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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Beautiful, just beautiful!
Beautiful photo of a beautiful bird.
I used to live in an apartment with Crabapple Trees by the windows.
These birds would come and get the ripened (smaller) crabapples in the winter.
It was the only time I've seen them in the wild.
Sad news, they cut down the big oak in the front yard. I already miss that big tree!
Why'd it get cut down?
I know of one flying squirrel nest that was destroyed. I'm hoping the little buggers survived.
There were flying squirrels there?
I live in a 'flyway'. At times thousands of little black birds fill my fields.
Also the high flying geese overhead.....sometime they rest for awhile.
Where are they going? After a mild January, are they going North?
I can hardly leave my car in the driveway, it gets bombed when I do.
It does seem a bit early for them. Who knows what's going on. Sometimes I think the birds are more in touch than we are.
Just a heads up: there's a cool program on Discovery Channel right now called "Craftiest Animals: Squirrels."
Thanks for the ping. Got to see the last half of it. Long enough to learn that there is no way to outwit the critters!
I just finished watching the crafty squirrels – and my squirrel proof feeder is still squirrel proof after over a year.
Please let me know which feeder you are using. All of mine, with baffles, have failed.
My squirrel proof feeders are still doing well also. It sure took quite an investment of time and money to finally get a handle on the clever little devils though.
I gave up on the fancy guaranteed squirrel proof feeders. This one cost about $1.50. It is hung from thin nylon line – too thin and slick for the squirrels to grip, too far from the roof support to jump across and too low from the roof for them to jump down on. Unlike the birds in the lady’s back yard on the TV show, the birds here don’t mind a moving feeder.
For a couple years my late wife and I would make an obstacle course on the back porch for them – just to watch them figure it out. We also went though several “squirrel proof” bird feeders that the squirrels quickly figured out and enjoyed immensely. Watching them for a few years I got the idea of the hanging feeder – and it has worked. They tried for about a month before giving up. It was something to watch them try to slide down the line. Every time they going were too fast to grab on.
ping
Thanks for the ping.
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