Today At The Watering Hole!

Dellrose - those are beautiful pics. Bluebirds are so pretty. Someday I hope to see one!! Eleanor

Rose,

I so excited and happy for you! ;-)

Those Bluebirds are gorgeous and sweet!

I love seeing all your great pics of them! I agree, it would be great for a separate thread just for Bluebirds!

The Bluebirds just love being in your yard! You've attracted lots of them!

Marilyn

Thank you Eleanor and Marilyn!

Nanny I hope you find one it sure makes watering a lot easier. In the past I was trying to replace watering bowls several times a day when it was freezing...this is so much easier and it also gives you a great place to watch the birds!

I didn't see any BB today..it has been warm and maybe they just came for the water. I am still putting out meal worms and hope I can observe them eating them as well as the blueberries I set out for them. A Mockingbird and a Carolina Wren have discovered the meal worms I throw on the ground each morning and that is fun to watch them eat!

Rose

OK, dell, (:

I finally found a heated blue pet dish at Wallmart ($19.99) (not as nice as yours) (fourth place I went--all sold out at PetCo, tractor supply, ACE Hardware!), found my little fountain bubbler and put the bubbler under some bricks and twigs into the dish with water just to cover some of the brick--and plugged it in--

Now, do you keep it plugged in all the time? (Is it the warmth they're after or just some bubbley water, do you think? It's not freezing here today so I didn't turn on the heat but maybe I should...?)

And do you have yours set on the ground/grass or is it on a table or tree stump or something like that?

And did you put blueberries and meal worms right around the dish to get the blue birds to come to it?

I know you have probably answered these questions in the above posts but there is a lot to read through up there! Everyone is fascinated with your pretty blue birds!

Thank again. t.

Hey Tab! I have the one on the patio on a tall table that I usually use for plants. The other one I have setting on an old stock tank turned upside down..in other words I don't have them on the ground. I'm going to the feed store today though so I'm gonna get another for the ground feeders as it is getting down to 17 degrees tonite.

I put the pump in the waterer because I liked it and hope the birds do too....but I'm not sure it is necessary. I have heard that the sound of water will attract them so that's good enuf for me to try. The ground one won't have a pump and I'm sure they will use it tomorrow when everything else is froze up! I unplug the pump at the end of the day and plug it back in in the morning. I think the bowl itself turns itself on when the temps get below 40 degrees...when temps are freezing they are busy with birds constantly!! I try and dump them each morning as they can get dirty...you know how birds are! Also keep your sunflower seeds away from the bowl otherwise the birds drop them into the bowl and it dirty's the water and also plugs up the pump. (learned that the hard way)! I think the birds do like the 40 degree water on cold days but I can't say for certain. I think the bowls will hold about a gallon of water...and sometimes I will add water during the day.

The blueberries, peanut butter suet and meal worms are on a shallow tray and on the same platform as the water bowl. I haven't seen them eat any of that yet at all! I know they will be back in the morning since they seem to show up when it is really cold! Today the wind is so bad that I now have meal worms all over the patio...but there is plenty more where they came from! LOL!

Good luck Tab...I hope you attract some Bluebirds. I am a crusty old sod but I have to admit they bring tears to my eyes everytime they show up...there's just something about them!! :0)

This is all new to me and I am still learning too...it is fun!

Thanks for repeating all the details yet again, dell! (:

I will make some adjustments to my set up--I think my bricks are not very attractive and not quite right and I notice the rock/stone colors in your first bowl even echo the colors of the blue birds breasts. (Very beautiful in your photos).

I am going to collect some pretty stones tomorrow by the highway to get just the right setting. (I guess I should mention that on Pelle's new "you know you are a wild bird nut when"...thread!)

I will plug in the heater tonight to keep it warmed up for tomorrow. It's icky weather right now and maybe I will get customers by tomorrow morning.

Thanks for all the tips and tricks. t.

I'd suggest washing those stones and rocks before putting them in the waterer. Those road crews and the mowers often use stuff that might not be so good for the birds...

Yes, of course. Thanks! Hadn't thought of that! Probably a lot of pesticides hanging around on them!

That looks lovely Tab...makes me thirsty! I put out a ground waterer tonight...just in the nick of time. The temps went from 70 degrees about noon to 25 degrees by 4 o'clock and spitting snow!! I noticed that the unheated dishes I set out had froze already! The rocks you see in my waterer are home grown on our farm. They do have a lot of rust color in them and I always have tons of them laying around. Some of them are so huge DH has to use the front loader on the tractor to move them!

Good luck again Tab...I hope to see some pics of your visitors!

Rose :0)

I had a friend once who owned a farm in Kansas and she had such great rocks that she had her husband get a front loader and put them on a semi and she took them to L.A. and sold them to people who were making Japanese gardens. Made a lot of money (for rocks, that is!) There is one of hers in the Pacific Asia Museum garden.

Your rocks are so nice you could do that too. Or sell your blue pet bowls with your rocks as a ''blue bird habitat", oh, for, say, what? about $100? Add a few blueberries and charge maybe $125.?! LOL

I'd better go out and plug in my bowl. It's going to get cold tonight. ...I think I'm getting a little bit crazy here!...LOL

LOL Tab!

LOL! I haven't found a bowl yet, but I did nab an oriole feeder today. Will have to look some more.....

We have a lot of bluebirds here, but there is water everywhere.. No one I know can attract them to feeders.