Pet Channel

A recent study found that the population of birds in urban areas of Britain is directly related to the wealth of the area. Simply put, the wealthier an area is, the more likely it is to have larger populations of birds such as blue tits, coal tits, and great tits, all of whom are particularly attracted to bird feeders. Yes, that means you’re more likely to find a lot of great tits in wealthy areas.

Unless you really want to encourage a visit by a hungry bear (in which case, you deserve one) it is important to keep food sources tightly controlled. Garbage and even bird feeders can attract bears. Incidentally, if you do run into a bear, whatever you do, do not look the bear in the eyes. That is considered by bears to be a challenge. (That is serious advice, BTW.)

Animals are much less active in winter. A bird feeder is most appreciated by our feathered friends at this time when food is less abundant. Noticing how quiet the animal world is will make spring seem all the more magical with its gift of baby creatures to welcome and observe.

I've complained on this blog before about the lack of any interesting birds around my house. We seemed to always have the typical (Boring!) urban birds: house sparrows, starlings, and pigeons, with the occasional robin and mourning dove thrown in. I have also complained about my stupid neighbor calling the city on me about having bird feeders. It turns out that that neighbor did me a gigantic favor.

I have a humming bird feeder outside my living room window where I sit at my computer and write these articles . It is very relaxing on a nice sunny day to look out my window with my sunglasses on and watch them at my feeder. The male birds have beautiful colors on their body. The females are not quite as colorful .

The nesting box is 520mm high by 280mm wide with a colourbond corrugated iron roof similar to the roof I placed on the bird feeder last week.

I looked out earlier and noticed that my new bird feeder was totally empty. So, I filled it up; hence today’s boring picture! This is a new {expensive} kind of bird seed. The other I was buying, labeled “Songbird Food” had a lot of sunflower seeds and other types in shells.

English house sparrows are an introduced specie that came in the 1850’s. I happen to live in one of the areas where they are found in the greatest numbers. They are a pest of backyard bird feeders. I tend to feed only English house sparrows when I have feeders out. Because they are an introduced species we allow our son to hunt them.

Yesterday, I was at the Birds Unlimited store in Burlington to see if I could find a squirrel-proof bird feeder. The ones I’ve had either were pulled to pieces or easily ramsacked by our local insatiable squirrels. Last year, the squirrel figured out how to pull out the feeder plugs and let the seed spill out. I would find the plugs in the grass and put them back in (Note: they’re really hard to pull out).

Another recent discovery is Coles Pond WeatherCam in Walden Vermont. The camera provides a view of several bird feeders spread around the beautiful property of Coles Pond. The picture updates every 60 seconds and it is fun to watch the birds, rabbits, squirrels, deer, and even bear that come to feed there. The site also provides real-time weather data of the area and an archive of past screen captures that is fantastic. When I retire I want to do something similar with my backyard.

Here’s an hour of the tray feeder, condensed down to two minutes by capturing only one frame per second. As you’ll see, despite this theoretically being a bird feeder, the birds don’t get much opportunity to get in there!

There are several bird feeders in the area, the hawks visit them in rotation. I have seen one fly through the carport of the house across the street, out the side and swoop around the house to dive on the little birds scattering away from the attack. On this side of the street, the hawk has learned he can sit in the top of the elm tree on the south side of the house and scope out the situation at the bird feeder that is on the north side of the house. Then, when there is enough activity there, he drops straight down out of the tree, flies low along the side of the house, and pops up over the fence right by the feeder.

Hold on, wait a second… a bird just flew into my apartment, landed on my TV, sat there for a second and then safely found his way out the sliding glass door. That was awesome! I kind of expected that since the bird feeder is so close to the sliding glass door. Weird.

About a month ago, I put a standing bird feeder in the backyard. It’s a metal pole with a decorative tray that holds a pie pan. I pour seeds into the pie pan and birds come to eat it. Squirrels and chipmunks and other rodents can’t climb the pole, so the seed (that isn’t scattered to the ground) is for birds only.

Speaking of dog fear, I wonder about the cop that shot the dog during a house raid. I spoke with my dad briefly about it this morning. If someone walked into my house in the middle of the night and was confronted by Diezel: a) how would he react? b) could I get out of bed and control him before someone did something bad to him? I can tell you, since Diezel has his summer doggie door, the answer to b would probably be ‘no’. The answer to ‘a’ would be a total crap shoot. I worry about Diez being home all day, to which my dad poo-poo’d. “I’m here just about every day”, he said. I guess I’ll just have to keep fearing the day Diez catches a squirrel at the bird feeder.

Discovering how you can best do something for your spouse will require time and creativity. These acts of service like vacuuming, hanging a bird feeder, planting a garden, etc., need to be done with joy in order to be perceived as a gift of love.

