# Do You Feed The Birds During Winter?



## HenryMac (Sep 12, 2018)

Nope... not here in Colorado... but we did in Ohio.

Here in Colorado the feed attracts birds that crap all over everything and spill the feed.. then the mice eat the feed the birds spill, then snakes show up to eat the mice.

For Sale: Nice Bird Feeder, Only Used For A Couple Months... :wink2:


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## Yodaman (Mar 9, 2015)

From my kitchen window.
No, I didn't build it. But I did hang it. Wife maintains it.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

We fed the birds this past Spring and some of Summer but we had mice after years of them not being around, so we stopped. I did just buy a large bag of bird seed again so we are going to give it another try. If mice show up, no more feed or move the feed spot.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

I hold back on feeding until mid to late Feb. when the natural food supply has dwindled, but I have begun the water program. The terracotta saucer is intended for drinking water but this pair of cardinals decided to take a bath. I hope this pic isn't too risque.:biggrin2:


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

We do. Actually we provide food, water and suet all year long,
even in the summer.
We love to watch them, they provide us with endless enjoyment
and melodious song.
We also have many bird houses, both store bought and homemade.

In the winter, I make my own suet. Word spreads fast in the bird
community that there is a prime piece of bird real estate in the hood. :biggrin2:

The squirrels are a problem. They love our bread feeder and constantly
devour it. lain:


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

We used to feed the birds until my wife finally figured out it was really just a bait station for the cats.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Wife feeds EVERYTHING!! Right now, I am looking at 5 feeders hung from the soffit, 4 hanging from posts on the porch, and wonder how to pay for the feed. It seems there is a weekly trip to the hardware/feed store for more. People there know her by name and carry her stuff, usually in 50 lb bags to the car.

I had to draw the line on feeding the chickens in the back yard. Too many rats. I would sit on the back porch and plink them with my .22.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

We feed all year 'round plus suet in the winter. Black sunflower seeds only. I bought one of the 'squirrel-proof' feeders. It took the red squirrels a few days to figure it out; the blacks/greys about two weeks, but it does slow then down. I used to put out a finch/niger mix but I found that any of the tube-type allowed the seed to get wet in rain or wet snow. Any feeder that is wood/plastic just gets a big hole chewed in it.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

chandler48 said:


> Wife feeds EVERYTHING!! Right now, I am looking at 5 feeders hung from the soffit, 4 hanging from posts on the porch, and wonder how to pay for the feed. It seems there is a weekly trip to the hardware/feed store for more. People there know her by name and carry her stuff, usually in 50 lb bags to the car.
> 
> I had to draw the line on feeding the chickens in the back yard. Too many rats. I would sit on the back porch and plink them with my .22.


It's the nuturer in her.


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## Allielump (Jul 16, 2018)

I feed all the critters . I just chuck it out the back door right onto an old boot mat on the deck. 
Birdseed, old apples and pears for the bunnies. I dont use a feeder because doves and other groundfeeders dont have to wait for spillage. Until the whole thing attracts a bear I will continue this way.


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## Allielump (Jul 16, 2018)

I find the bluejays to be the biggest greediest hogs when it comes to peanuts


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

I put out black oil sunflower seeds in the winter. Feeder is Ipe with copper pan and pirchs. Sparrows, chickadees, cardinals and blue-jays are regular visitors. I have a loose fitting galvanized steel sleeve over the post to keep the squirrels from getting to the feeder. Squirrels just scrounge for left-overs on the grass. They look up and know the motherload is up there, but can't get up there.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Wife also has a squirrel "mix" that she puts on the drive out behind the house so they will eat there instead of on the front porch where her birds are. Yeah, right.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Yeah you get a few Canada Geese that are injured or too old to fly south for the winter, so you feed them. 20 years later you have 500 birds that stay over and you need gum boot to take a nice walk by the lake.


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## HenryMac (Sep 12, 2018)

We had a half acre pond in Ohio. The damn Canadian Geese would try to knock me off my lawn mower.

We need a wall, with lasers, along the northern border to keep them "up there where they belong".

