Show Me Your Feeders Pt. 3

My Ace Hardware stocks the suet & the cages, and that Victorian feeder of mine screws all apart for cleaning, when you're really ready to splurge!

Here's a White Throated Sparrow from this morning. We have some snow falling again and its gotten too dark out to take anymore pics for now.

We have several woodpeckers that vist our nut and berry suet mix. Are Golden Flickers a type of woodpecker? I see them mostly on the ground here.

Yes, PLEASE post pics of them!!!

Heres a real sweet looking little female House Finch.

Mourning Dove

Here's some Goldfinches on my feeder, they have to flip over and eat upside down. I don't know how they know to do this.

Hi Donna, we are doing great. Weather up here is certainly different from South Louisiana, but still enjoy my birdies. Was trying to catch a good pic of this white breasted nuthatch, but it is very out of focus cause I was far away and zoomed in to the max. He was checking out one of the suet feeders.

to cool Mary. Haven't even seen a Brown-headed Nuthatch here in the country. Really strange. I can't believe how different things are living just 18 miles north of my old place. I don't get anywhere close to the kinds of birds I did living so close to the gulf

Hey, I just got here and wowie kazowie! All you guy's pics are aboslutly terrific! I am delighted and impressed as all get out! Seriously!!!! great stuff!

Been working on a rather time consumming project, attempting to get some bird pics in my site and getting a site extension for the one I have.. It will be Texas Butterflies & Wildlife. Nothing up yet on that url. All the bird pics and wildlife blog will be channeled to
http:// texasbfandwildlife.org, I put a space so no one would accidentally click on it. When it is ready I will let you all know. What I have up so far is on http://theletteroflove.com/photography

An idea occured to me today.. Some birds just pass through looking for berries etc. on trees, and they leave after they have a good look around. So this is what I did to the tree right outside my little window. I will watch it tomorrow to see what happens, at the very least Mockingbird will probably have a few, lol. Tomorrow I will have better light too..

oh wow Deb that is fantastic

That's a great idea! Love all the photos!

Fly, did you hang your tube feeder upside down to deter sparrows, etc?? Does it work?

Shelia you buy the feeders that way

Mmmmm....Haven't seen those here, or didn't notice if I did. Are they just for thistle?

yes just for thistle

I don't use Thistle normally but I did buy a cake to put out last weekend. Smart little birds to figure out the method.
Oh, finally got the pics I took yesterday morning on the puter. Here is a Wren that comes around often. Cleans up what others leave behind mostly.

Normally I have only a few hummingbird feeders out all year. This year has been sooooo cold I've been putting out some seed. Funny. The Mockingbirds have finally called Dibs on this temp feeder. They don't want anyone to use it... constantly chasing off the other birds. Towhees and finches and sparrows.

Meant to include this....

Wonderful photos today!

What a cute idea - the seed bell in a basket!

oh that is cute

That is one way to keep the seeds from breaking loose and falling. Cute too. I expected to see a picture of the Mockingbird, I bet that it has a nest close by. They are very protective of their young.
You are lucky to have hummers late in the year. We have to pull our feeders in when cold weather starts because they will freeze and crack. I forgot to empty two rain gauges in this last freeze and they cracked.

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 7:02 AM

I have forgotten my rain gauge before too. Last year I had a nice one in copper, very decorative.

What is the most common bird at your feeders? I miss my hummingbirds, but they are usually back by the first week in April.

During the cold spell we had mainly White Wing Doves! They ate until they were stuffed and their necks were distorted! I finally had to put food on the deck railings to keep them from pulling down my feeder there were so many on it.

I also had the Ruby Crowned Kinglet and Downy Woodpeckers quite freequently. Of course the House Sparrows are always there to get their share too. I had one bird that I didn't know what was. Anyone have an idea?

Here is a closer shot of the back and tail.

I have mostly cardinals, chickadees, titmouse and woodpeckers. I don't know if I have ever seen a Kinglet. I don't have many house sparrows.

The Kinglet was a funny little guy. Twice he came up to the suet feeders right in front of me, when I was down adding bird seed to another, etc. They are faster than Chickadees fliting about everywhere.

Sheila, Are you still getting snow??

Picture of one of the hummers hanging out in my yard. A little constant cloud cover so you can see iridescence.

Very nice pic Aquane!!

Drinking

Loving everyone's photos!

Flygirl: I had a thistle feeder exactly like yours; the goldfinches loved it. The squirrels destroyed it by chewing around the holes til they were big enough for them to get the seeds! Had to get a wire mesh one to replace it.

Mary: Those nuthatches do not like to oblige for photos do they!? We have white-breasted and brown-headed but they've been keeping way up on the pine tree trunks recently. Can't get 'em in near enough to photograph.

Sheila: I love wrens! We have many here. They stay down in the azaleas most of the time. I can hear one calling right now. Oh- and that kinglet is sooo cute.
Aguane: Our mockingbirds hang out in the tree over the feeder but - so far - don't seem to want to partake. They nest in the holly bushes. Going to try an experiment today and will post a photo if it works. :)

Here's a myrtle warbler from yesterday evening.

DebinSC

The Cardinal on a recent rainy day. Mockingbirds don't allow it near the seed bell in the basket.

Same warbler.
Aguane: So nice to have hummers all the time! We haven't seen one since Oct. Thanks for showing us!
DebinSC

Edited to say: How do they sit on the cactus without getting 'stuck'? :)

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 9:20 AM

Thanks! Yes, we really enjoy the hummers! We all see to have quite afew right now. Guess they migrate from afar. Though its been usually cold, freezing here for the last week +. You'd think they'd go on to Mexico.

The Mockingbirds hang out in the pyracantha and eat the berries. They seem to just guard the seed. Strange. Difficult for me to get a pic of them, for some reason.

edited: So many people wonder about those little feet on the thorns. Apparently these Cardinal prefer hanging out in Organ Pipe. This guy is there everyday. I've only seen one. I think. Never two at one time, anyway.

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 7:30 AM

Wonderful pics this morning - that little Warbler is precious!

Seeing a Cardinal on a cactus is a treat - they're so often associated with snow.

Hummingbirds and Kinglets will steal my heart any day. Of course, so will a dove . . . or just about any other bird (well, you can leave out the Starlings and sometimes the crows).

Great pics! Aquane- Is that an Allens Hummer?

Deb- Love the Warblers.

Great Warbler and Hummie pics you Debin and aguane!!

Funny, I put this hummie feeder out there the other day with a couple ounces of nectar just to see if anyone would come to it. Hearing that some people have to *thaw* their nectar every morning in some places, I thought this area might not be so different.
I left off the top of it so there is a little pool around the bottom instead of the holes that take a long beak to access.
Warbler likes to take a little sip it seems... LOL!

Mrs. C was hopping round under the feeders. She was blending into the background and it was a kinda fuzzy shot, so I turned it into an "oil painting".

Debnes, where I used to live (only a few miles from here), the house finches would drink the nectar.

DebinSC