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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 20, 2015 23:51:20 GMT
I had 2 Eastern bluebirds on my (heated) birdbath this morning. Air temp -5° with approximately 2' of snow in the yard!!! They moved too quick for me to get a picture.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2015 0:09:07 GMT
If there's no picture, it didn't happen! LOL.
That is awesome. We've really been enjoying watching the birds at our feeder this winter.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 21, 2015 0:58:40 GMT
You'll just have to take my word for it. LOL I have yet to figure out the stupid camera on my phone without it taking 5 minutes! I'm like, "Wait bird! I'll get this! Just sit there a minute!" Birds just don't listen!!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2015 1:20:45 GMT
You can't blame the birds, I'd leave too if someone was trying to take a pic of me in the tub.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2015 1:46:39 GMT
It's hard for me to get pics even if I have my camera ready to go. It's like as soon as I lift it to my eye, they get spooked and fly away.
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Post by mupcycledcouture on Feb 21, 2015 2:57:03 GMT
Awesome! I have been feeding the birds a sunflower seed blend. And no I have sunflower seed shells ALL OVER my front yard. LOL
I got the awesome pleasure of having a blue jay land on my fence last fall. Those are rare to see around here so I am so happy. I wanted to take a photo but I just knew that when I grabbed my camera it would spook him away.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2015 3:00:05 GMT
How do you all feed the birds without the squirrels getting it all? I'm on an anti-squirrel thing since they tore the cushions off 3 of my 4 chairs...grrr
Either way, I don't want to attract the squirrels. I know they have bird feeders with supposed squirrel blocks, but I've seen squirrels get in there anyway.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Feb 21, 2015 4:30:55 GMT
I should put up a bird feeder and a bird bath. We have no squirrels here.
Just coyotes.
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 21, 2015 14:50:26 GMT
You get coyotes Val? Even out in the sticks here I rarely see them. I've seen a fox a time or two though. We don't have squirrels either. So no varmints to get in the feeders. What I have to worry about is the nasty road runners zipping in and grabbing a bird and taking off. Dang things love to eat plump little birdies.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 21, 2015 15:13:20 GMT
Proof!! lol They were back again today!
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 21, 2015 15:17:56 GMT
I use only BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) in my hanging feeders and cracked corn on the ground. NO bread and NO mixed seed. I have found that it keeps out the riff-raff (starlings).
I have few squirrels here but a lot of chipmunks and really have no issues with them, except when they tunnel through my tulips!! The coyotes here don't usually come into the yard; they stay in the fields and woods behind our house.
Shirley, I never knew roadrunners eat other birds! Learn something new every day.
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 21, 2015 15:41:41 GMT
Oh they are so cute. We don't get bluebirds here and it's nice to see some.
Yeah, roadrunners are omnivores. They eat seeds, but what they really love is plump little birdies and lizards. They swoop in and grab them up and take off. I have some ground feeders cause I get a lot of doves, so I keep watch when I can. I have a rocket slingshot at the back door and shoot rocks at them if they come around the yard. Word must have gotten out cause they have been avoiding my yard for awhile.
I love the birds and get tons of wrens,sparrows, finches, doves, some orioles, Pyrrhuloxia (desert cardinals, they are gray with touches of red), an occasional robin. Plus sometime in March the hummingbirds will start arriving. They are my favorites and I put up lots of feeders for them.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 21, 2015 16:12:12 GMT
Don't tell P.E.T.A. but I use a soft pellet BB pistol to deter fox squirrels. It won't kill them but I bet it stings a little! Then they stay away for a while. I love the hummers too, but we generally only get 1 or 2 pairs of ruby-throated ones a summer.
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 21, 2015 16:49:32 GMT
Luckily I am right in the hummingbird migration path as they come north from Mexico.
So I get some that are just passing thru on their way north and I get some that stick around all season. Last year I had 12 that made their summer home with me. Some of my feeders are out on my back porch, so when I sit in the morning and have my coffee I can watch them zipping around and playing. Watching them just makes my day start of perfectly.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2015 17:01:28 GMT
Shirley - how high do hummingbirds fly? I ask because I am thinking of moving my feeder from under my deck to the top so I can see them more often. Will they fly up to the second story for food?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2015 17:48:48 GMT
The birds are adorable! Great photo.
