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 Garden Becky! I love this time of year! Thanks for posting your pictures! I can't wait to see your Glads in bloom :).
I don't know why mine have never taken an interest in the suet, but I'm glad. And the thistle feeders they probably leave alone because they can't get enough of the seed into their grubby little fists at a time.
Good Morning SL:)
I even tried the suet they aren't suppose to like. They ate it like crazy. I don't know if you feed any of them. But I put some seed out for them on the ground and a stump and they pretty much stick to that. I chase off the suet feeder ones. I find them to be vindictive. So if I don't feed them, they retaliate in my garden. LOL!
I've got my bird/butterfly garden established already but have "problem birds" now...could really use some pointers on dealing with pigeons and starlings...and grackles
I was using that Squirrel Away powder. It worked at first, until the little beggars cultivated a taste for it. How on earth do people who use ground feeders deal with it. I've seen pictures of those low to the ground platform/table type feeders, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how you would control other critters. I did see one set-up in my bird book of one that was homemade and had a cage like thing mounted over it with openings just big enough for the birds, but that would exclude ground feeders like the doves.
The Grackles here have thinnned out. I took Conservababe's advice and made a lot of noise when a bunch of them swarmed into the yard. It does scare the other birds away temporarily, but they come back. The main thing is to prevent them roosting nearby. Same with pigeons and starlings (the roosting, I mean). I don't have a problem with pigeons (crossing my fingers), but the grackles are a pain. The starlings haven't been too bad.
Another thing is to use a lot of feeders that are largely inaccessible to bigger birds. One poster mentioned not putting feed in platform feeders until the Grackles had moved on.
I've got a Yankee feeder for the squirrel problem but the cards don't like it...
Thanks for the tip for the grackles!
I quit putting food on the ground, since those 2 birds died. I don't know if the stuff on the ground had anything to do with it, but I didn't want to take any chances. With all the rain we get, it's not hard to imagine that seed on the ground could become a fertile breeding ground for all sorts of micro-organisms, so for now, the ground feeders will just have to settle for what gets spilled by the other birds and by me when I fill the feeders. Unfortunately, discontinuing the food on the ground seems to have renewed the squirrels' determination to access the feeders.
The Cardinals are persnickety about what they will eat out of. I do have a couple that will eat out of the Yankee Flipper, but they prefer the platform feeder. Perhaps our resident garden shop owner/bird feeder could offer some advice.
Woohoo back at you, GodBlessUSA!
Well, at least someone may use the Turkey and eat him. :)
I have had a couple birds crash into the window. Usually when they try to escape a Hawk. Fortunately, the screens prevented serious injuries. I can imagine the loud bang a Turkey must have made!
We are lucky because it's not very rainy here normally. I rake the Sunflower seed up daily. Pain in the neck but it keeps it from spoiling or becoming too messy. :)
If you purchase the levered control squirrel-proof bird feeder, you can set the mechanism to close for a more heavy bird.
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