Almost done... lol - I have a crazy Downey Woodpecker that coming to eat suet at my house and I have suet feeders handing out my baywindow in the kitchen and my living room window. Funny thing is when this one Downey is there you know it... it hands on the window screen not on the suet feeder and is so noisy - always brings a smile to my face and normally a little giggle :)
I had a picture of that Downey but can't find it right now... so here is another one.
~Kim
gg=alice - Let us know if that works. Good Luck! :-D
Sorry to hear about the damage. Glad that you haven't had any this year - hopefully you have the problem taken care of now!
~Kim
Sorry if I'm interrupting Kim. I was just going to say nice pics and Welcome to the BW forum!
I have tried the Pepper things in food before and at first the squirrels hated it but then got used to it so that was no longer affective.
GG, Thats awful about the car damage. I don't think I've ever seen or heard wood rats before.
Pelletory -Not interrupting at all - Thank you much!!
I have tried the pepper thing also with no luck. It didn't faze my squirrels and chipmucks at all - they just kept on eating... lol
I haven't seen wood rats before and I don't want to after what GG said.
~Kim
Just looked out my kitchen window to find... two squirrels on the 'Bird' tree and one chipmuck
Here's a chipmunk... they are not so cute to me
Sorry about the pictures.. they look terrible when I use my zoom
Here a pretty pic to make up for it - not taken with zoom but my flowers can't run for me.. lol
LOL, thats a beautiful Hibiscus bloom Kim! I have that one too.
Yes, it is a beautiful hibiscus bloom! Mine is done blooming for this year. The flowers are huge! :)
I have chpmunks, but they don't bothr me. They sneak in and finish what the ground feeders leave.
Here's a funny picture of the squirrel... they are quite the gymnast... lol
Hops from the tree onto my hooks and then on to the feeder.
No feeders there anymore - now I have flowers there.
~Kim
Nice pics guys!
Interesting thread. The squirrels and other rodent problem makes us crazy too, but we found that using Safflower seed in the hopper feeders helped lessen their interest. Safflower is a little more expensive than the other seed but it saves a lot of mess and wear on the feeders. The other good thing about safflower is that the grackles and starlings are not so fond of it and stay away pretty much. This give the other pretty songbirds a chance at the feeders, too.
We make our own suet style cakes to put out for all the woodpeckers in the winter (we don't necessarily use 'suet' from the butcher shop, but rather lard or other fats---there are lots of different recipes for this on DG and it's easy to do).
We also put out thistle for the finches in a tube feeder with the little squirrel deterrent covers on the openings. We do not put out corn seed or anything like that because it attracts so many of the less desirables to the yard. If you don't watch it, the 'nasties' will start nesting in your area and you will never get rid of them--squirrels, house sparrows, starlings, and so on...they will just multiply. Of course, every area has their own bird feeding issues and seed preferences.
My sister was putting our bird food on her deck and in her back yard and the health department visited her house (a neighbor called them) and told her to stop putting the crumbs and corn seed out because it attracted 'the unmentionables' and was a health menace. So I am careful about what I put out for the birds, too, and where I place it.
Here is a list of bird seed preferences that I have found useful: http://www.shawcreekbirdsupply.com/seed_preference.htm
We buy our bird seed at the Feed 'n Seed store and find it's much less expensive there.
We love watching the birds, especially in winter and spring (in our area March is the most difficult time for birds to find food but we take our feeders down for two months in the summer). We participate in the Christmas Bird Counts and Backyard Bird Counts of the Audubon Society and our local bird groups too. I recommend those to everybody... they are lots of fun (and little trouble) and you will learn so much about the birds in your neighborhood!
Tabasco - do you have the link to the recipes for the suet? That sounds very interesting!
Thank you much!!
~Kim
Thats great advice tabasco! Everyone who can should participate in the Bird Counts!
We should try and put reminders up about it before the dates.
Its funny how we all have different experiences. I meet a lot of people at a very popular bird store I frequent in the next town. People are saying all the time about how squirrels are raiding their thistle feeders (along with other feeders). Thistle is the only seed my squirrels don't show any interest in at all. I have two feeders on an unprotecting shepherds hook now for over a year. If they do one day decide they want it, I won't be shocked but so far so good.
This area where I live is a big nesting ground for Starlings and everything I've tried has not worked. They have left for now (thank goodness). We'll be doing battle again next year. :-)
Kimsgardenheave....I love those chipmonk pics, I saw some at Smithsonian zoo on a visit to DC, but I thought I was looking at baby squirrels! Later I realised they were chipmonks! I love your 'bird tree' idea I shall try that, at the moment the different species line up on the fence in pecking order - except for the mocking bird which doesn't eat seed and can't see why any other bird should either.
