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Old September 2nd, 2017, 01:54 AM
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Bird feeder

So recently we put up a bird feeder in our backyard. One on those cylindrical looking ones with 5-6 feeding perches.

The birds love it. We even put a plate to collect the seed droppings and the birds enjoy that too. sometimes the neighbour's cats chase the birds (they never get them) it's quite the scene. There are also squirrels that like the seeds....but sometimes, and here's the thing there's 30 birds at once...they jostle for position but they seem to work it out. is 30 birds (not always but occasionally) too much for one feeder?

Better not to get another feeder right? cuz that will just attract more?
what's the skinny on backyard bird feeding advice.

many Thx!
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Old September 2nd, 2017, 07:51 AM
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What kinds of birds and is it a thistle feeder or does it accommodate larger seed like sunflower? Yes, and sometimes, if you put them out, more will come!

But remember that migration is starting up now--it may be that you won't be getting the same amount of traffic once most of the birds have traveled south.
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Old September 23rd, 2017, 09:04 AM
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I'm so bad wit bird names...they all just look like 'birdies' to me.
Except cardinals and Bluejays which are rare.
Been watching the birds quite a bit - seems to me there's always a few 'lookout' birds. Is that correct - or just my projection?
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Old September 23rd, 2017, 11:19 AM
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I know crows have 'lookout 'birds b/c when I use to feed them there would always be one bird waiting on a tree or power line pole and soon as I went outside with my last dog that crow would caw so loud it would wake the dead up . I would sometime have to go back in to get bread for the crows. I had to stop feeding the crows b/c they were waking up a neighbor at 5:30 AM cawing for me by sitting right in front of my building . I am bad with birds names too most of them are called birdies too . LOL!
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Old September 23rd, 2017, 01:18 PM
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The birdies in the pic are English house sparrows, and you will get more if you put out more feeders. They hang around all year round.

They're an established invasive species, and actually on the decline in many parts of the eastern US (not sure about Canada), where another semi-exotic (the House finch from the west coast) has been introduced and seems to be outcompeting the house sparrows. That being said, they're still fun to watch. But then, I'd rather watch any birds than, say, turn on the TV or radio, so I may be biassed about what is and isn't fun to watch!

At any rate, if you put more feeders out, you'll likely get more birds. If you don't mind attracting sparrows, your bank account will be your limiter. Because birds will drain your bank accounts if you listen to how hungry they tell you they are! Yes, I speak from experience! When we get winter finches, our winter seed bill will literally go up $1,000!!!!

Good observation on the sentinels--a lot of birds (crows, jays, doves, cranes, geese, for sure and probably others) put out sentinels, especially if there are predators around. The years we get goshawks in winter, we also get huge bands (upwards of 100 individuals) of blue jays. The jays eat in shifts, and there's always a few of them on guard. And in winter, when a jay cries out a warning, the response can be astonishing! Every bird in the area scatters to cover. You can feel the air shudder with the sudden beat of bird wings. It's awesome!
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Old August 10th, 2018, 11:54 AM
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Hello everyone: Ev here.

I know this thread is from almost a year ago, but this post fits under Birds.

We have been feeding wild birds for years, both on a flat feeder with a small roof over it, a hummingbird feeder, and one of those tube feeders that you spoke of Marko, with several perches to it.

Where we live now, there is a summer ban on feeders due to the proximity of bears every year. However, we have a clothesline that is high enough off the ground, and unless bruin is about 9 to 10 feet tall on the hind legs, the feeders cannot be reached.

So we have been feeding Hummers all season, and the other feeder attracts Goldfinches, Sparrows, and quite regularly Pigeons and Starlings - which we try to discourage.

Yesterday, for the first time in a good many years, we had a Rose-breasted Nuthatch come to the feeder. The last time we can recall having either the Rose-breasted or the regular Nuthatch visit our feeder was way back probably 25 years or so. Since then we have lived in places where it was not conducive to having feeders out, or there were not the birds to attract. Heck, this year we've even had a number of Robins in the back yard, and that is wonderful...... too many people are using chemical stuff on their lawns nowadays and that automatically kills off the worms.

Anyway, just wanted to let all know about our surprise visitor yesterday. It was really great to see. Don't know if it came this morning or not, but we'll keep you posted if I see it again.
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Old August 10th, 2018, 05:53 PM
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That's so cool, Reg! We used to see the Red-breasted nuthatches regularly--they nested along the power line right-of-way. Then a few years ago, the power company came in and cleaned up the edges of the right-of-way by removing trees that had grown into the open space. They only clean up every few decades or so, so there was a lot of encroachment. Unfortunately for us, the nuthatches were apparently nesting in or very near the edge along the ROW. Now we rarely, if ever, see them. We get the White-breasted ones quite a lot but the Red-breasted ones are my faves! (Don't tell the White-breasted nuthatches I said that, though, please... )
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