I thought it was time to start a new thread. This thread is Part 5 from this thread:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/690200/
Wanted to show you how my cardinal feeds one of the squirrels. I actually watched him drop and toss seeds down to the squirrel! Has anyone ever seen that happen?
Becky, can you tell if the seed has been broken and eaten and it is just the shell or is he really feeding him. Maybe they were old friends and he wanted to share LOL.
Interesting behavior.
All of my feeders are home made or created by nature. Since I live out in the "boonies" and surrounded by all natural elements, these fit in better with the scenery around here.
I'll start you off with one from last summer. Next will be an overall view of the feeding area.
This is the "chicken yard". It has an 18 inch chicken wire fence around it. That doesn't stop the cats, but since they have to jump over it the birds have plenty of escape time. In the summer I add plants that reflect the theme. Eggplant, hen-and-chicks and anything else I can find. I have a couple of rocks that are shaped like hens, a rooster and hen cast iron doorstop, a couple of vintage chicken feeders and waterers and an old egg basket. I hope to get some egg gourds to put in it. I'm always on the lookout for other items to add!
sorry it is taking me so long to get these up - just a couple more to follow.
ginni
OK here is another one. I like to use hollowed out logs. It is so much fun to watch the birds in them. I will get some hung up this spring - right now they are all on the ground. This one is the Dexter's house. Not a good picture of Dexter the Dwarf, but you can get an idea of the type of feeder that I like to use. The stump was a bit of a struggle to get into place. It is mostly hollow but still weighs in at about 250 pounds! The small log on top will be replaced with another large chunk to make a "roof" for Dexter's house. The roof will provide a covered feeding area and will give a dry place for the birds to eat in comfort.
I do have one more pic to post, then I'll back out for the moment.
This is one of my peanutbutter mix feeders. It is a coconut shell. It is a favorite with many types of birds. I mix peanutbutter, mixed seed, corn meal, dog food, etc. Whatever comes to hand goes into this mix. The great thing is that the oil from the peanutbutter has waterproofed the shell!
Now its someone else's turn!
ginni
Ginni......I like the natural look you've created. Thanks for the ideas! As soon as it warms up I'm off to find me a small log I can hang and fill with treats for the birds. Looks like it would be a good one to put fruit pieces etc. in. Look forward to more pics.
I have put fruit pieces on them in the summer and had butterflies fight it out with the birds for the treats! I really like to vary the height and look to keep everyone happy. I throw in anything that looks like it might work.
I try to limit the amount of feed I put out to about a day's worth. I have the luxury of being home full time so I can refill whenever its needed. So I don't have to worry about anything getting old. I do get some sprouts under the feeders in the summer, but since the whole area is lightly shaded, it isn't a real problem. I do a spring cleanup - raking, etc, then again in the fall. I didn't get as much done last summer as I wanted, but the birds don't seem to hold it against me. They are happy that there is usually something on a table to eat!
I used to just feed during the winter, but I now keep it up most of the year. I have found that by extending the time, I get quite a few migrants that I was missing out on before. I even had a Rose Breasted Grosbeak wander through last spring. They aren't normal to this area, so that was a real treat for me.
ginni
Ginni......I'm looking forward to making a log feeder and hopefully giving the Baltimore Orioles a natural place to eat oranges and other fruit. Thanks for the idea. I also have the luxury of being home all day (retired), so have plenty of time to 'feed and clean' both the feeders and the ground. If sprouts do come up they're easy to deal with. I feed year round also, and usually attract lots of non native birds for a day or two heading North, or coming back South. The RBG you mentioned come through here too, but don't stick around long. We do have Indigo Buntings summer over here. They are beautiful. Jay
Ginni - I love your natural looking feeders! Awesome! Your yard looks like Bird Paradise! I really like what you have done. I wish I lived out in the country and had lots of room. Unfortunately, I'm limited to a small yard. Thanks for posting all the great feeders.
bluegrassmom - The Cardinal sharing the seeds was really sharing them. Most all my seed mix is no-waste seed mix so there are no shells. Usually the birds fly off when the squirrels come around, but the cardinal does not. He kept flipping out all the seeds and dropping them and then watching the squirrel eat it. So funny!