Pelle, I also have no trouble with the squirrels eating the thistle - nor do my parents at their place in Seattle - and they have fought the gray squirrels for years. I should say, they used to (they're too old now). They used to trap them and take them somewhere else - I would explain to them about upsetting the ecosystem, but to no avail - lol!! My dad would tell my brother to not tell me they were doing it!! So funny in retrospect.
A variety of 'suet' recipes to try out:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/477438/
http://baltimorebirdclub.org/by/suetrecs.html
And Julie Zickiefoose's suet recipe from Bird Watchers' Digest:
Peanut Butter Suet Dough or Bird Pudding
Ingredients:
1 cup melted lard or beef suet
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups quick oats
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar (optional)
Directions:
Melt lard and peanut butter together on a low burner. Take off heat, and add remaining ingredients. Spread on a cookie sheet, and allow to cool in the refrigerator until the mixture is just hard enough to cut into pieces. Store in freezer bags and use as needed.
About the squirrels in the thistle feeders--we don't have a lot of trouble with that either. In part because we have the little trap door type feeders and also because I don't think thistle is a favorite food of squirrels. Starlings are not protected by the federal laws-- neither are House Sparrows and Rock Pigeons.
Chipmunks are kind of cute, but I didn't think so when they ate up all my liatris bulbs in one night last May. Not to mention a 1000 crocus bulbs last fall!
Don't get me started on these critters! In fact isn't there a big disclaimer in a sticky about discussing 'feeder raiders'?!? I know I got one of my threads removed because of some comments posters had made!?!
Maybe those people at the bird store were putting some kind of mix in their 'thistle' feeders...?
If anyone here rents movies or borrows them from the library, there are some good documentaries out about birds--both 'backyard' birds and exotic ones. And some 'how to' videos and CDs on bird watching, bird calls, etc. available.
http://www.njaudubon.org/NatureNotes/Video.html
not to mention YouTube and other online videos that are informative and fun.
Once we got hooked on birding and our bird feeders, we found it lots of fun!
Here's a really good picture of a Wood Rat, commonly called pack rat or trade rat. Note the huge, high set eyes, very large ears, rounded nose (similar to squirrel), and hairy tail. There are many different types, sizes, and colors ranging throughout the US. They are very different from "typical" rats that have beady eyes, small laid back ears, and hairless tails. In fact the larger tawny (reddish tan) ones we have here look like very large hamsters with tails. Ours have the light tan underbelly. And until they caused so much damage to our auto I thought they were cute
http://www.und.nodak.edu/org/ndwild/woodrat.html
http://www.swaebr.org/images/Packrat.jpg
http://www.zianet.com/connealy/packrat.html
http://www.thekansan.com/stories/050507/sports_050507023.shtml
They are typically nocturnal. We had evidence of some kind of creature that was pretty large because of the large hole it chewed into the wood side of our Spa surround and the huge nest, built with sticks, leaves and such, and lots of collected man-made objects inside the spa surround. It also used dried Mastiff poop (Mastiff poop is HUGE) for the nest. It/they occasionally munched on the wiring and tubing for spa requiring regular fixing.
I caught occasional glimpses of tawny (light reddish tan) individuals for several years and just couldn't believe the size. The only other commonly seen rats out here were a "family" of solid black rats, much smaller. I figured they must have been some kind of escaped pets especially since they seemed so comfortable so close to the house around us, and seen in daylight, even with human activity close by. I described them as MAJOR GIANT hamsters with tails, as large and sometimes larger than our squirrels, which are good sized Fox Squirrels. In 95 and 96 I spotted a larger one, without a tail, several times on the deck, during the day. I and no one else could identify what the creature was. THEN........ for several months we were remodeling the whole downstairs with 1-5 crew members here daily. (We lived upstairs in the big master bedroom, with 6 Mastiffs, during day while crew here, for 6 months. The six mastiffs were rotated with 4 others between the big room and the front yard with access to heated/cooled garage. Downstairs kitchen torn out except for some cabinets. That will either make or break a marriage, BTW. It was good for us because we HAD to get along and DID.) .........
Anyway, one day I got to show four or five of the crew members "The Creature", the huge one without the tail. They were amazed, awed, and appropriately confused as to just what it was.
So over the years an occasional spotting and evidence. Hilda Rottie, my ratter, came here as a puppy in very late 89. I stopped seeing them soon after. A few more years and BAM!!!!!! first car damage Nov 05, fixed, figured it was rats, mice, or squirrels. Two months later all three cars had extensive damage, all at the same time, requiring complete replacement of wiring harnesses, some tubing, some insulation, and other parts. When truck failed to start one morning I opened up hood and there staring me in the face was a HUGE tawny and a smaller grey (but still large by typical rat standards).The tawny one was so huge I thought it was an African Pack Rat (see picture with rat on man's shoulder) but I do believe mine are one or more species of North American Wood Rats.
