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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That is soooo clever. Thanks for letting me know. I would have never thought of that. When the weather warms some I am going to definitely try the nylon line.
So, I'm sitting on the deck this am, early as the sun's just coming up. A rustle of wings in the tree across from me and I look up. I see about 25 birds, all of a feather, with little crowns on their heads...RUBY Crowned Kinglets I think!!
After a minute of observation, I conclude NO, they are not Kinglets as they are too big...
Tonight I get home and I'm on the deck again and suddenly they appear, all as one back in the tree. I see a flash of RED on the wings and some yellow on the tails...CEDAR WAX WINGS!! Invading!
Herewith are a few pics...
BIG PICS, allow a moment to load...
Image #1
Image #2
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How neat! They are the most delightful birds. Thanks for sharing.
Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks. Beautiful picture. Since I have moved, I haven't been posting a whole lot. The place I live now has a huge back deck that faces the woods. It's almost like being in a tree house. I have lots of birds, but I have to be creative about placing the feeders. There are not many of these limbs that I can reach. One of my favorite things is to watch the bluejays squabble over the peanuts in the mornings, and if I'm in the bathroom getting ready for work, I can always tell if the squirrels have shown up for breakfast by the noise the bluejays make. It is like they're alerting me to come and run off the uninvited guests.
Bluejay
Male Redbellied Woodpecker
Downey Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Female redbellied woodpecker
Hope everyone is doing well.
Becky
My feeders are underseige today..... bad weather must be coming.
The big bird news in the neighborhood are the buzzards....turkey vultures. They came just before Christmas and roost in the big trees. There are thiry to Forty that are pretty much here all the time.
One day I counted over a hundred. They are truly awesome.
Mostly they fly at altitude, several hundred up to thousands of feet. They soar in endless circles that are probably a mile or so in diameter. Late in the afternoon....4:00 or later, they begin to tightly circle the roosting trees across the street. They then get down very low. You can see the variation of color, the featherless head and eyes and beaks. The magnificance of their wing spread can be seen and fully appreciated. We have lots of kids in the neighborhood and when they suddenly come running to play basket ball the buzzards are spooked and fly higher out of harms way. I if I stand close to the house, I can watch them as they fly very low over my head, but if I move into the driveway, they spook and fly high.
My take is they migrated here and have stopped. They know the weather here is mild and there is no need to fly further south. They disappear, presumedly back northward as the temps have moderated.
The storm now to our west and north has brought them back. They are here in force again.
I will forgo putting out anything for them!!
Those are great! My next project is going to be a set of Bushnell binoculars with a built in digital camera.
Fantastic pics...what brand of camera?
What kind of lens ?
DETAILS!! We want details...
My birds haven't been around much since the weather has been so warm here in NE Illinois...
Now we have snow and ice and the junco's have been here today, plus the black cap chickadees. Mostly the squirrels have been enjoying the seed, but I always have enough to share!
G
My camera is a Kodak Z650. It has a 10X zoom. I really like it. We found the best price by ordering it on line from Walmart. Even with shipping it was cheaper then buying it in the store.
We have several inches of ice right now. It's been this way since Fri. The birds are just eating the seed up like crazy. The squirrels are too for that matter. Now I'm out of the loose seed and only have the suet baskets left, and yesterday the store was out of seed:(. I may just have to go to the feed store and get sunflower seeds to hold them till Walmart restocks.
Becky
I think the suet brings in more of a varity then the loose seed. I have tons of Chickadees and titmice, and juncos, a few cardinals, a few nuthatches (I love nuthatches, they are so cute the way they waddle up a tree:). I was trying all day to catch a picture of the pair of Hairy Woodpeckers that come. But they always hang out at the suet that is farther away, and the pictures all just look like downeys:)
Anyway good to hear from everyone.
Becky
We've had a lot of ice, too. This past weekend my back deck was swarning with birds.
Beautiful shots. Is that Oklahoma?!
Yes it is, south of Tulsa area.
Becky
And finally, a picture of a hairy woodpecker. FYI, they look almost exactly like a downey but are much bigger.
Becky
I miss seeing Nuthatches.
Great shots! The Blue Jay is looking right into the camera. LOL I can see in this picture, the size of his beak is much larger than a Downey.
Becky
I do. LOL!!! That squirrel is so funny. Thanks Becky :)
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