I still feel like crap, but at least I don't have to work today.
Posted on 02/12/2005 9:27:14 AM PST by sweetliberty
With Spring just around the corner, at least here in the southeast, it's time to think about spending more time outdoors and making our yards and porches more pleasant places to be. FReepers have such a wide variety of interests and talents, I thought it might be fun and educational to do a thread for bird and garden enthusiasts. I see a fair amount of discussion on some of the threads about gardening and landscaping, but not too much that is specific to gardening for the birds.
I've pretty much always had a bird feeder or two around, and that number has grown since I moved into a place last summer that has a big yard. I have a fair variety of birds and I have begun to think about developing it specifically to attract more species, not only for the enjoyment of watching the birds, but also to control natural pests that are prevalent in this part of the country, without resorting to pesticides. I know that the right combination of flora can discourage certain pests and also attract birds that will help keep the pest population down. I would love to hear from FReepers who are experienced at creating such a balance. I think it would also be fun to have a place to share our experiences as we develop them. I know there's lots of links out there with useful information and I make use of them from time to time, but it's just not the same as having discussions on a forum where we have experts on everything. And I don't know of any place else on the web so animated by wit, along with wisdom, on just about any topic.
I bought the Birds and Blooms book, "Birds in Your Backyard," this year. I've been reading on it a little at a time.
Glad to see this thread is still flying along.
I've had a winter visitor this year that I've had a hard time identifying, which is unusual because I've been at this for some years. Anyway, it's a tiny bright olive green bird, smaller than a Sparrow, slightly larger than a Chickadee. It loves peanut butter and is solitary. I live in the DFW area. Not being able to figure this out has been keeping me awake at night.
Anybody have a clue? Possibly a Warbler or Vireo?
No,I never have seen the babies,but I can hear them when the parents return to the nest with food.LOL
Another gardening thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1353817/posts?page=1
Becky
Any suggestions on what kind is best. I live in southwest PA. close to Delaware.
Depends on what you want to attract and how bad the squirrels are there.
We had several small bright green birds here in Central Texas last year.
They arrived at the same time as the painted bunting, so it could be either a female painted bunting, or another type of bunting.
Good Morning Sweetliberty
Thanks for the ping!
I still feel like crap, but at least I don't have to work today.
The squirrels have finally learned how to defeat my bird feeder. One will jump to the right side of the top while a second jumps to the left side of the bottom. The torque detaches the bottom – and the seeds fall. The squirrels don’t seem to mind the five foot drop.
It was only a matter of time, now to try something else. Those little critters are smart.
The set up I have now is working pretty well. Of course, I have a small fortune invested in it, but it will probably save me that in bird seed in no time. The Yankee Flipper is pretty heavy duty as well as having entertainment value. The platform feeder with an externder arm and squirrel baffle seems to keep them out of that. I plan to add another Droll Yankee feeder in the back. Haven't decided what model yet.
When a squirrel steps onto and tilts the weight activated feeding perch, the motor spins and the squirrel is flipped off the feeder – that’s why it’s called the Yankee Flipper. Birds – such as cardinals, finches, nuthatches and titmice – are too light to activate the motor, so they feed cheerfully away.
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