I have several small limbs pieces with knotholes that I am making Bluebird houses out of. The knotholes are just the right size. I'll put a box on the back to hold the nest and mount the assembly on a tree. (Hope the bluebirds agree with me about it being a good home. If you paint a black spot on a fence post a bluebird will try to stick his head in! Hopefully, they will like my little holes to nest in. I'll get some pictures when I get them finished.
Overall, I have found that anything from natural wood will be more easily accepted by the birds. I don't put any kind of treatment on the wood. When it rots away, I just replace it. The rotted away ones are left to enrich the soil where they are. It attracts wood eating bugs which other types of birds like to feed on. We don't cut dead Pine trees down unless they are close to a building. We often get to see Piliated Woodpeckers ripping into the dead limbs.
I know, it is easier for me because I'm surrounded by woods. But if you take a day trip around the back country roads, you will most likely find many interesting limbs and logs available to throw in the trunk of the car, take home and toss out in the yard for putting birdseed in, on and around.
ginni
Ginni what a wonderful habitat you have created. I looks very inviting for all the creatures
Nice job Ginni! I'm guessing you don't have many squirrels to deal with?
I'm hoping to get the DH to make some things for me out of tree parts once the weathers decent.
Jay, Nice pic! Love the IB's.
Jay: Wow - more Indigo Bunting pics please! :)
Deb
Oh how pretty! Those Indigo Buntings are beautiful, Jay! Thanks for sharing that photo! I have the Painted Buntings here, but don't know if the Indigo come this way?
I have Indigo buntings in the summer. Can someone that has had both in their yard tell me if they are the same size? Just looking at the photos it appears that the Painted buntings are a bit larger.
Thanks,
Teresa
Their both about the same size.
I love your pictures Ginni and I am so inspired! Wow, I wish I could come a see all your beautiful bird things in person. I love the info about bluebirds trying to stick their heads in a black circle painted on a fence post. How interesting. I can't wait to go rummaging around for wood today after work lol!
Beautiful bunting Jay! You are so lucky to get them. I haven't seen any yet but I know they are around as my neighbor gets them.
Becky, that is SO neat! I wish I could have seen that too. The birds and squirrels around here pretty much ignore each other.
This message was edited Feb 12, 2007 4:30 PM
tgif -- Why did you paint black spots on fence posts?????????????????????????? --- for the Blue Birds to try to stick their heads in???????????
Lilyfan.....I'm sure you'll see some around....If the enviornment is right close to you, they'll be there. We have a fence row that has grown up with a lot of shrubby bush's and thats where they seem to be when they nest. Keep your eyes open! Won't be long till they're headed north.......Jay
Grasmussen - ROFL! Now that is funny!!!!
Grasmussen - I got tired of having them start nests in *every* container on my property!!!! LOL I'll try *anything* to get them farther away from the house! They are almost as bad as wrens about getting in the way around here! Besides - its SO much fun watching them try to figure out how to get a nest started in a black spot! ( I have put out houses for them to relieve some of the frustration).
Wrens are so funny when nesting time comes around. The male will start a dozen nests hoping the female will approve! I've had nests in the most unusual places. But the weirdest/funniest was the one under the tractor seat. Hubby would take the tractor out to bush hog some area - Momma wren would wait in the shed with a bug in her beak - Hubby returns , and Momma wren dashes under the seat to feed the babies! This happened several times before we discovered the nest. Momma seemed to understand that he would return the nest and babies, unharmed, to where they belonged.
