Show Us Your Feeders Vol. 4

Hi, Pelle asked if I would like to start Vol. 4 and I'm happy to do so! ;-)

We came from http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/790993/

Here's some of my feeders. I took this photo 12/3/07

Marilyn

Thanks Marilyn!

Tabasco,

My custom mix (when I don't have to watch too many pennies) is not set in stone (the varieties and the amounts). I usually try to make a good mix for the colder months to help the birds. I'm not listing these in any order.

Millet (usually the white)
BOSS
BOSS hearts and/or chips
Finch mix
Nuts (usually peanuts and/or whatever is in bird food bags)
Fruit (the fruit that's in the bird food bags, cherries, blueberries, etc)
Thistle
Safflower seeds (usually in the colder months)
Cracked corn

I'll have to think of what else later, it's late to think. I'll get back to you later.

I usually start with one of those 20 lb. bags I get at Lowe's of mixed seed to a basis to cut on cost.

I wanted to add that I use the same mix for the ground eating birds and for the feeder birds. Want to make sure the little darlings on the ground get enough to eat. lol





This message was edited Dec 6, 2007 11:46 AM

Marilyn I really like your setup!


Nanny ~ your question from yesterday about feeding fruit in the winter...here's a couple of pics of the Mockingbird from Feb. 2007. He's enjoying his snack in this one

After he finished eating, he just sat and guarded it, LOL, he was persistent and no one came near him/her!

Oh thats cute sadie!

Thanks! i don't know why, but I never thought of putting fruit out in the winter. DUH!!!

Do you think people find it strange that we have this much to say about bird seed & feeders??? LOL :-)

Haha :-)

We love our bird watching!

LOL, my DH thinks I'm strange for sure. Especially when I run out in the cold, in my robe & house shoes, to put out seed or fresh water ;-) But then again, I think he's strange for wanting to sit in the freezing cold for hours on end when he's hunting!

Thanks Sadie! That's not even all the feeders!

See that 4 arm feeder post in the foreground? This is what happened to it yesterday. :-(

It slid down. I'm having problems with it and it's a new feeder post. This is the only one that's not one piece. I got it at Duncraft and it's suppose to be a best seller, I already had told them about it with the problem of it not tightening up to make it the stable post they say in their description and they said they would have the company who makes it send the two poles of the post (haven't rec. it yet.).

http://www.duncraft.com/Quad-Birdfeeder-Hanger-Four-Arms-P263C176.aspx

Marilyn..If I was a bird I'd want your address for sure! Your banquet looks great!

Sadie..love that Mockingbird, haven't seen any around here lately but I will try the fruit like you have.

Nanny, the first thing I do in the morning is feed the heifers, walk the dogs and then feed and water the birds. If I had my choice it would definitely be in the reverse order! (DH is a big boy and he feeds himself thank goodness)!

I have set up more feeding stations hoping to get the birds closer to my window. I know DH thinks I have gone over the edge when I start dragging all this stuff out to convert to feeders and waterers for the birds. Nothing is too good for my "babies"! LOL! Oh gosh, I just noticed about 12 little GF at the new feeder but when I tried to hide and get a pic they flew off. The will be back though and I hope to share pics later today...Rose

For the past couple of months, I was cutting up oranges into quarters and placing the them all around where I fed the birds on the ground and the feeders. I did it mainly to try and keep the cats away and figured the birds would enjoy some fruity treats. It did keep the cats away for a little while, but when the oranges got rained on, I had to replace them. The scent leaves the oranges when they get wet. The cats kept coming around even when I kept putting fresh orange quarters out (after awhile they got used to the scent or they're just darn killers). I did noticed that the fruit was being eaten (figured by birds: Mockingbirds, Robins, etc). That reminds me, I got to cut some oranges up today.

Sorry to make a long story.....

This isn't a very pretty feed station but the birds are loving it. So far I have had White Crowned Sparrow, WBW, finches and WBN and 2 Downey's. The WBW just lands long enough to grab a seed and run!! He's so funny!!
I am thrilled. It is just some sort of pipe thing with some sort of curved arms. I put a screen on one side and the lid to our old turquoise toilet on the other side!! DH thinks I am certifiable...LOL! I wired the screen down and the lid is porcelain so I don't think the wind will blow them over. The whole thing is high enough that I have to use a ladder to put the feed out. The hanging planter has feed in it too and is the WBW favorite.

Sorry for the poor pic but the ones with the birds were taken from inside. I think the red tinted one is a barn finch..please correct me if I'm wrong!