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/articleslideshow?articleId=USN2430572020070524&start=1
We started trapping them with live traps. The first tawny one was the largest trapped but I don't think it was as large as the one we had in the mid 90's. I didn't get a picture of it but will see if I can find a picture of a later one.
One of the problems live trapping them is that so many squirrels get into the traps too. They are so totally freaked they can do injury to themselves until released while the rats just sit there calmly waiting for what ever. We don't want to use anything that will harm our "domesticated" squirrels or any wandering neighbor's cats, our dogs (Remember Hilda Ratter? I've never seen her eat any of her kills but that's no guarantee) or our wild predators, Bobcats, Coyotes, Fox, Birds of Prey, Snakes, to name a few, so poison is out. Rat "snap and kill traps" aren't large enough to kill them instantly, as should be done for humane reasons with mice and rats and other such "pest".
Before we trapped the first two and before we discovered the extensive damage to all the cars and before we realized we had so many, I actively searched for a "rescue operation" to take them. After, all of the above, and upon collecting the 4th or so trappe DH asked me, "Do you still think they are so cute?" Well.......... they still look cute.
A few months later, at a neighbor hood party, one person informed me that several people out here had damage to their cars about the same time and were ashamed to tell people about it.
It's really interesting that, although we have had them around for ages, they just started attacking autos a couple of years ago. That winter was very mild but we were coming out of our first, of two years, record droughts. Not sure what caused their sudden interest in autos. Perhaps one learned and had a bunch of litters teaching them all to prey on cars. Not joking here.
BTW... the huge air filter on my Ford F-250, diesel truck was totally filled with their nesting materials.
So that's our saga. Very interesting but NOT fun.
gg=alice
my goodness alice! have never heard of rats preying on autos!! That is awful, my husband who is a major car buff would have a coronary...where are all the cats in the neighborhood???? Very interesting narrative! sue
Sue, The smart cats stay away from our property because of my dogs. Those that aren't too smart ......... well .......... although I haven't seen my dogs kill any or found any remains on my property they've trapped and injured a few over the years. The two closest houses have multi-cats. One used to sneak over here to get to the birds in the wee hours of the morning before we got up, but he disappeared last year. BTW.... I love cats. Anyone who wants their cats (and smaller dogs) to have a normal life span, out here, has to bring them in at night because of the wild predators. And that's the best ratting, although Hilda Rottie does catch them during the day. The coyotes, fox, raccoons, bobcats stay well away from our house. And we don't ever have less than two dogs outside in front fenced yard, with access to heated/cooled garage, or in the house with outside access, even though they are large because a Bobcat is capable of killing or severely injuring any dog.
As my GIANT and large dogs reach the end of their lives, and we are getting older, we have discussed getting Border Terriers and keeping one large dog to help protect them from predators as we give them outside access 24 hours. Border Terriers are good ratters, and are robust even though they are very small, and not too "terrierish"; we are so used to big laid-back dogs (except for Cissy Briard who is pretty laid back when she is not moving at a run; she hardly ever walks anywhere and spends most of her time herding the other dogs).
gg=alice
LOL, Tabasco. That was the first thing I asked them and they said no that it was just thistle seed in a thistle feeder. They wound up buying a pole w/ baffle system while I was there. I would love to someday have another pole with baffle.
Sorry to hear about all your bulbs being eaten.
LOL well, it was just a thought (about the thistle feeder).
I'm ever the optimist on spring bulbs and every spring I get my come uppance! Mother nature prevails!
I miss having lots of birds at our feeders this summer, though. They are mostly out foraging in the woods now. The most fun is the goldfinches and hummingbirds in the butterfly garden. I suspect they are getting more than the verbena seed since my monarch caterpillars seem to disappear by the morning.
We had a good thread going somewhere that lists all the bushes and trees for a 'Bird Garden'. Having a few good trees in the yard can make a real difference.
I'll bring it back up tabasco, I try to do that before Spring and Fall anyway.
Thanks tabasco for the recipes - I will have to give that a try :)
~Kim
My feeders are so busy!! I am serving quite a few birds these days! Only chickadee, mourning doves, nuthatches, sparrows, and the ocassional blue jay BUT this morning I saw a gold finch land on my feeder if only for a fleeting second! That means they know I am here! I think I am going to buy one of those thistle socks within the next week. No squirrels that I have seen so far!
I must confess that I hand feed the squirrels at work! There they are cute but I am glad that they aren't destroying my feeders. Maybe my cats have something to do with that? Just thought I would give you guys an update. Oh and my chipmunks seem to have disappeared. I asked my cat about it and she just grinned....uhm I wonder???
Thats great! Lucky you to have Nuthatches!
