I think Budge does. I don't see to many here, or haven't so far. I think he hasn't really had to battle with them.
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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 think Budge does. I don't see to many here, or haven't so far. I think he hasn't really had to battle with them.
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That's too much! My sister, lives in another state from me, has them by the dozens also. I would just love to have one. Even though it can be discouraging, like you, I won't be giving up. I have to make sure I visit my sister at that time of year. I have only seen one. I'd be thrilled to see them in action at the feeders.
At one point this afternoon, there were at least 11 in plain view, and 7 of them were on the feeder. They do get a little testy with each other at times, but basically they tolerate each other. I have this one tree in the yard that is full of them. They're easy to see with the leaves all gone. there's also a bush that they like and I see several of them flying in and out of it.
My recollection from earlier studies is that purple martins like to have some sort of open area in front of their condos, i.e. you need to have the condos at the edge of a field or at least a large, open back yard.
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That's cracklins, you know, from expired pigs!
Red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, barred owls, hoot owls, barn owls, peregrine falcons, blue jays, robins, cardinals, tohees, brown thrashers, chicadees, titmice, wrens, sparrows, house sparrows, nuthatches, goldfinches (most years), tons of hummingbirds, and many, many more. The beauty of it is that we live in an intown neighborhood.
We grow tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, bell peppers, etc.
I have had problems with squirrels stealing our green tomatoes. It wouldn't be so bad if they would eat the whole thing but they take a couple of bites and abandon them.
One year I stood guard with my BB gun. When I caught the little thieves I would slowly aim around the corner of the deck and pop them in the butt. They would take off up a tree and stop. I popped the butts again. They would climb up about 5 more feet and stop. I popped again. Another 5 feet. In other words, the BB gun didn't phase them.
We finally decided to capture them in hav-a-hart traps and take them at least five miles away. My wife, bless her heart, always inspected the critters to make sure we weren't transporting any lactating females. Another wonderful thing my wife did is when she saw that we had captured a Norway rat she let it go and it ambled into our basement. Sigh.
Anyway, the transportation of the squirrels was about ten years ago and we literally have not had a problem since.
I love the variety of birds in Georgia. I lived there for 3 years.
Hey, I think this will be a great thread. I've been having a flower garden for the last two years. Already starting to plan some new stuff for this year. I put out hummingbird feeders in the summer. I love watching them in the morning with my coffee. They will come pretty close.
I got a bird house this christmas that I plan on putting out this year. I'd also like to get a martin house. They are good to keep mosquitoes away.
Becky
at the risk of getting flamed, i like grackles.
they have a great social life.
i like their whistles.
I keep suet out and replace it every few months in hopes that someone will come and nibble at it - beside the flesh eating squirrel. I have one squirrel that likes plain suet (squirrels are supposed to be herbivores). I asked the guy at the Wild Bird food store about that squirrel and he said, "It happens."
I just love Pileated woodpeckers! We had them in the woods growing up in PA. Here in DC, there are a few on Roosevelt Island, where I go running. They make the most horrible noise though - like a machine gun! Scared the daylights out of me one day when one went off right over my head.
Argh! That drives me crazy! I've watched the same thing! And the Mockingbirds have a taste for my little grape tomatoes, but they usually just pick up the ones that fall on the grown. I've seen the squirrel treat the tomato row like it was a buffet table and he just wanted to taste everything!
We had morning glories all over our east deck one year, and 4 oclocks on the ground; that was the year we had the most hummingbirds. We also have several honeysuckle bushes, which of course they love...
Hummingbirds are my favorites. Once I had taken the feeders in to change out the water, and they flew in front of my kitchen windows, back and forth, waiting for me to finish, watching like hawks. ;-D
Becky
Every few months? It will go bad after a few days, except in freezing weather. I don't use suet at all in the summer months.
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