Somehow I just knew Neal would enjoy a border wall discussion :vs_smirk:


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

HenryMac said:


> We had a half acre pond in Ohio. The damn Canadian Geese would try to knock me off my lawn mower.
> 
> We need a wall, with lasers, along the northern border to keep them "up there where they belong".
> 
> Somehow I just knew Neal would enjoy a border wall discussion :vs_smirk:


 But let's get the facts right, They are not Canadian Geese. They are Canada Geese. :biggrin2: Unless they come from Quebec, then they are Branta Canadensis:wink2:


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## HenryMac (Sep 12, 2018)

Nealtw said:


> But let's get the facts right, They are not Canadian Geese. They are Canada Geese. :biggrin2: Unless they come from Quebec, then they are Branta Canadensis:wink2:


Question: Are Canada Geese, born in America, who's parents are both Canadian, American Geese or Canada Geese?

Of course they are Canada Geese.

Let that sink in awhile...


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

HenryMac said:


> Question: Are Canada Geese, born in America, who's parents are both Canadian, American Geese or Canada Geese?
> 
> Of course they are Canada Geese.
> 
> Let that sink in awhile...


 I saw a deal where they checked the DNA on the ones that put the plane in the Hudson and they were travelers not the locals.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Nealtw said:


> But let's get the facts right, They are not Canadian Geese. They are Canada Geese. :biggrin2: Unless they come from Quebec, then they are Branta Canadensis:wink2:



Perhaps he was making a point of ornithological naming. They are commonly called Canada (not Canadian) Geese regardless of where they live, the same as they are called the American Black Duck regardless of whether they cross the border in the Fall.


Or not.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

lenaitch said:


> Perhaps he was making a point of ornithological naming. They are commonly called Canada (not Canadian) Geese regardless of where they live, the same as they are called the American Black Duck regardless of whether they cross the border in the Fall.
> 
> 
> Or not.


 I wonder what they were called 400 years ago.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Nealtw said:


> I wonder what they were called 400 years ago.



Dinner


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

lenaitch said:


> Dinner


 :biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2:


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Poor Cricket, with her nice clean questions . . .


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## Allielump (Jul 16, 2018)

The geese can be a pain in the butt, but nothing beats the first spring sighting/hearing of that V formation heading north. Its sounds incredibly loud overhead


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

> We had a half acre pond in Ohio. The damn Canadian Geese would try to knock me off my lawn mower



I used to live in a trailer in fla. I got off work early one day and decided to take a short nap. Shortly after I laid down it sounded like a tree fell on the roof so I ran outside in time to see a gaggle of geese take off, they almost turned the roof white too.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

I feed the Finches year round. Don't put out any other feed as the tree rats gorge on it and my wife won't let kill them.


Do throw some bread crusts if the weather stays bad for several days.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

*Re: Dro You Feed The Birds During Winter?*

We feed the american goldfinch’s thistle. It’s an upside down feeder...
Only the finches and chickadee’s can master the upside down feeder.
The doves hang out under the thistle feeder. 
We love the bright American Goldfinches, they fly moving upside 
down like in a wave. They’re the only birds that sing while they’re flying,
in our yard, anyhow. :smile:

The woodpeckers and flickers
love the suet. We have two designated thistle feeders...
The rest of the feeders in the backyard get black oiled sunflower seeds.
We had Oriole’s nesting in our yard this Spring. We put out cut up
oranges for them every day. 

I also have two feeders outside my kitchen window, one has a mix of seed
and black oiled sunflower seeds. The other one has a suet feeder in it
and room for bread. I quit putting bread in it cause the squirrel’s love
bread and I can’t keep him out of the feeder. 

Here is the culprit...He now comes right up to me begging for bread, since 
I finally gave in and let him eat the bread from the rock feeder. I 
always used to put seed in that feeder for the baby cardinals.

This pic is from this summer. The feeder with the red roof, ( I just painted it
red this summer.) This was a regular old metal feeder for seed. I pulled off the
sides to open it up to convert it to a suet feeder. I also wired branches from
our walking stick tree to the pole cause many birds like to land on the branches
to look around before committing to hopping into the suet feeder; especially
the downy woodpeckers...they’re extremely cautious. 
In this pic a big blue jay is waiting to hop in. 