But while I made great strides on my to do list last summer, I didn't finish all of it. Some things which one day might be improved were left as is, and I'm sure that I forgot to make a couple of repairs. My conviction stems from an e-mail we received the other day. Our rental agent sent a mail stating that birds had nested in the vent pipe over our stove. Oops. That was one of those items on my original to-do list. Our house has seen a number of remodeling jobs over the years--some done quite well, others not so. One of the latter was the addition of a fan above the stove. The person who put it in ran the vent pipe over to the south end of the house, punched an irregular hole into the wall and simply stuck the twisted pipe out of the hole. The guy who inspected the place before we bought it had recommended that we put a vent covering over it, to keep the wind out. After buying the house I eventually scrambled up onto the roof and investigated the project. Because of the bent pipe, I couldn't just slap a vent cover on it. I'd have to mend the hole and bang the pipe back into shape. Anyway, since it was a more challenging fix, I put it off and off again. Then, a few years back, a group of pigeons decided they liked our bird feeder, and took up residence on our roof. They would often sit on the roof of our back porch and their coos would resonate down into our kitchen. 'Twas annoying, but it was one of those things that was relatively easy to adapt to.

Along with the plants, flowers, dirt and whiskey barrels - we picked up a few more finch feeders. We already have a ton of different bird feeders in the backyard - - but I love the goldfinches! So wanted to put up some finch feeders .. fill ‘em with thistle and attract those cute little guys. We put up three new ones. And here’s the result, within an hour of getting them hung and filled:

This picture was taken at our bird feeder the other day. The bird feeder is just on the other side of a cat tree we have in our family room. The cats sit on the cat tree and watch the birds. It is like cat TV. Occasionally Pixel will hurl himself at the window trying to get the birds. The birds have figured out the cats cannot get to them. For the most part the cats have too, but sometimes Pixel forgets. When I was home sick I did not read or watch TV much, so you gotta get your entertainment somehow.

Have you ever tried to keep a squirrel out of your bird feeders? I can remember as a kid, my dad did battle with one of those furry little rat bastards (and consequently giving up) .. but how the hell does one keep THIS out of the feeder?

The for sale sign incident is just the latest madness to happen to me in what seems to me to be a veritable volley of oddness surrounding me at the moment. Deer are eating my lawn, moles are busy excavating my vegetable plot and the local rabbits seem determined to commit suicide by constantly throwing themselves under the tyres of my Landrover, dont even mention the Squirrels. I bought a wild bird feeder from Tescos and now as if by magic all the local wild birds have disappeared from the garden.

Yesterday the bird feeder had, in addition to the usual mob of sparrows, a mocker, a blue jay, and a cardinal. I'll be on the lookout for the slate-colored juncos; twice a year they pass through and eat up everything in sight, like a busload of tourists invading a rest stop on the interstate.

My family’s neighbors recently turned me on to this fun new toy where you feed squirrels ears of corn attached to a bungee cord. I cannot think of many things more entertaining than a squirrel bouncing up and down clutching corn. Check out the video on the website - you’ll get a chuckle out of it! http://www.squngee.com

I then stepped outside to fill the bird feeders. There in front of me was another first, a mini meadow of yellow sunflower like flowers. They had grown there due to the seeds fallen from the bird feeder. I noticed the seedlings and therefore did not mow them down.

I was reading Fark at lunch and I came across this story about squirrel proof bird feeders (including one that launches the squirrels). Judging by the 2,570,000 pages Google found when I searched for “squirrel proof“, there are a lot of people with the problem.

I was up at the cottage in the Smoky Mountains, and was lucky enough to receive all sorts of visitors to the bird feeder. A pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks showed up one day and stayed around for quite some time. This is the female of the pair.

Now, I must admit that since I am a crazy cat lady, I am not really a bird person. I defend the right of an outdoor cat to have a tasty bird meal if he can catch it and would never put a bell on a cat’s collar to protect the birds. I have never owned a bird feeder and have never been too eager to have one: It just seems to me that the only “benefit” of owning a bird feeder is that you invite all the neighborhood birds to gather and leave their droppings all over wherever you put the feeder.

This is Genitta's (well I guess now Rob's) bird feeder... it was very active and got Jaike's attention right away...

I managed to find another small chunk of time to see what birds are around my house. Surprising today were no band-tailed pigeons (usually ubiquitous around my bird feeders).

