Squirrelhunter91 Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 During the long & cold winter months when it is hard for the birds to find food, does anyone else fill up bird feeders for the birds? I know this winter hasn't been that bad, but I still fill the feeders up. What is your favorite feeder bird that shows up? I like the bright red color of the male cardinal & the bright blue color of the blue jays, but my all time favorite is the Slate Colored Junco. What's yours? Also, what is the coolest thing you have ever seen while watching the feeders? The coolest thing I have ever seen was two doves land in the yard all nervous and craning their necks around and then take off flying to have a red-tailed hawk hot on their tail. It was really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? I haven't filled mine yet this year. Ohiobucks will tell you that I'm a bit of a birder. My favorite bird at the feeder, hmmmmmmmm probably blue jays or chickadees. They'll fly in, grab a sunflower seed, fly to a fence post, crack and eat it, and repeat the whole process all day. Seems horribly inefficient to me, but who am I to say? Rarest bird--one year we had snow pretty bad all year, which drove down some northern birds that we don't normally see. I had a flock of Snow Buntings hang around my feeder for about a week until the snow and temps got back to normal. First and only time I've ever seen them. Coolest thing would have to be while I was watching one feeder that I have set about 3 feet outside my bay window 15 or so birds suddenly scattered. I figured it was the cat showing up, but here it was a sharpshinned hawk landing on a fence post not 2 feet from the window. There must have been a reflection on the glass because she just sat there for a minute or two and never even saw me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? I'm an amateur ornithologist. We have 5 feeders around the yard and several bluebird boxes as well. Being on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario is one of the best spots on the east coast for watching birds. Any bird that migrates will not fly over the entire lake so they go around. So we get all of the migrating birds concentrated in our area and butterflies too. The dark eyed juncos are a cool bird. My two favorite birds are the chickadees and the indigo buntings. The rarest bird I have ever had come in was an albino chickadee. I have some pictures of it somewhere. I reported it to my local birding group. If you really like to watch birds then perhaps you may want to get in touch with your local Cornell Cooperative Extension. They always have some type of bird watching program going on or maybe a club. Ranger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterDWL Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? i feed the birds around my house me and my little gril set and watch them for hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyman Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? I love to feed the birds. My favorites are the House Finch and Cardinal. The coolest thing i ever saw was some sort of Harrier type Hawk, perhaps a Cooper's Hawk or Sharp Shinned ( never could positively identify it) nail a Dove feeding on the ground and then consume the entire thing on the spot! I have about 8 minutes of video of it eating the Dove. I had to scramble to get the camera and it was already eating when i started filming. I actually saw it hit the Dove, it immediately spread it's wings to shield the kill, and did this the entire time it was eating. This Hawk terrorized my feeder for the entire Summer, but as far as i know this was the only kill it made. Very Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterDWL Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? awsome story randyman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? [ QUOTE ] perhaps a Cooper's Hawk or Sharp Shinned ( never could positively identify it) nail a Dove feeding on the ground and then consume the entire thing on the spot! [/ QUOTE ] I was spreading mulch last year when all of a sudden I heard this bird just squawking up a storm. I looked over and saw a Cooper's or Sharpshinned had nailed a Grackle in the middle of my yard and did the same thing you described, covered it with its wings and went to town. I scrambled in the house for a camera, but by the time I came out, the only thing left was a pile of black feathers. Cooper's and Sharpshinned are exceedingly difficult to tell apart, with the Cooper's tail being rounded off, and the sharpshinned slightly squared. Pretty sure they're both Accipiters too, could be wrong abooot that, I know they're not Buteos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronS Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? I have 3 sunflower seed feeders and 5 thistle seed feeders in my back yard. I haven't done a real good job of keeping them stocked this year because the kids have demanded a lot of time with a toddler and cheerleader in the same house. My favorite is the bright red cardinal. We've counted over 10 at a time throughout the yard and brush nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyman Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? [ QUOTE ] I was spreading mulch last year when all of a sudden I heard this bird just squawking up a storm. I looked over and saw a Cooper's or Sharpshinned had nailed a Grackle in the middle of my yard and did the same thing you described, covered it with its wings and went to town. I scrambled in the house for a camera, but by the time I came out, the only thing left was a pile of black feathers. Cooper's and Sharpshinned are exceedingly difficult to tell apart, with the Cooper's tail being rounded off, and the sharpshinned slightly squared. Pretty sure they're both Accipiters too, could be wrong abooot that, I know they're not Buteos. [/ QUOTE ] I am sure you are right about them being Accipiters. I did some research at the time, but because my video was shot through a window, it was less than good footage. It was good enough, however, to narrow it down to the aforementioned two types. The Grackle getting it is poetic justice! They are the bullies of the bird feeder and are feed hogs! I've actually seen them attack sparrows and other small birds without provocation. I feed Sunflower seeds as well as Thistle seed in feeders and regular bird seed on the ground. I have seen lazy Grackles knock sunflower seed out of the feeder looking for the occasional kernel already out of the shell! They will actually empty the feeder in about 15 minutes this way. Now i use a small hanging feeder that they cannot sit on for Sunflower seed. Thankfully, i only have to put up with them during the nesting season for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? [ QUOTE ] The Grackle getting it is poetic justice! [/ QUOTE ] LMAO I was thinking the exact same thing when it happened. LOL. Got that right, I hate those things. That's my favorite .22 target in the spring and summer, they drive me crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetailkiller Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? all year round!!!!!!!!!! my neighbors swear i do it to feed my cat(she lives outside)!!!!!!!!!! i like watching the birds,, although i was amazed to see two humming birds at the catnip plants!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doughboy1956 Posted February 24, 2006 Report Share Posted February 24, 2006 Re: Bird Feeders? Yes we feed them year round also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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