The tractor developed major problems while the babies were still in the nest. We carefully removed the nest, backed the tractor out of the shed to load on a trailer, hung a basket with the nest and babies in it over the space where the nest had been, and waited - a whopping two minutes - for Momma wren to come back to feed the babies. It took a good half hour to get it all done and guess what?! The babies fledged the next morning! I just love their antics! They entertain me year round here.
Wren nests have been the cause of the demise of several hanging plants because I couldn't water the plant without getting the nest and/or babies too wet. I have always chosen to sacrifice the plant and enjoy the wrens.
Many stories about these little "pests", but will leave it with - I would just love for them to pick a nesting spot that doesn't hamper my day-to-day yard work, or torment the cats! Wrens are *major* clowns of the bird world!
ginni
This message was edited Feb 12, 2007 5:01 PM
TGIF, great story about the tractor/nest!!!
ginni - Loved your wren story. Sounds like you have truly created a Bird Haven and bird lovers paradise out there on your property. I'm still LOL about the painted holes on the fence. That is just way too funny!!!
ginni, what a sweet story! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!
Ya'll may think I'm kidding, but I have actually seen a silly Bluebird try to get into a blackspot!
I have played with baby wrens and bluebirds for years - The Mommas really don't mind them being handled. Some birds will abandon babies if they are touched, but wrens and bluebirds just ask that you help feed the kids while you're there! I love 'em all!
ginni
the dreaded *bird snatcher*!
Oh my gosh! Laughing at the kitty photo. My son has a watercolor painting framed and hung that I did when I was in High School of a cat laying across the end of a couch just like your kitty is positioned. My mother had the painting for years but gave it to him when he bought his first house! LOL!
A few shots from today. Male Painted Bunting first.
Female Painted Bunting.
Cedar Waxwings.
A squirrel shot.
gardenpom - What do your Cedar Waxwings eat? I've never seen them around here.
Gardenpom - wonderful photos!!! And the blue feeder is marvelous.
What a cute kitty tgif!
Nice shots too gardenpom! I hope I see our cedar waxwings soon here. I just love that sqeeky wheel noise they make. I usually hear them more than I see them. Boy, it would make my day if I could get a good picture of one!
tgif, I love the funny lazy cat photo. To cute. I have only one cat now and see loves to hunt. I keep a bell on her collar but occasionally she has gotten a bird.
The Cedar Waxwings were in a Chinese Tallow tree in the yard behind me, they were finishing off the berries that tree produces. I don't know much about them, except I am pretty sure their preferred food are berries.
Becky: Here's the info about the Cedar Waxwings:
The fruit of junipers historically dominated the winter diet, especially in the northern parts of the winter range, and most Cedar Waxwings still winter in parts of the country where junipers grow. The highest concentrations of wintering Cedar Waxwings occur in central Texas in the oak-juniper savanna and in Alabama and eastern Mississippi in stands of juniper, sweet gum, and oak. In recent years, Cedar Waxwings have increasingly turned to crops and ornamentals such as crabapple, hawthorn, firethorn, pepper tree, Russian olive in the West, and non-native honeysuckle in the East as winter food sources.
That's from the Cornell bird site.
Deb(inSC)
I know we get the Cedar Waxwings around here, but I've yet to see them - and if I ever come up with such a fabulous photo, you will hear me whooping it up way out here in the Pacific Northwest!!!!!
The CW's used to flock through our back yard a couple of times a year. Don't know what they were after, but I think it was the berries on the Ligustrum hedge we had. We moved to a new house a few miles away 2 years ago (no ligustrum) and have not seen any CW's here.
I'm like you Murmur, if I see 'em I'll be camping out with the camera. :)
Deb
Thanks Murmur, I rarely see the Waxings, so when I do it is a real treat. That blue feeder turned out to be a good buy. I hesitated to get it (Petsmart), but after the heavy rains here yesterday, I had to clean out every feeder except that one, rain did not penetrate the seed. Finally a feeder with a wide-enough roof overhang!