Full disclosure...I said one day to the head guy, I want a pole feeder here
cause I need something to hold on to when I step off this deck. (there is
only one step and then the ground) 
I’m always afraid I’m going to slip on a rock below and bust an ankle. 
So, we killed two birds with one stone, :biggrin2: ‘We made a safety suet feeder!’


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

There are ranchers that feed the geese plenty. In fact they can ruin a wheat crop that was planted for cattle winter grazing and to be harvested in July for the cereal grain.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

*Re: Dro You Feed The Birds During Winter?*



Two Knots said:


> We feed the american goldfinch’s thistle. It’s an upside down feeder...
> Only the finches and chickadee’s can master the upside down feeder.
> The doves hang out under the thistle feeder.
> We love the bright American Goldfinches, they fly moving upside
> ...


If we had a yard like your's we would never go anywhere, it is just more beautiful every time we see it.

Speaking of Blue Jays, we don't see any of them anymore. They use to be all over the place, not anymore.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

*Re: Dro You Feed The Birds During Winter?*



BigJim said:


> If we had a yard like your's we would never go anywhere, it is just more beautiful every time we see it.
> 
> Speaking of Blue Jays, we don't see any of them anymore. They use to be all over the place, not anymore.


I'd like to send you all of our Blue Jays. They are mean to Bluebirds when Bluebirds are nesting.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

[QUOaTE=SeniorSitizen;5708909]There are ranchers that feed the geese plenty. In fact they can ruin a wheat crop that was planted for cattle winter grazing and to be harvested in July for the cereal grain.[/QUOTE]

That's what it looks like here, now, only the geese are in the flooded rice fields. They look like lakes. Swans, ducks, egrets, herons, some kind of sea bird & small blackbirds. Being from So. Calif originally, I'm not used to the thousands of geese.

Not tired of them, yet.

Do they still have rice fields in S. Carolina? Do geese over winter there?


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

Allielump said:


> I feed all the critters . I just chuck it out the back door right onto an old boot mat on the deck. ...Until the whole thing attracts a bear I will continue this way.


Heck, don't sweat the bear. Most states will let you shoot a wild animal that has invaded your physical home, including decks (...check your local laws).

If you cut off most of the fat, bear meat is delicious in stews, spaghetti sauces, and pot roast with wine. It is also good as marinated steaks, with a sauce made of fricasseed raccoon & spotted owl. :angel:


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

Nealtw said:


> [regarding Canada geese] I wonder what they were called 400 years ago.


Good eats...in any of 75 native American languages.


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## tinedog (Jun 23, 2017)

North Texas here. We feed 12 months a year, went through several store bought feeders & finally made one out of 2 large flower pot bottoms and a bit of swing chain. The top one inverted to make a roof, the whole thing hanging from a J hook on an existing post in the yard. Been working with no noticeable deterioration for about a decade. My wife likes to also feed on the patio in some other planter bottoms, but that seems to attract skunks, so I set my foot down. The heaviest use seems to be January through March when food is scarce, and during the hatching season, I guess it is easier to just scarf up some seed from the feeder for the hungry young, than to forage.


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

*Re: Dro You Feed The Birds During Winter?*



SeniorSitizen said:


> I'd like to send you all of our Blue Jays. They are mean to Bluebirds when Bluebirds are nesting.


Yeah, bluebirds are naturally peaceful and non-aggressive, other birds can bully them into leaving an area entirely.

I built eight bluebird nesting boxes, set them up all around the northern end of our off-grid property, the "Lazy B". I wanted bluebirds and swallows -- violet-green's and tree's -- all of which like the standard bluebird boxes. The boss and I love these birds...but the first year, what I got was mostly sparrows. We weren't at the Lazy B when the birds started nesting, and the boss wouldn't let me toss out the sparrows, who already had eggs. She has a tender heart for all living creatures...except me.