Nothing much or rather nothing of interest going on here; still trying to get over this cold or flu or whatever. There’s still a “frog” in my throat that seems to creep back up in the mornings and doesn’t want to go away. The weather has been rainy the last few days. It’s been nice to have this rain which isn’t heavy or stormy. We’ve put up a bird feeder on our patio to attract the many birds that are still around this time of the year. We had been looking for a hummingbird feeder but stumbled upon a wildbird feeded at Target at a very good price. For less than $10, we got a nice feeder and a big bag of bird feed. The cat seems to enjoy the birds more than she enjoys the stray cats that come for food we leave on the patio. Luckily the bird feeder is up and away from the stray kitties. There are other things on my mind but it’s not for here or there.

Munching on my bagel this morning, I watched the tiny wren trying to dig out some food from the bottom of the bird feeder, which was hanging on empty. He sat on that perch for almost a half-hour, futilely pecking and looking around and watching for someone to come out and fill the feeder. He had faith that someone would. And so we did.

Drylie worked alongside Mizejewski, who also manages the National Wildlife Backyard Habitat program. Under their direction, Jim and Julie Tensfeldt, children Cali, 10 and Timothy, 6, and members of the crew installed bird feeders, birdhouses, a water feature and dozens of native plants to their yard.

Not as bad as lions and tigers, but we do have a bear that tore down our bird feeder and mangled our large garbage bin last night.

I’m pleased as punch with the beautiful bird feeder Blake gave me for our anniversary last weekend. So far the nuthatches and chickadees are enjoying it immensely.

The little green birdhouse has been abandoned, fledglings carried away on a warm summer breeze. Yellowjackets have become bolder, more aggressive, sensing that their days are numbered, stealing from hummingbird feeder and soda cans with angry, buzzing greed. An occasional Stellers jay is seen high in the canopy, scouting the foothills for a winter home when the high country is, once more, frozen in ice. Dawn comes just a bit later each morning and the shadows on the deck are slanted ever so slightly northward, beckoning to the land of snow far away.

Added more Grand Teton photos and a few from Badlands. There’s also more pics in the Miscellaneous section, including some of the World’s Only Corn Palace. Or, as the locals call it, The World’s Largest Bird Feeder. (All those murals are made out of corn. Really.)

Growing up we spent a lot of time in the backyard. Throughout the years it’s changed and things have come and gone. One summer my dad and I built a deck for the pool and the next he painted the patio to match some bricks he laid somewhere else. One thing he has kept back there has been a bird feeder. In the last year, the normal upkeep of this item has been hindered by one of my Dad’s good friends. A squirrel who lives in the trees above our neighborhood has made it quite difficult to keep the bird feeder stocked.

So finally we broke down and got some new binos. We’d been using my dad’s old Tasco 7×35 Porro binos that were at least 40 years old *ugh*. These new ones are great; very sharp, nice and bright, very good FOV of 341′ at 1000 yards (awesome for 10×42s) and the close focus distance is supposedly 7 feet but I find it closer; more like a tad over 6′ (great for sitting in your house and watching closely-mounted bird feeders, or checking out butterflies, etc). Here’s a blurb about them on Optics4Birding.com:

They are black-headed grosbeaks. It took me a bit to figure that out, even though their large and sturdy beak first suggested that I should start with a grosbeak. Fortunately the male spent a lot of time on the bird feeder yesterday and today, and the female joined him on the rail, where corn and sunflower seeds seemed to keep her content.

We have a couple of bird feeders on our deck, and I’ve long know that the birds that feed at the feeder (sparrows, cardinals, mourning doves, blue jays, orioles, etc) often used the bushes as ‘rest stops.’ My fear was that any of these birds had built nests in those bushes.

We were awakened again a couple of nights ago, the dogs going bonkers. A big bear was at the front bird feeder, looking for a meal. I bring the feeders in at night, so he was disappointed. But we watched him for a bit before he wandered off. We think it was a bit smaller than the one that had been coming. At least this one didn’t come up onto the porch. If he does, there is a 12-guage shot gun waiting for him. I don’t like the idea of shooting a bear, especially a big one, but will if he becomes a threat.

I ate cereal. There were about 7 Sparrow birds around the feeder in the back yard. I even seen a red Cardinal bird on the ground next to it with the Sparrows. I took a nap. When I got up I seen a cat laying under the bird feeder. It did not stay for to long but not birds came wile it was there.

One of the first things I have learned about life is that there are many people have very nice front porches or covered stoops and I have sat on a good number of them over the years. But recently I have also noticed that there are fewer and fewer homes with front porches. Regardless of whether you have a front porch or stoop I have started noticing something a little strange, at least it was to me at first. There are these peculiar glass containers hanging out there that are often filled with a pink liquid. My first thought was that this must be some tradition but I couldn't figure out exactly what kind. My first thought was why would anyone want to hang up pink cool aid on their front porch? I mean, I had never really seen anything like this. We didn't do this where I grew up. But soon I found out what they were and why people have them. They're humming bird feeders.

