Feeding Wild Birds

[TOMTE]

Can't you make it a little more stable for them? Looks like the movement is scaring him. lol

It's an old video. He got used to it quickly, as did all of the other birds, but we ended up taking the saucer part off anyway. I just wanted to try it out of curiosity

 

[sourland]

Blackleg is dead. Blackleg was a stub tailed opossum that has been eating the cat's food for several years. Saw the buzzards working on something in the West hedgerow and found his body. Don't know if he died of natural causes or predation. His teeth were very worn, so it may have been old age. His buddy Snowman disappeared a year or so ago.

 

[TOMTE]

It's an old video. He got used to it quickly, as did all of the other birds, but we ended up taking the saucer part off anyway. I just wanted to try it out of curiosity

Unless you mean the entire structure. That bishop's pole is flimsy, we haven't used it in awhile for the birds because it bends and bobs around with any weight over a couple lbs. Now there's a windchime on it

 

[sourland]

Around noon yesterday, 3 'strange' turkey hens showed up at the feeder. Tonight they came in with 'my' thirteen. Strangely the dominant hen was not harassing them.

 

[ValerieJ]

We are getting so many doves right now. We do feed them, but only get a handful every day during the summer and winter. It seems there must be a flock that passes through in the Spring and Fall because suddenly we get a few dozen of them.

We also have about 5 crows hanging out on the property now pretty much year round. It might sound weird, but that is my favorite bird. They are so comical. When my son was young, he brought home an injured crow and nursed it back to health. It was a hoot! It got so domesticated that it wouldn't leave. We had to build a cage for it and put it on the back deck. I left the door open at all times and she would come to the door and look out, but not step out unless coaxed. Crows truly are all about food, and if you feed them they will never leave you. We would take her out and toss her up in the air to get her interested in flying again. She would fly around in a couple circles over head and come right back to perch on our shoulder. So cute.

Other than that and the blue jays, we don't get too many of the other birds anymore. We have wrens on the river bank (high bank, so very tree like for them) and we see Chickadees in the spring, but we used to have so many colorful birds come through. The squirrels have definitely taken over our bird feeders. Good thing we like them. lol We have never had any problem with them invading our house at all. They have a whole forest to live in. Although, last year, they were stuffing peanuts in my husband's motorcycle pipe. lol It seems convenient to leave the garage door open during the day. They thought so too.

I probably said all this a long time ago when I came into this site. I can't remember. Sorry if I'm repeating myself.

Oh yes, and we have had a devoted pair of bald eagles on the river for 10 years. They are definitely special, but I have to keep them away from the chickens.

 

[Molpet]

The squirrels have definitely taken over our bird feeders. Good thing we like them. lol We have never had any problem with them invading our house at all. They have a whole forest to live in. Although, last year, they were stuffing peanuts in my husband's motorcycle pipe.

Pine squirrels packed the engine and fenders with black walnut a few times. Tore a hole in the insulation to the hood and ate the windshield washer line in the hood. They had to go

 

[shawluvsbirds]

We are getting so many doves right now. We do feed them, but only get a handful every day during the summer and winter. It seems there must be a flock that passes through in the Spring and Fall because suddenly we get a few dozen of them.

We also have about 5 crows hanging out on the property now pretty much year round. It might sound weird, but that is my favorite bird. They are so comical. When my son was young, he brought home an injured crow and nursed it back to health. It was a hoot! It got so domesticated that it wouldn't leave. We had to build a cage for it and put it on the back deck. I left the door open at all times and she would come to the door and look out, but not step out unless coaxed. Crows truly are all about food, and if you feed them they will never leave you. We would take her out and toss her up in the air to get her interested in flying again. She would fly around in a couple circles over head and come right back to perch on our shoulder. So cute.

Other than that and the blue jays, we don't get too many of the other birds anymore. We have wrens on the river bank (high bank, so very tree like for them) and we see Chickadees in the spring, but we used to have so many colorful birds come through. The squirrels have definitely taken over our bird feeders. Good thing we like them. lol We have never had any problem with them invading our house at all. They have a whole forest to live in. Although, last year, they were stuffing peanuts in my husband's motorcycle pipe. lol It seems convenient to leave the garage door open during the day. They thought so too.

I probably said all this a long time ago when I came into this site. I can't remember. Sorry if I'm repeating myself.

Oh yes, and we have had a devoted pair of bald eagles on the river for 10 years. They are definitely special, but I have to keep them away from the chickens.

I want a pet crow!
I have enjoyed watching the crows fight off the hawks around my place. They are facinating birds to me. And apparently according to this article you should never *urinate* one off. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/science/crows-grudges-revenge.html

 

[TOMTE]

I want a pet crow!
I have enjoyed watching the crows fight off the hawks around my place. They are facinating birds to me. And apparently according to this article you should never *urinate* one off. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/science/crows-grudges-revenge.html

Corvids are incredibly smart, I'm also a crow lover!

They tend to stay off our property but occasionally venture into the very edge of it. I wonder why that is? We haven't done anything to offend (that I know of, I hope we haven't). Since moving here 15ish years ago I can't remember any crows ever hanging out anywhere in our yard, but they're in the woods surrounding our property all the time. I wonder if either of the previous owners did something to deter them, intentionally or not. I'd love for them to feel welcome here, they make a great predator alarm system for the chickens.

But so do blue jays and squirrels and we have SO many of them!

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Corvids are incredibly smart, I'm also a crow lover!

They tend to stay off our property but occasionally venture into the very edge of it. I wonder why that is? We haven't done anything to offend (that I know of, I hope we haven't). Since moving here 15ish years ago I can't remember any crows ever hanging out anywhere in our yard, but they're in the woods surrounding our property all the time. I wonder if either of the previous owners did something to deter them, intentionally or not. I'd love for them to feel welcome here, they make a great predator alarm system for the chickens.

But so do blue jays and squirrels and we have SO many of them!

Well as much as i do like them, i wouldn't necessarily want a bunch of them hanging out real close lol. Ours stay mainly out in the hay field and the tree line. I keep call ducks and I think they may be smaller than the crows are. I'd hate for the crows to start trying to get in to their food.

 

[sourland]

When we first moved here, the crows would knock the lid off the garbage can and strew garbage around. I padded a jump trap and set it on top of the garbage bag and secured it to the can. The next morning pluperfect heck broke loose with much clanking and cawing of the resident flock. The Princess asked: "What's going on?" I replied. "Crows are being educated." Went out and explained to the caught (uninjured) crow that he should never do that again. I released him, and he told his flock mates to stay away. Many years later I fed and befriended a flock as a warning system. I still feed them, and they are still cautious around me.