Last year I got there in time to evict the sparrows before they'd laid eggs. But they kept coming back -- even though smaller, they'd bully the bluebirds right out of the boxes or kill them, crush their eggs, and build their ugly nests on top of the mess. So I used an old butterfly net to trap the a sparrow inside a box, open the box, and kill the sparrow (when the boss wasn't watching). I did that to four nesting pairs of sparrows, and they stopped coming back. By the end of the season, we had nine successful bluebird hatches (28 eggs) and seven hatches of swallows.

We don't need to feed the bluebirds or swallows. We have bugs...lots of mosquitoes, other insects, spiders, and beetle larvae. Along the creek there are several varieties of small berries, which they can eat when the insect populations decline about September. We don't need to worry about winter food, as temps frequently go well below zero and these birds are long-gone for warmer climes. They come back when it starts to warm up, usually about April Fool's Day.

We also have lots of other song-birds, blue herons, kingfishers, and golden and bald eagles. Apparently, the Lazy B provides ample food for all of them.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

*Re: Dro You Feed The Birds During Winter?*



jimfarwell said:


> Yeah, bluebirds are naturally peaceful and non-aggressive, other birds can bully them into leaving an area entirely.
> 
> I built eight bluebird nesting boxes, set them up all around the northern end of our off-grid property, the "Lazy B". I wanted bluebirds and swallows -- violet-green's and tree's -- all of which like the standard bluebird boxes. The boss and I love these birds...but the first year, what I got was mostly sparrows. We weren't at the Lazy B when the birds started nesting, and the boss wouldn't let me toss out the sparrows, who already had eggs. She has a tender heart for all living creatures...except me.
> 
> ...



Why would you kill sparrows? You could have relocated them. No wonder there's no loving kindness at home!:surprise:


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

I just put some sunflower seeds in shell out on a plate on a bucket - but the little birds don't seem to be too interested. I'm in Southern California, and it's a bit rainy right now.
What they do seem interested in is the patch of weeds right next to it.
The weeds grew in my corn patch since late last summer, so they're about about 4-5' tall in about a 5' square patch. The little birds are there daily and loving all the little white fuzzy tufts from the weeds. Must be making for a nice cozy winter nest for them in the nearby orange tree.
Didn't have the heart to take out the weeds once I started seeing the birds in there. So I guess the weeds can stay until it's time again to plant the corn in Spring.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

gthomson said:


> I just put some sunflower seeds in shell out on a plate on a bucket - but the little birds don't seem to be too interested. I'm in Southern California, and it's a bit rainy right now.
> What they do seem interested in is the patch of weeds right next to it.
> The weeds grew in my corn patch since late last summer, so they're about about 4-5' tall in about a 5' square patch. The little birds are there daily and loving all the little white fuzzy tufts from the weeds. Must be making for a nice cozy winter nest for them in the nearby orange tree.
> Didn't have the heart to take out the weeds once I started seeing the birds in there. So I guess the weeds can stay until it's time again to plant the corn in Spring.



I'm from there. The little birds don't seem to have the beaks for sunflower seeds. They eat the small seeds, like parakeet food. Maybe bugs or worms, too.


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

Thank you Nik333 - I was wondering if that might be the case. I'm on the lookout for a birdfeeder to get this weekend probably. While there seems to be just two that are there daily, at times it seems like there's a dozen going between the patch of weeds and the trees at my house and nearby. So I'll try to get them some smaller food to match them better.


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## Mystriss (Dec 26, 2018)

I don't feed the birds, but I do throw raw meat out for the ermine (they keep the shrews and voles out of the house.)


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

gthomson said:


> I just put some sunflower seeds in shell out on a plate on a bucket - but the little birds don't seem to be too interested. I'm in Southern California, and it's a bit rainy right now.
> What they do seem interested in is the patch of weeds right next to it.
> The weeds grew in my corn patch since late last summer, so they're about about 4-5' tall in about a 5' square patch. The little birds are there daily and loving all the little white fuzzy tufts from the weeds. Must be making for a nice cozy winter nest for them in the nearby orange tree.
> Didn't have the heart to take out the weeds once I started seeing the birds in there. So I guess the weeds can stay until it's time again to plant the corn in Spring.


 Good for you leaving the weeds.

