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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I expect they could, but they're really pretty timid critters.
I need some help with identifying a bird. There was this beautiful bird at my feeder this morning. At first, I thought it was an Oriole, but it wasn't really orange, more of a deep, golden color, but with black markings similar to an Oriole. It was looking for fruit, but rejected the cranberries outright. Of course, I immediately put out some orange segments, and the bird came back, only to be run off by a Red-wing Blackbird. I've been watching to see if it returns. I hope so. Any idea what this bird might be?
I checked my guidebook and the only ones I came up with that matched your description was the American Goldfinch and the Orchard Oriole...
I have Goldfinches galore. This bird is considerably bigger than a Goldfinch and kind of short bodied, and rather round, if I remember correctly. (Hard to descfrbe a bird when you only see it briefly). The color was more a deep golden, with an orangish cast. The finches are a brilliant yellow. It had no interest in the seeds or anything else in the feeder. It was grazing for fruit and came back immediately after I put the orange pieces in there. I was SO mad at that blackbird!
Could be. I need to get another look at him.
Actually, it must have been an Oriole, because I don't think it was a coincidence that I just saw 2 other birds that were DEFINITELY Orioles, I'm guessing maybe a pair, or maybe even 2 different kinds, or maybe an older and a younger male. I don't think the females have the deep rust color that one of these birds had. One was the bright orange and black, and the other was a deep rust and black. They are after the hummingbird feeders. I really need to get an Oriole feeder and make sure I have some oranges out on a regular basis. I'd hate to have them move on because they didn't like what was on the menu.
I saw this all-blue bird today. It is eating from one of the feeders. It is smaller than the one I saw before that I thought was an Indigo Bunting. This one is bluer,too. In full light, it a very rich blue, but it blends into the shadows. Pretty little thing. The only other thing I could find that remotely resembles it is the Blue Grossbeak, but I don't think it has that kind of beak, and it doesn't have the rusty brown color on its wings, just a little black.
I have a funny story about possums.
I was dressed for work once, which was a skirt, nylons and pumps, and let the dogs out into the back yard for the day. One ran to something and picked it up, and I could tell immediately it was some kind of animal. Well, I didn't want them to have that, so I went out, looked, and saw a dead possum. Mouth gaping open, tounge hangin' out.
I didn't want to pick the thing up with my hands. I'm not a super squeemish person, but I grabbed a shovel and scooped him up with that.
Then I stood there. Where do I put it? At the time I was in a duplex with other yards surrounding me, and I thought for a minute. I didn't really want to put it in my garbage. I needed to get out the door to work, so I put it in my burn barrel. Not that I'd burn it, but at least the dogs wouldn't get to it and I could deal with it later.
Well, I plop him in there, and he immediately gets up and starts walking around. D'oh! He was playing possum! He wasn't dead at all! I marveled at him remaining stiff and dead while I walked around with him on the shovel.
Well, the little guy scratching around in the burn barrel was no good either... the dogs were already onto that... and, truth be known, I'm a real softy where critters are concerned. I can't kill things for no reason, especially just leaving it to starve in a burn barrel. So I stuck the shovel back in to scoop him out, and as soon as I touched him, 'plop, he fell over 'dead'. Amazing. He let me scoop him up, dead, now covered with ashes, and now I am standing there again, with the dogs keenly wanting at it, wondering where to put it.
I put it over my fence into the neighbor's yard. He laid there for a minute and then slowly, looked around, got up, and proceeded right back through the fence into my yard. D'oh! I put the dogs in, went out, and tried to chase him back through the fence. It was a kind of mesh field fence with 4" squares. Well, every time I'd chase him, he'd get spooked and fall over dead again.
Dang. By now I am getting to be late for work. The dogs really want out, and this possum is dead set on going somewhere, through my yard.
OK, I think, He's got a plan to get across the yard, so I'll put him on the other side... maybe he knows where he needs to be. So I spooked him, picked him up with the shovel again, still marveling at this whole 'play dead' concept, and plopped him over the fence on the far side. He got up, and trotted off, away, thankfully, any direction than back into my yard was good.
My coworkers thought this was a bizarre excuse for being late. But I learned something, and witnessed first-hand why possums always get hit in the road. Playing possum doesn't work with a car.
Bird ping for later.
I took these yesterday. This squirrel (I've taken to calling him Waddles) was posing for me yesterday. I actually was feeling sorry for him because he's so fat he has difficulty managing the acrobatics required to even attempt to raid the feeders. So I slipped him a few peanuts.
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I'm relaxing today. After working in the yard on Friday, still digging out a new bed, I'm having a hard time moving around today. LOL!
I did finally see a Female Grosbeak this morning. :)
The Grackles are making a nuisance of themselves again, and now they're after the suet all the time. One of them just knocked down a branch getting at it. Kinda funny really. I don't know how long it will deter him. And I have to admit that one of the most enjoyable things I witness in my yard is a squirrel meeting defeat. "Waddles" was going to have a go at the Yankee Flipper yesterday, but he had second thoughts about trying to slide that fat belly down the length of it. It would've been funny though. I have become an avid supporter of squirrel-thwarting feeders. Secure seed + entertainment = a winning combination.
Here's a couple more shots I took while I was working in the yard yesterday.
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Are you saying that sparrow looking bird in GodBlessusa's post is a female Grosbeak?
and Purple Martins:
LOL! Crazy squirrels. We have about 5 of them now, and they all had a great round of tag this morning. (Much to the aggravation of our dogs)
All the critters are pretty active today considering the weather is so stormy. I guess the big trees keep the rain off, but the birds still have plenty of flying room underneath!
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