'em.. shes a big love..

We TRY to attract birds only but we GET squirrels,rabbits woodchucks,deer,skunks,raccoons and stray cats to name just a few...

We have finch feeders full of thistle seeds for the local goldfinches and housefinches.

Everything with any sense goes to sleep here in the winter, except the moose, and they can be rather agressive. I have a neighbor who got stuck in her outhouse for an hour. They come through our property when they feel like it, but I don't encourage them.

I have just started feeding the birds this winter. I am putting up birdhouses of various sizes, and plan on adding more feeders. the cats are a problem for me, I started chasing them off last summer. The neighbor has a ton of cats, none of them "fixed" or checked by a vet. Since I stated chasing them off they don't hang around as often. I did run out & chase one off in the middle of a snow shower the other day. It has gotten to where I can't walk through my yard without stepping in cat poop! Just out in the open & not burried!

I have not even seen a squirrel around our yard since we moved in 1 1/2 years ago. (must be the cats). I am thinking of getting a dog to keep the cats away now that my kids a little bit older (4 & 7).

I do everything i can to encourage all forms of wildlife. Feed the birds (40+ species have been through). Have woodmice living under some rubble (don't know where they'll go when i finally get round to building a 'patio'. They climb up through shrubs on the fence to get to a birdfeeder - the babies are soooo cute!! Haven't seen hedgehogs for a while - hibernating anyway at the moment if they've got any sense. Grey squirrels visit, but i spose i don't actively encourage them. Lots of frogs and some newts, but have never seen a toad boo hoo :( Though have got slowworms.
Still haven't dug a pond, though i dug a hole (large) and then realised it was in the wrong place LOL! The bees thought the bare earth banks were just what they were looking for and colonised them.
I garden organically, so no pesticides or herbicides here.

Oh weez, MOOSE!! That is just so cool, would love to see them (many thousands of years too late to see them over here). Loved your photo of the youngster. All babies are gangly at a certain stage, but moose babies must take a lot of beating.

placed a birdfeeder "in " the actual garden itself. noticed the fallen birdseed adding alot of extra weeding around the feeder. any hints?