I suspect that weed patch is their preferred food at the moment and attracting with feeders may not interest them so much until that weed patch food supply is depleted. We have weeds galore here and that's one reason why I don't feed early in the winter season.

I've found a ground dwelling Towhee somewhat difficult to photo and I was very fortunate he/she was even on this home made feeder long enough for me to get the camera. I didn't think it was really that attractive for a Towhee to perch on and it was empty. I normally attracts Black Cap Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse but I haven's seen any of those at all this year. 

As you can see I do enjoy making things with STUFF I have here around the ranch, like this feeder of a Tericotta Saucer, a length of 10ga copper wire and some Binder Twine.:smile:


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

*Re: Dro You Feed The Birds During Winter?*



Nik333 said:


> Why would you kill sparrows? You could have relocated them. No wonder there's no loving kindness at home!:surprise:


Clearly you have never tried to provide nesting boxes for good, native species of birds (like the western bluebird and various cavity-dwelling sparrows), only to find dead adult bluebirds and their fledglings, or smashed blue eggs, with sparrows building a new nest above. English sparrows, or house sparrows are non-native intruders. They are vicious bullies and brutal killers. I despise them. So does every other person I know who has a group of nesting boxes, or maintains a bluebird trail.

Here's a direct quote from an Indiana DNR site: "All wild birds are protected by state and federal laws, with the exception of the European starling, rock (feral) pigeon, *and English sparrow.* " [emphasis is added]

Please see this site: http://www.sialis.org/hosp.htm -- it addresses the need for killing sparrows, and techniques to do so. 

Here's a quoted quote from that URL: "Without question the most deplorable event in the history of American ornithology was the introduction of the English Sparrow." -W.L. Dawson, The Birds of Ohio, 1903

Relocating a house sparrow is not a solution, it just moves the problem elsewhere -- also, unless you take them a long way away, they just return.

I will NOT apologize for killing house sparrows. I won't use a cover euphemism like "euthanize" -- I kill them. I don't enjoy it. I do it quickly and as humanely as possible. I never want to find a mangled corpse of a bluebird or swallow in one of my boxes again.

Last point - my quip about my wife's lack of warmth for me was supposed to be funny. Please don't throw that back at me (or her). She shows me loving kindness every day. I would not last long without it.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Yes. Loose worms, suet cakes, and a bulk feeder when the snow is on the ground.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

gthomson said:


> Thank you Nik333 - I was wondering if that might be the case. I'm on the lookout for a birdfeeder to get this weekend probably. While there seems to be just two that are there daily, at times it seems like there's a dozen going between the patch of weeds and the trees at my house and nearby. So I'll try to get them some smaller food to match them better.



As a child in So. Calif., I used to look for the worms when it rained & they left the soil. If you look closely at the ground under the weeds there might be that wet granular soil that earthworms leave. 



Senior would probably know the name. Casts?


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Nik333 said:


> As a child in So. Calif., I used to look for the worms when it rained & they left the soil. If you look closely at the ground under the weeds there might be that wet granular soil that earthworms leave.
> 
> 
> 
> Senior would probably know the name. Casts?


Yes, worm castings and it's for sale at about a buck/lb.:wink2:


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

Nik333 said:


> I'm from there. The little birds don't seem to have the beaks for sunflower seeds. They eat the small seeds, like parakeet food. Maybe bugs or worms, too.





Nik333 said:


> As a child in So. Calif., I used to look for the worms when it rained & they left the soil. If you look closely at the ground under the weeds there might be that wet granular soil that earthworms leave.
> 
> 
> 
> Senior would probably know the name. Casts?


Definitely some worm castings (worm poop) there - I put them there myself from my worm bin 

What I'd like to find a way to attract birds to do is eat some other worms, and I'm not sure what they're called - cut worms or grubs or ?. And I'm not sure what kind of birds like them. But whatever they are grew into big green flying beetles and ate most of my apricots last season.