Me, I personally like squirrels. They are cute and fun to watch. Sure, they steal bird seed from our bird feeders, but they provide lots of entertainment. We have a Squngee in our backyard that makes the squirrels jump and bounce, to our amusement. How could these cute little critters be viewed as threats?

I put a few bird feeders in my back yard this year and I've been having fun watching to see who comes. It's a great break from the hectic world. One of the things that's been really interesting to me is to learn more about bird behavior. Until fairly recently, I've considered birds to be, well, kinda stupid. You know, birdbrains.

Twelve hours ago, I embarked on a very pleasant four-ball, in perfect weather. It was so nice that I didn't mind losing. So I came home for a little light gardening, watered the plants, washed the car (i.e. removed the protective dirt), put the sprinkler on the lawn, and fixed up the bird feeders. The house sparrow used to be an endangered species round here, but they have found my seed dispenser and they've brought all their mates round. Endangered no longer: there are lots of them, though they seem to have driven out the dunnocks.

I would like to know which wild beast has been in our yard recently. We have a number of bird feeders and suet blocks …all of which attract birds and our friendly neighborhood squirrels and chipmunks. I’ve given up trying to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders they are too persistent for me.

I live with my husband, my daughter (14 months old) and 4 cats.

I like Cats, obviously and birds in general. I am pretty obsessed with watching birds in our yard. I keep several feeders full for them year round and love watching the birds at the feeder. Some favorites are Tufted Titmouse, Finches, Cardinals and Red Headed Woodpeckers.

I have two regular customers at the neglected bird feeders, a scrub jay and a Steller's jay. Phh. Well, if you love birds you must love each and every one. They sure attack those seeds.

What do they sell? Bird feeders! But not just any bird feeder! This bird feeder sends squirrels flying (and I mean flying!)

A little research at the library or over the Internet, will tell you what type of birds are likely to frequent your area in the various seasons. Once you know that, you can look up their dietary preferences, and from there you’ll be able to choose bird feeders that will deliver the appropriate blend of foods, in an easily accessible way. Bear in mind that bird feeders which are filled with large size seeds, or fragments of corn and peanuts, must have an adequate opening to dispense the contents, or the birds will realize they can’t get at the...

Recently, I purchased 2 small bird feeders and put one in the back yard and one in the side yard. I am a total nature and animal lover so I thought this would be a good idea. NOT...

Unlike the other birds, the grackles are afraid of me (heh) because I'm constantly running them away from the bird feeders. If it weren't illegal to fire a gun and/or kill animals within city limits, I would've shot them all long ago.

But since it is, I'd never do anything like remove the screen from the window behind my desk so I could get a clear shot at them at the bird feeders with a pellet gun. Nope, not me. Why, I don't even own a pellet gun.....that shoots very accurately.

During my morning run I heard another new arrival: the Wilson’s Warblers are here. I heard a half dozen of them on my route. An Anna’s Hummingbird perched on a wire; I heard its garbled buzz before I spied it. They now feed on the comfrey plant outside my window, ignoring the feeder immediately adjacent. The bird feeders are largely abandoned now, everyone is on territory and there are better eats to be gleaned from the bugs in the trees.

The weatherman was right. It is back to being sweatshirt weather. I saw snow flurries in the air as I put out the bird feeders this morning. Our spare backup cat's family must be traveling, since she scooted in the door as I filled the feeders. The Goldfinches were complaining that I was so late this morning, but we had neglected to turn the heat on before going to bed, so the house temperature had dropped to sixty five degrees. That meant the first step out of bed was just cool enough to keep me under the down comforter for an extra forty-five minutes.

On my recent departure from Texas, my hostess Evelyn was gracious enough to give me a gallon freezer bag stuffed with fresh pecan halves. Her two trees produced a bumper crop this year, and as fast as she and her companion Russell can eat them, they mount up. Russell, who will be 80 this July, enjoys sitting in a worn ladder-back chair under a lean-to in the back yard, not far from the trees, shelling pecans for hours at a time. As he works, he watches Ratzy and Angel, their cats, play with Snickerdoodle, a pint-sized dust mop of a dog. The bird feeder draws all types of birds from the nearby Brazos, including the brilliant startle of cardinals. The view is green this time of year as far as the eye can see from the back yard, which overlooks the Brazos flood plain. A fine green tracery softens the stark mesquite and sage, fragrant on the ever-present plains wind. The temperate weather of spring is a precious commodity in Northwest Texas. All too soon, the heat will drive them all indoors. There is a history to this tableau: Evelyn's father, Doyle, used to spend time in his yard in Huckabee and other points in Texas shelling pecans from his own trees. I believe Evelyn finds this simple tradition comforting. As she put it in her recent letter: "Dull is GOOD."