Project feeder watch

[NoahGrey]

Ok, I wanted to share this site with you guys. It is very interesting and bird lovers will particually enjoy this site. I learned about it this past week in school. One of our classes, we are learning about birds. We also had to set up a bird feeder and montior it, daily for different species coming to the feeder,how much they eat, different specie vocalization, amoung other things.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

ACO22

[NoahGrey]

Wow, I am surpised no posts on this thread. I would have thought bird lovers would love this site posted above. You can help a varity of species out and population increases/decreases.

ACO22

[chico2]

ACO,I did want to join the "watcher/counter"club,especially a few years ago when the House-Finches were dieing from some sort of eye-disease.
However the Cornell U charges you to join and it was too complicated,but I used to read their site for info.

[NoahGrey]

ok thanks Chico. I know there is a few, however I guess some could look at it like, you are contributing to bird population and health.

Anyhoo...how are you doing?

ACO22

[Melinda]

I was also checking it out, but the amount of birds that feed here daily would be in the hundreds, beginning and ending with the crows at dawn and dusk, there has to be roughly about 2-300 hundred outside my kitchen window

[clm]

I feed hundreds of the hungry little monsters every day too and have done so for over 25 years now. I try to get pics of all the different types I get. Spring and fall you get the really unusal types during the migratory seasons, but it's intersting none the less to see how many different types of birds come for the buffet. I never tire of watching them.

clm

[Love4himies]

I participate in a bird count that happens every Dec in my area. I think it actually happens across Canada or at least Ontario.

[hazelrunpack]

There's a Christmas count across the US, too, L4H.

[chico2]

We too have been feeding birds forever,it gets a little pricey,but well worth it.
We also get big bags of corn for the Pigeons and Squuirrels+peanuts.
Costco sells good quality birdseeds(only fall and winter)for a much better price than my regular supplier

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

There's a Christmas count across the US, too, L4H.

Ours happens on the 27th.

Last year I got lucky, there was a group of cedar waxwings that fed on one of my pines that had a lot of cones on it last year and was able to include them in the count.

[NoahGrey]

Originally Posted by clm

I never tire of watching them.

Me too. Up here in the Soo, I am fortuate enough to see a varity of species. Our program at school, we have set up bird feeders, that we have to monitor, familize ourselves with species, their vocals, calls, etc. Its really interesting. However, I keep on forgeting my camera. So this weekend, I stuck it in my backpack, so I won't forget it Monday lol.

ACO22

[hazelrunpack]

Did you join the Project, ACO? Did you see that there's a forum available for members?

[NoahGrey]

Yup I am joined.

Also going on our Christmas count for the birds on the 19th here.

ACO22

[hazelrunpack]

I'm a member, too. I figured as long as I was going to be watching the feeders anyway, I may as well put the time to even better use

[quincymycat]

Originally Posted by chico2

We too have been feeding birds forever,it gets a little pricey,but well worth it.
We also get big bags of corn for the Pigeons and Squuirrels+peanuts.
Costco sells good quality birdseeds(only fall and winter)for a much better price than my regular supplier

Hey Chico,
I just discovered today the BIG difference in price for 18Kg bags of sunflower seeds at Costco. I also feed the the birds and squirells. I found the big bag of peanuts in the shell at Food Basics, unsalted, Planters brand, cheaper than the no-name, and have used those for years. My Costco doesn't have seed out yet though that I have seen. Canadian Tire had 18kg bags on for $11.99 this week though. It makes a good mix when you add a few extra sunflower seeds to it.
I have a lot of birds around here. They use one of my cedar trees as a kind of "condo" and perch inside the branches.
I also get a great many blue jays and cardinals and leave out peanuts for them, when they can get to them before the squirrels! The jays are really vocal and make their presence known.
As for numbers, the only thing I can say for sure, is it sounds like the soundtrack from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" when you pass my house!

[hazelrunpack]

You should join Project FeederWatch, qmc! Sounds like you'd have lots to count

[quincymycat]

I forgot to mention, and I don't know if this is important or not since I live in a very urban area, but I have a hawk or some other tyoe of bird of prey park himself in one of my trees every so often. I believe he thinks my trees are a bountiful feeding area for him, but all my birdies and the squirells immediately disappear and everything goes deadly silent while he is in the area. I have chased him off myself when I have seen him. He is smallish, but the wing span and the floating flight remind me of a hawk. I will try to post a shot of him I took a while ago.
Last year, I once saw him swoop down and pick up a "grackle" - hope that is the right name, in his talons and fly over the rooftops with him. The bird was almost as big as he was!
You really have to look closely in the shot, and I am sorry it is not that clear, but hopefully you can see what the bird is.
If he comes back, he has been here twice this winter so far, I will try to get a better shot of him.
Is it unusual to have birds of prey this close to homes? I thought perhaps all the devolpment going on around the area, especially directly north was driving him to seek more food sources.

[hazelrunpack]

I can't tell from the pic, qmc, but most likely it's a sharp-shinned hawk. They do like to frequent backyard feeding areas, even on city lots, for the same reason that the smaller birds come to your feeder (they're hungry ). We see both sharpies and cooper's hawks here...and both of them can really clear the feeder of visitors just by flying overhead. If you listen closely when it arrives, you'll hear the alarm calls put out by the smaller birds as they spot it.

[chico2]

qmc,I have the same thing happening here a couple of times a day in the winter and I am surrounded by houses.
The one Hawk that comes most often is out to get my Pigeons or Doves,does not bother with the small stuff,my Gracklers have all gone south.
I know right away when he's here,the Squirrles freeze in place and all the birds are hiding in the cedar-hedge.
Usually the Crows are a good warning,they scare the Hawks away.

I don't scare away the Hawks,I think they are beautiful and although it's sad they kill other birds,they do so to survive.
I've seen one large Hawk catch a Pigeon in flight:sad:

[Birdbrain]

years ago when i lived in northern Ontario I had several feeders for sunflower seeds made from 2 liter pop bottles & then came the "pine grossbecks" in to take over.at first there was just a handfull but I supose bird comunications travel faster than our emails do.Within the weeks end there were over 400 hundred pairs & ate 50 lbs of seeds faster than yopu could say "I got to go get some more seeds.I had a giant cedar tree in front & the females are a yellow while males are red.In large groups the females sat in that cedar (decorated like an xmas treetop to bottom) Then the males switched places so they could feed.An amazing site to see!
FEMALE
http://www.douglloydphotography.com/...rosbeak419.jpg
MALE
http://www.capebretonbirds.ca/pinegrosbeak11.jpg