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

That's good to know that they think of those weeds as food - I was just thinking nesting material, but now it makes sense. There are probably weed seeds in those white tufts as well. So I guess if that's the case, then yes I do feed them during the winter , and will probably hold off with a bird feeder until I plant the corn and take out the weeds.
They're just little birds - maybe 3 1/2 inches - and bright yellow chests. Can't really get a picture, though - they take off pretty quick if I get anywhere near them out there.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

gthomson said:


> Definitely some worm castings (worm poop) there - I put them there myself from my worm bin
> 
> What I'd like to find a way to attract birds to do is eat some other worms, and I'm not sure what they're called - cut worms or grubs or ?. And I'm not sure what kind of birds like them. But whatever they are grew into big green flying beetles and ate most of my apricots last season.


 Those beetles can sure devastate a fruit crop but sad to say a skunk would probably find the larvae before a bird .


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotinis_nitida


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## gthomson (Nov 13, 2016)

LOL - yeah, they devastated my apricot bounty, but I just have one tree, and multi-graft at that. But they took most of my apricots from me... https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk0eHs4F1Ei/


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

gthomson said:


> LOL - yeah, they devastated my apricot bounty, but I just have one tree, and multi-graft at that. But they took most of my apricots from me... https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk0eHs4F1Ei/


And not a bird in sight that would eat one of those things:vs_mad: and some bird would rather peck the fruit until it looked un-edible.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

By the way, most of us are non-native intruders, also.


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

Nik333 said:


> By the way, most of us are non-native intruders, also.


Agreed. And some (many?) would label us as bullies and killers, too.

Look, I need to apologize -- I jumped way too soon, too hard, and too nasty on your comment about relocating sparrows. If I'd paused for a couple of minutes, I would have just let it go. I know some people may cherish sparrows. They have a right to fight for their survival, too. If I were a sparrow, I would.

But I do hate them, truly, for what they do to "my" bluebirds. They don't need to kill the bluebirds and swallows and take their homes...sparrows can and do build nests almost anywhere they want, and they get along just fine. Bluebirds can't do that -- they need a cavity in a tree, or something very similar, to give them the protection and quiet and isolation they require. We humans have greatly decreased the available trees in which they used to find nesting cavities -- and now we are trying to make up for that by building good, ventilated nesting boxes and placing them in locations where they will get morning sun and afternoon shade.

I came late to the realization that the western bluebirds in eastern Washington were disappearing. I've been working to help their recovery. It's devastating to walk from nesting box to nesting box and find sparrows building nests and laying eggs just above the rotting corpses of bluebirds. The bluebirds are bigger, but they are too non-confrontational, and the swallows are too small, to defend themselves. So they die. A Darwinian would consider this the survival of the fittest, I suppose. But I've always loved the western bluebirds, and the tree-dwelling swallows, and I am saddened at their decline.

I'll continue to try to help the ones on the Lazy B live and thrive. I know that, sooner or later, the sparrows may win. But not right now. Not on my land.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

jimfarwell said:


> Agreed. And some (many?) would label us as bullies and killers, too.
> 
> Look, I need to apologize -- I jumped way too soon, too hard, and too nasty on your comment about relocating sparrows. If I'd paused for a couple of minutes, I would have just let it go. I know some people may cherish sparrows. They have a right to fight for their survival, too. If I were a sparrow, I would.
> 
> ...



It's not really pure Darwinism when one species was introduced.


Respect your passion and efforts. I think I've seen about 5 Bluebirds (Eastern) in my lifetime.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Mystriss said:


> I don't feed the birds, but I do throw raw meat out for the ermine (they keep the shrews and voles out of the house.)



They do that. We used to have some hanging around our farm house and barn. One mid-winter day I came out of the barn and one was running across the lane with a mouse in its mouth. We sort-of startled each other and he dropped the mouse and ran about 10 feet and stopped. I just stood still and he looked back and forth between me and the mouse and finally must have figured 'dammit, that's my lunch and I worked hard for it', ran back to get it and scampered away.


We had lots of critters in and around the manure pile. Nice and warm in the winter.



The way I read it 'ermine' is a word given to weasels in their winter coats. I guess somebody decided it wasn't good marketing to try to sell 'weasel coats' to ladies.