My favorite time of the day is in the morning!
7:30am I take the WP feeder out and fill the others as needed and the sit on our deck to watch and listen to all the birds singing and talking!! The hummers fliting around me. Occasionally deer will be across the street at the neighbors apple tree at this time in the morning. A perfect start to the day!!!
We seem to still have lots of juvies of all kinds, which surprises me. But this is our first year at this home so we have seen lots of 'new' things!!!!
Nanny sounds WONDERFUL!! I like to take a cup of coffee and sit on the patio and just enjoy the sights and sounds!! It is a great way to start the day. Okay truth be told I like to sneak a few minutes out there anytime of the day but the morning is especially nice. Maybe because working prevents me from doing it most days, nasty thing seems to keep getting in my way!!
I understand about that work thing!! lol
I was 'forced' into early retirement. I did work until 4 yrs. ago, but after 2 heart attacks, raising 2 gd's who were ages 5 & 3,( dh worked nights), and trying to put in 8 hrs at a warehouse something had to give!!!
We moved here in January this year to a more relaxing enviormentand girls mom was ready to have them come live with her this May. They are now 9 & 7. We had the oldest since she was 10 months old and the youngest since she was 2. I am finally able to relax and enjoy things a little now!!
Evenings are good too, when all the birds are coming in for dinner!
WOW, nanny, you have had your hands full. Just visiting my grand-kiddies wears me out.
Sit back, put your feet up, relax and enjoy. You certainly deserve it.
gg=alice
Nanny - You deserve to relax! You are such a good hearted person! Your grandchildren are VERY blessed to have you. Don't know the whole story on why your daughter wasn't ready to have her children, But I can tell you that she is lucky to have a mom like you.
My goodness, Nanny - you are a saint and certainly deserve some rest and relaxation. Enjoy with all your heart!!!
New question: I bought a niger seed feeder. A metal mesh one because I was afraid the squirrels would chew through the sock to get the seed. The birds are ignoring it. I also bought the fruit and nut mix and a bag of safflower seed. Mixed the 2 together and put that in a squirrel proof feeder. In a cheapie feeder that I don't care about I put the original seed we had purchased that was loaded with millet. The cheap feeder is the one that the birds flock to. (no pun intended). What am I doing wrong? I also bought a suet feeder and am going to make my own suet in the winter. Bought no melt for the time being. suggestions? maybe they just need to "find" the new seed? OH and the chipmunk population is now up to 2 and 1 squirrel...I'm worried about my flowers!! Maybe my cat with bring the population down? As long as she doesn't touch my birds!! It seems her favored fare is rabbit by the remains on our patio. YUCK!
How long have the new feeders been out? It takes them time to get accustomed to a strange feeder.
I second what pelle says. It usually takes them time to adjust to anything new or even familiar feeders if moved or feed changed. I just changed over two of my mesh, metal feeders, the kind that collapses when not hanging, putting in BOSS and corn chips rather than Safflower. Of course the squirrels found them first, but took a couple of days, and then another couple of days for the birds to start using them. They are in their usual spots, just black seeds instead of white.
A few days ago I put back up one of the hopper feeders near another one that's been kept in same place for years. It is about 5 ft away. It took the birds several days to start using it.
A few weeks ago I had to move the big concrete birdbath away from the deck railing (it has constant water stream and we were trying to find a leak in pool equipment right under it below the deck - I'm going to leave it in its new spot because I can see it so much better from the dining room), about 10 ft into the deck area. There are still many birds confused by the "missing" birdbath although it is well within sight and similar surroundings.
etc., etc., etc.
gg=alice
I guess I am impatient...(sheepishly) I put them out yesterday.
Concerning thistle..... My birds have never been interested in thistle in the summer; only winter when the Goldfinches and Pine Siskins get here. In the small, domed, "seed saver", bowl feeder I use a finch mix that has mostly millet and some thistle. Most of the birds feed from it, including the house finches, but mostly the Painted Buntings. I don't see any evidence that they are touching the thistle at all. My wire thistle feeder is way too large (diameter) and holds too much to use for most of the year and this year I decided I wasn't going to waste any more thistle going bad. But darn, I still want to see if some will eat thistle. I'm going to get a much small thistle holder (metal) and keep trying.
Could it be that the thistle that is left over from winter is bad? Or is it that they really aren't interested? Or maybe they don't like my feeder? I sure would like to get the house finches more interested in thistle as it is much cheaper than the Safflower.
So far the other birds hold their own at the Safflower feeder, not being bullied by the house finches but between the "flying pig" doves and house finches, "flying piglets", and normal feeding by other birds, I go through over 20 lbs of Safflower a week.
Suggestions welcome, please.
gg=alice
This message was edited Aug 19, 2007 12:56 PM
