Posted on 03/05/2005 8:07:37 AM PST by sweetliberty
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As it turned out, the previous thread on this topic generated a lot of interest and several people recommended doing it as a regular thread, so here is the second installment.
How you go about creating a bird sanctuary in your yard, or outdoor space, will depend on a number of givens, some which can modified, and others over which you have no control. One of these is geographical location or climate zone. If you live in the Colorado Rockies, you are not going to attract Cardinals, no matter how many black oil sunflower seeds you put out, and if you're on a beach in Florida, it's a pretty safe bet that there will be no snow buntings visiting your yard, the cornucopia of insects notwithstanding. Of course, if global warming keeps encroaching on us, we may soon find Alaska overrun with Parrots and Flamingos, but, I digress.
Within any given area, there are a variety of habitats, so no matter what your specific location, it is possible to vastly increase the types and numbers of birds in your immediate environment by modifying your habitat to make it more bird friendly to a wider array of birds native to your region.
Another "given" is your available space. If you live in a cottage in the woods by a stream, you will obviously have a lot more options available to you than if you live in an urban apartment with nothing more than a small porch or balcony. Of course, I think the majority of us live somewhere between those extremes. The point is, even if you have nothing more than a porch, you can still make it bird friendly, thereby increasing your enjoyment of these highly entertaining creatures. If you don't even have so much as a porch, I would suggest moving!
The purpose of this thread is to share ideas for maximizing our outdoor spaces to make them appealing to birds and butterflies, to share our experiences and knowledge or expertise, photos and resources. The discussion is pretty free-flowing and may expand to include gardening, landscaping and related topics. The direction the thread takes will really be up to the FReepers who post on it. We can focus on a different topic every week or two, or just keep it open and casual, updating the thread periodically. The main thing is that we learn and have fun.
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LOL, that's great:)
I didn't get any bird feeders, but some of my family members enjoyed watching my bird feeders, my daughter and DIL, who are neighbors was telling me about a bird they have in their yards every morning. I couldn't tell what they were describing and so we looked thru the bird book I have and it turned out to be an Eastern meadowlark. I don't have them here which is funny, I'm only about 6 miles as the crow flies from them. But my area is all woods, and they have flat pasture land.
I've had a pair of Northern Flicker Woodpeckers hanging around my feeders this past week. I'd never seen one before, They are pretty good size birds.
Becky
Heh... I didn't receive any bird or squirrel feeding stuff, but I did get my dad a 50-pound bag of raw peanuts for his squirrels :~D
Oh, and I have an interesting bird story, that my husband told me.
He was at a church in Tulsa giving a bid on their parking lot. We went to this church years ago when we lived in Tulsa and at that time they had lots and lots of Bradford Pear Trees growing in the islands in the parking lots. They were all cut down when my husband was there giving th bid and he asked the guy he was talking to about them. The man told him they had to cut them down because of the thousands of birds that nested/roosted in those trees. They tried everything to get rid of the birds, but for years these birds just stayed, the only cure was to cut the trees down.
Have you ever heard that Bradford pears attracts a certain type of bird??? I think it may have been grackles. The reason I ask is we had a shopping center here in Bixby that had Bradford pears, and I noticed in one of those trees there were always tons of birds, and they always made a lot of noise. It was growing were a light was right over it, I figured it was the light that was attracting them to that particular tree.
Becky
If he has squirrels anything like what we have around here, that'd be maybe a week's supply. BTW, where did you find a 50 lb. bag of peanuts?
Well, if it was Grackles, I could see the problem. I really don't nkow what their preferred food is....other than EVERYTHING.
No bird feeding stuff for Christmas.
It's been too warm for this area this week. Last week we got just about snowed in, and then it all melted off in time for Christmas, and it was 42 this morning when I went out to check the feeders.
But there is going to be snow on the mountains today (lots of snow there already, actually) so all the juncos will be heading for comfy patches. Some of the robins around here who don't migrate except up and down the mountainside were moving in yesterday as well.
It's about time for the bald eagle migration. It better start freezing again, or they won't have any ice to sit on where they like to rest after fishing for carp (not in my yard, but in a bird sanctuary about 40 miles from my house. It is amazing to watch them just sit around and fly a little, and get fat from eating carp there.)
......Have you ever heard that Bradford pears attracts a certain type of bird??? .......
I used to have a Bradford pear tree just outside my office window. One winter a mocking bird claimed it as his own and wouldn't let other birds near it.
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My dad has only a couple squirrels, but they are quite remarkable... Here they are coming right to the door, to ask for the nuts... despite the dog. He's created monsters ;~D
Yes, they can be quite bold little characters.
After being untouched since the heat of summer, my feeder was empty this morning! I refilled it as soon as I noticed, and have added bird seed to my payday shopping list – for the first time in several months.
I've had slack periods, but always have some birds. I have finches year round although their numbers fluctuate dramatically. Cardinals, Nuthatches, Titmice, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves and Chickadees are more or less year round too. I still even see the occasional Bluebird.
That is not only the squirrel feeder I got for Christmas, but the fence in the background with the garage peeking over the top looks like my neighbors!!
I just got mine up. Can't wait to see it in action.
The flipper is a battery charged mini trampoline that literally spins and tosses squirrels off of the feeder. Ours works wonderfully and is great entertainment.
You live in Bixby, Oklamoma? Have you ever heard of International Tours of Bixby?
Hummingbird uncommon to Arkansas wintering in White Hall
WHITE HALL, Ark. (AP) -- A broadbilled hummingbird has made a rare appearance in Arkansas at the home of a White Hall couple.
The tiny bird lives in southern Arizona, southern Texas, part of California and in Mexico, and the unexpected visitor to the residence of Chester and Maxine Branch may be the first one ever seen in the state.
Carolyn Theis of the Audubon Society says the broadbilled hummingbird has never before been seen in Arkansas. The bird is blue and green and has a red bill. She says the bird at the Branch home probably got confused during migration and stayed behind while others flew on to warmer climes.
If the couple continues to feed the bird, which they've nicknamed "Speedy," it will remain in their yard during the winter, search for nectar in the flowers in the spring and probably migrate next year, Theis says.
The Branches spotted the bird several weeks ago. Around Thanksgiving, Maxine Branch saw Speedy flying among the few flowers remaining in her back yard.
She had already removed the hummingbird feeders from her yard because the birds normally migrate to warmer climates in the fall. But when she saw the bird searching for nectar, she prepared a feeder with the sugar water mixture that hummingbirds love. Speedy immediately began flying around the feeder.
Since then, the Branches have taken care of the hummingbird, making sure the sugar water is fresh and even warming it on cold mornings.
Maxine Branch says she knew it was unusual for a hummingbird to be sighted so late in the year, but she didn't know that their little guest was apparently the first one of its kind sighted in the state.
The Three Rivers Audubon Society counted Speedy during the group's annual Christmas bird count. Since then, members of several Audubon societies in the state have stopped by to see the bird. Maxine Branch says her guest often makes an appearance for groups.
"He likes the attention," she says.
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