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## Mystriss (Dec 26, 2018)

lenaitch said:


> They do that. We used to have some hanging around our farm house and barn. One mid-winter day I came out of the barn and one was running across the lane with a mouse in its mouth. We sort-of startled each other and he dropped the mouse and ran about 10 feet and stopped. I just stood still and he looked back and forth between me and the mouse and finally must have figured 'dammit, that's my lunch and I worked hard for it', ran back to get it and scampered away.
> 
> 
> We had lots of critters in and around the manure pile. Nice and warm in the winter.
> ...



Pretty close, it's a generic name given to weasels who's coats turn to white in the winter. I'm not sure what species ours is, we only catch sight of him/her once in a while. Last time I saw him/her was in the fall and s/he was still in his summer coat. Last spring I saw him/her in the white coat though, quite pretty. S/he lives in our wood pile beside the shop, we try to leave him/her alone so s/he stays. Since s/he showed up a few years ago we've only one shrew in the garage (usually we can't kill em fast enough :/)


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## RockyMtBeerMan (Dec 12, 2018)

I feed them all: song birds, crows, squirrels, raccoons, coyotes, and moose during the winter, hummingbirds during the summer, and bears in autumn.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

jimfarwell said:


> Agreed. And some (many?) would label us as bullies and killers, too.
> 
> Look, I need to apologize -- I jumped way too soon, too hard, and too nasty on your comment about relocating sparrows. If I'd paused for a couple of minutes, I would have just let it go. I know some people may cherish sparrows. They have a right to fight for their survival, too. If I were a sparrow, I would.
> 
> ...



Thanks.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

RockyMtBeerMan said:


> I feed them all: song birds, crows, squirrels, raccoons, coyotes, and moose during the winter, hummingbirds during the summer, and bears in autumn.



Why that pattern?


( And where do you get your beer so high & far from the herd?:smile


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## RockyMtBeerMan (Dec 12, 2018)

Plenty of food around in the summer and the snow can be deep in the winter, plus it's good entertainment for the cats to watch them in the winter (Cat TV). Moose mom got killed by an idiot driving too fast. at night. in the fog.... so we have a couple orphans everyone watches out for. The bears are hyperphagic in autumn, so everyone tosses out scraps and they make the rounds.

the beer we brew on the lower deck; critters love the leftover malt.


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

RockyMtBeerMan said:


> I feed them all: song birds, crows, squirrels, raccoons, coyotes, and moose during the winter, hummingbirds during the summer, and bears in autumn.


Like you, we feed hummingbirds in summer, up through mid September. We don't keep feeding them, as we're afraid they might hang around too long...their long trip south has to be made early enough that they can find food along the way. At least, that's our theory.

As to the bears in our neck of the woods, they seem to get all the food they need from nature -- we don't feed them. I don't want to encourage them to hang around. My lovable, stupid Labrador thinks it's her job to chase them away. Sooner of later she may actually catch one. I don't want that, I love the old pooch.


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## RockyMtBeerMan (Dec 12, 2018)

we've seen lagging hummers while it's snowing after we taken the feeders down, so we leave them up now for all the ones who were up north of us and late.

Forgot to mention we don't feed the mountain lions...that we know of.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

@jimfarwell


"But, the idea that house sparrows are causing widespread declines in native songbird populations today is not proved. In fact, house sparrow numbers have been declining across the United States over the last few decades while eastern and mountain bluebird numbers are up. And, bluebirds are as successful fledging young where they have sparrows as neighbors as where they do not.
If you want to offer nest space only to birds who are not house sparrows, there are several things you can do. . .


https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-house-sparrows


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

I fed a crow one winter but he had to share with the coyotes, skunks, possums and a red fox but all that remained was table scraps after the coyote chewed the rope off and took the carcass somewhere.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

SeniorSitizen said:


> I fed a crow one winter but he had to share with the coyotes, skunks, possums and a red fox but all that remained was table scraps after the coyote chewed the rope off and took the carcass somewhere.



What's your game cam?


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

Nik333 said:


> @jimfarwell
> 
> "...the idea that house sparrows are causing widespread declines in native songbird populations today is not proved. In fact, house sparrow numbers have been declining across the United States over the last few decades while eastern and mountain bluebird numbers are up. And, bluebirds are as successful fledging young where they have sparrows as neighbors as where they do not."
> 
> ...