Marilyn - I hope they hurry up and replace your feeder pole, especially at that price! I've had 1 pole that was adjustable (don't remember where I got it) and it never seemed to work correctly. I've been getting double shepherds hook poles at Tractor Supply for $15 and they seem to be working really well. They're solid poles, not tubular and have 1 really long stake and 1 short. The only place I have problems with them leaning is when I put them in the flower beds, because they dirt is soft and worked up there, they want to lean some if it's really wet.

Rose - I think the most Mockingbirds I've seen here is 3, they sure are characters though and the other birds give them their space! I like your feeding station, make me wish I had an extra toilet lid :-) I think the bird you're asking about is a House Finch...could be a Purple Finch but it looks more like a HF to me. They're kind of hard to tell apart.

Here's are links to a HF and a PF, look at them and see what you think.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/House_Finch.html
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Purple_Finch.html

Thanks Sadie for the links! I also checked my two bird books and still can't tell the difference! The birds are sure enjoying the new feeding station....haven't gotten a thing done today trying to get some pics of them!

Looks like Purple Finches to me but I'd need another photo. :-)

Rose,


Great setup! I love it! Looks great too!

I think it's a Purple Finch too.

Over the last several months I have been buying parts of the WBU APS (Advanced Pole System) I got it up a couple weeks ago but was still not using it until I was able to get the raccoon baffle for it last week.

Today dh took me to WBU and let me get the seed catcher/platform feeder to put on it So I am a happy little birdfeeder!!

http://www.shopwbu.com/product/part_number=1288/567.0.25206.25750.0.0.0

This message was edited Dec 6, 2007 8:26 PM

Good for you nanny! Well deserved!

Nanny,

Happy for you!

Thanks for posting that link! I didn't know you could order online at WBU! I can't always get there, so now I'll be able to shop online from my house!

Marilyn

Let me correct that..........

I thought you can order online from WBU, but when I try to find to find and look at someting, it doesn't show it. How frustrating!

This must be new & so a very limited selection. I know I had checked it out early this year before I knew there was one in my area and there was no online store.

This message was edited Dec 8, 2007 10:03 AM

I'm going this weekend to get this feeder and some meal worms for the bluebirds. They hang out in the big elm behind the house and eat bugs and such out of the field. Maybe if I can get them using the feeder, I can gradually ease it closer to my general feeding area.
http://www.shopwbu.com/product/part_number=1128/567.0.25206.23447.0.0.0

I noticed on the WBU site that the feed seems MUCH higher than in the store. I bought a 5 lb bag of peanuts, a tree nut mix and some in the shell peanuts and the prices ranged from 4.59 to 5.49 each 5 lb bag. The online store is charging $16.99 for 5 lbs of shelled peanuts and $13.99 for the unshelled!!!
The feeder prices I looked at seemed about the same as the store but I can't get over the difference in the feed!!!

That is shocking!!

The RbW discovers BOSS hearts in the thistle feeder.

Cute sybil! Thats what my female is eating all the time.

And by "all the time." I assume you mean quite literally, all the time!

She just seems to like that feeder the best ;maybe its because its hanging from the tree?

The mix in it is the most popular seller at the bird shop I frequent.

Its simply Black Oil Sunflower & Sunflower Seed (no shell); thats it!

This one didn't go near the thistle feeder until I put the sunflower hearts in it. Now it is a prefered feeding station.

Once I get dressed (yes I'm still in my PJ's,lol) I'll have to go out to the shed to look at the wording on the bags but are sunflower hearts just a piece of the inside seed or is the whole inside seed considered the heart?

We all use different wording of things and thats great; maybe each manufacturer uses different words too and thats why I'm confused?

Does anyone know the answer? I know the impression I was under but maybe I was wrong. :-)

I think it's just a fancy way of saying that the seeds are shelled and broken bits left over from processing for something else. I figure it's the stuff swept up off the floor. I could be wrong...

Feeding frenzy 1

Take a number...

Feeding frenzy 2

Nice pics sybil! Love all your Goldfinch!

I just saw the RB Nuthatch grabbing seeds from the feeder and flying back to the fence to tuck them in at different spots!

original_sybil --- what kind of suet is that? I like the way it looks- even what you hang it in..... . Did you make it?
Thanks!

Sybil,

Really cute and funny pics! I have the same copper top feeder, can I 'copy you'?! I want to add the BOSS hearts to mine (along with the thistle already in there) to attract the RBW's. Who eats the Safflower seeds that you add to that feeder? Maybe I'll try that too. Thanks!

Love all the Goldfinches on your pics!

Marilyn

The suet is from the grocery store. The cotton mesh it's wrapped in was given to me by one of the guys in the meat department.

Marilyn - I have no idea who eats the Safflower seeds. I 've just been told that the birds like them so I add them. Whatever will fill their tiny bellies I am happy to provide if possible.

Did you see that poor little goldfinch on the peanut feeder waiting for a perch on the thistle feeder to open up?