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 21, 2015 18:56:40 GMT
Shirley - how high do hummingbirds fly? I ask because I am thinking of moving my feeder from under my deck to the top so I can see them more often. Will they fly up to the second story for food?
I have friends who hang a feeder on a deck that is off their second floor and they get lots of hummers.
It may take them longer to find one up there so it might help to put out some colorful things to attract them, even a pot of red artificial flowers would work.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Feb 21, 2015 19:37:08 GMT
Love the pic, sunset!
I think the houses east of me probably get the coyotes, Shirley. I'm about 2 blocks west of the last main drag and the houses on the other side of the drag are truly in the foothills. They see all kinda stuff, including the random bear.
Roadrunners are nasty critters. I'm in Wylie's corner now, after living out here for awhile.
Question on hummingbirds - if I get some feeders, what do I put in them? There is a chinaberry bush outside my living room window and I've seen them hoving there. I'd like to add a feeder, give the cat something to watch.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 21, 2015 19:48:53 GMT
I have some hummer feeders hanging under my house eaves and some by my other bird feeders. i hang a hummer feeder next to my oriole feeder and both birds visit both feeders. it's really funny watching orioles trying to use the hummer feeder because it's really little!
To attract them when I first put the feeders out, or if i change the style of feeder they're used to, I put some artificial red flowers on the hook that the feeder hangs from. They checked out the flowers and then found the feederw soon after that.
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 21, 2015 19:59:05 GMT
You can buy packets of hummingbird juice mix, but I don't like it because it has artificial color in it. The red colors on the feeders attract them well enough.
It's easy to make from scratch.
1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Heat on the stove until the sugar dissolves, stir frequently. (Should only take a few minutes) Put it in a pitcher and store in the fridge.
Take it out and let it come to room temp before you fill the feeders. I wash my feeders out with a bottle brush every time I fill them.
Early in the season only fill the feeders half full. If there aren't a lot feeding and it sits too long it can go bad. Since it's so hot here if it's out a few days and hasn't gone down much I dump it out and put in fresh.
As they feed more or you get more of them then adjust the amount you put in and even add more feeders as needed.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 21, 2015 20:06:39 GMT
Definitely use only sugar water. The dye is not good for the birds.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Feb 21, 2015 20:50:30 GMT
So the sugar water doesn't hurt them or mess up their natural eating habits?
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Post by val2525 on Feb 21, 2015 20:53:43 GMT
Um, sunset? I stole your picture and now it's my wallpaper. Hope you don't mind….
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 21, 2015 20:53:54 GMT
No, they love the sugar water.
It is pretty much the same as the nectar they drink from the plants.
They burn energy like crazy and it's the sugar that gives them energy.
If I am out on the porch drinking something with sugar in it and set the glass down I have had them land on it and check it out because they can smell the sugar in it.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Feb 21, 2015 20:56:09 GMT
Wow. Hummingbirds are sugar junkies. Who knew?
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 21, 2015 21:03:33 GMT
total sugar junkies How else could they buzz around so fast and crazy If you do make nectar and put it in the fridge make sure to label the container. I had a friend pour a glass of it thinking it was just cold water. They got a big surprise when they tasted it. Now all my nectar pitchers have HUMMER in big black letters on the side.
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Post by kritter on Feb 21, 2015 23:01:10 GMT
My yard is a no-fly zone for birds.
My Sophie and Sadie are both around 15 years old and have been bird predators from day one.
I have seen Sophie heave one of those big black grackles over the fence in her mouth. The bird was so big that you couldn't even see her face.
Apparently the bird network has put a big red X over my property on the migration flight plan. All the birds are down in my neighbor's yard two houses down because she puts out dry food for her outside cat. The birds eat all his food so he comes up to my house to eat.
ETA Yea, I got a doughnut this time. First time for one!
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 22, 2015 1:57:35 GMT
The birds here know the cats are inside so they will even land on bushes right under the windows and sit there. Drives Ol One Eye nuts, he sits on the sill and drools and talks to the birds, guess he is saying what he will do to them if he gets outside. Congrats on your doughnut Kritter, and it even has sprinkles.
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kritter
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Post by kritter on Feb 22, 2015 2:00:17 GMT
Thanks, Shirley.
I am really jonesing for a cupcake though.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2015 2:09:14 GMT
Great pic, sunset! Now I believe you. Those birds are beautiful.
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