I don't know where the Humane Society gets its data. Yes, there have been dramatic, alarming, unexplained declines in House Sparrow (HOSP) poputations in Great Britain, Europe, India, and other old world locations. Drops in HOSP numbers in eastern US and Canada have been smaller, but equally unexplained, and thus are concerning.

However, the claim that: "*In fact*, house sparrow numbers have been declining ACROSS THE UNITED STATES for the past few decades", in my opinion, is *NOT* a fact. To the best of my knowledge, there has been no decline in HOSP populations in the western US, and certainly not in my area, Lincoln County WA, where they are exceedingly plentiful. As to the claim that "eastern and mountain bluebird numbers are up" is also unsupported. There was a terrible reduction in all bluebird species in the early 20th century. Yes, the numbers of eastern and mountain bluebirds increased in the mid-1900's, and seem to have stabilized over the past 30 years or so, but the western bluebird has remained in decline. And the reason the situation improved at all for bluebirds is that humans started providing large numbers of nesting boxes. According to the Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife, "The proliferation of bluebird boxes is solely responsible for the comeback that bluebirds have made in Washington and across the United States. Without the construction and maintenance of boxes, the bluebird population would be significantly smaller." https://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/bluebirdcam/project.html

But the quoted statement that really frosts me is this: *...bluebirds are as successful fledging young where they have sparrows as neighbors as where they do not.*"

...Say, WHAT?? ...Where do I begin...? Look, I don't know everything about bluebirds or house sparrows. I don't pretend to. But I and legions of others have watched house sparrows take over boxes ALREADY OCCUPIED by blue birds or swallows, and kill the occupant (and its fledglings, if any), or crush its eggs. How can any person in her or his right mind say that sparrows don't affect successful bluebird fledging?

While I do not like sparrows, I can and do freely admit that they may be a signpost, a "canary in a coalmine", for our human environment. If they are dying by the millions in and around our cities, yes, we need to find out why. I do NOT wish to exterminate the house sparrow. I only want to keep them from killing bluebirds and tree sparrows, and taking the nesting boxes, on my land.

As to the techniques suggested by the Humane Society to avoid having sparrows take over bluebird nesting boxes, they sound good but they don't work. How do I know? Because I've put up eight boxes, and just by chance they all follow the advice in your article:

They are all designed and constructed to optimal specifications for bluebirds.
I put out no feed that might attract sparrows.
They are over 300 feet from human habitation.
We plug the entrances until the bluebirds arrive in early April.

There was only one suggestion I couldn't mark with an 'x': putting up additional nesting boxes for sparrows a few feet from the ones I already have. That's absurd -- it costs money to make those boxes. And also, it's hard to dig holes in a canyon where there is little dirt and lots of basalt.

Nik, however you respond to this post, I'm done.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Nik333 said:


> What's your game cam?


 I'm sorry but I have no idea because that was about 10 years ago and I've pitch that one and a few others in the dumpster since then. I have 2 now and one is a Moultrie, that needs to be pitched in the dumpster, and a $79.00 Browning that seems to be a decent camera for the price. The bird pics at the water hole last winter was taken with the Browning I believe. 

All I know for certain is the cost has doubled in the past few years and the quality has held steady to deteriorating rapidly in some instances. I know nothing of the quality of 200 to 400 dollar cameras but for what I use one for I doubt I'll ever know.:smile:


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## Earsom (Oct 8, 2021)

I leave my birdhouses up all year round, even during winter. It’s vital to clean the birdhouse of old nesting materials. Birds have different needs during the summer and the winter. Removing the summer nesting materials before winter makes the birdhouse more appealing. I also take care to repair any damage to the birdhouse.


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## jimfarwell (Nov 25, 2014)

Nealtw said:


> But let's get the facts right, They are not Canadian Geese. They are Canada Geese. :biggrin2: Unless they come from Quebec, then they are Branta Canadensis:wink2:


...yeah. Or "gros oiseaux pleins de fumier".


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