Does anyone have birdfeeders in their yard? Bird lovers?

[summiebee]

I bought some birdseed a few years ago, the place is since out of business and had some beautiful songbirds all spring, summer and fall. I ended up going to either Lowe's or Home Depot and buying birdfood last year that LOOKED like the old food but my birds came a few days and LEFT!!!! IT was like they were dissapointed in the feast! LOL. Is there something they prefer? I think I remmeber buying whole fresh sunflower seeds too? I cannot remember? I am not very good at this, but want to learn more!
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[stayinghome]

I have a bird feeder that I fill w/ bird seed from the grocery store. They seem to love it and I fill it up eevery few days. We've got a pair of mourning doves that are there pretty much all day, and various other feathered creatures- not sure what kind. They've also built two nests, behind our shutters. I love watching them!

[atomicmama]

Song birds prefer black oil sunflower seed. That's what I put out, and we have Cardinals, Mockingbirds, tons of sparrows! I love watching them. And, ds gets so excited watching them that he looks like he's about to burst!

[polka123]

We love to watch birds also

[gardenmom]

I find that the quality of the seed definitely has an effect on the number and quality of birds I get. If I buy cheap seed, I get starlings and sparrows. If I get a good mix with black oil sunflower, safflower, some peanuts, thistle, etc. I get a lot more variety in birds. Of course, the season has a lot to do with who is around here, too.

I use wagner's seed (I think it's 'deluxe') when I feel like I can spend the money--it's pretty good stuff. Good luck!

[Mom4tot]

I love birds!!!

We use both types of seed....and I agree with gardenmom, the quality of the seed makes a difference. In addition to our regular birdfeeder, I have a finch feeder and am thrilled to have beautiful goldfinches coming here We have cardinals (a pair), mourning doves, nuthatches, starlings, sparrows, chickadees and woodpeckers.

I also have a bird theme in my bathroom

[Avonlea]

I have a bird feeder in my front yard, and shallow bird bath. I mix up my own blend of seeds. I have regular( semi-good quality) nbridseed( millet, some sunflower seeds, etc.) and I have a bag of just blackoil sunflower seeds, and I have cracked corn. I mix all thre togethor and put that in my feeder. I see that the millet is quite often tossed tot he ground and then my bantam hens come and eat it, or there are some small finch type birds who come for it as well. Last night I ssaw a grosbeak at teh feeder, and I have had a couple goldfinches show up. I have had sparrows and finches and chickadees and yes, even startlings.

I really love to sit on my front porch and watch the birds come to the feeder, an I am thinking of setting up a couple more as the year goes on. I have also planted a number of butterfly and humming bird friendly plants out front, adn I enjoy being divebombed by hummingbirds or watching the varietys of butterflys in our area. It is very soothing to be there and watch them.

My son is pretty thrilled that birds ctually come to 'his' feeder as well, and we have a bird book in which we look to see what type of bird is there.

My goal is to teach my kids to learn about and to appreciate birds nd buterflys and etc..not run around and kill them.



We also are learning about snakes and frongs and etc. because my husbands family is real big on "Squish/Kill it !" and I want the kids to THINK before they act. The more they know, the better.



It's not easy being green .

[kathipaul]

We got our bird feeder and bird seed from Wild Birds Unlimited. They are a national chain and have a website. I tried to replace the food with cheap home depot food and our birds left, also. I had to go back to WBU and buy the premium kind and they returned. Try this store or another bird store near you. Perhaps an Audubon store? They also sell great bird stuff. Also, certain birds like certain food so a bird store can help you figure out what the birds in your are want to eat. Picky little buggers!

[willowsmom]

We just bought a bird feeder a few days ago...and BOY are we popular now!! Our cats are enjoying themselves at the window...which keeps them out of trouble. The birds are happy and fed...Willow likes watching the birds...the only cons are: When our dog goes outside...the birds bother him. And I have to go out and sweep and wash off bird poo. But...I like them. They sing in the mornings.

And..there aren't any squirrels or anything in our neighborhood...so I don't have to worry about them getting up on the roof....so...hooray!

[abigailvr]

I put up a bird feeder recently. Here it is in pictures! My mom gave me a feeder because she had it in her garage and she thought my son would be interested in it. She was right, he was. Unfortunately, the squirrels chewed through the hanging thing and it fell down and broke. So I bought a new feeder. But the squirrels took it over. So I bought a baffle, which made the birds happy, and the squirrels not.

Actually, the squirrels seem pretty happy with what falls on the ground. I fill it with black oil sunflower seeds, and we get a lot of what looks to me like different kids of finches. It's hard to see the colors of the birds, since it's under a deck. I don't like the whole seeds because I constantly have to sweep up the hulls. I bought sunflower chips for when the whole seeds run out. I hope they help the mess stay a bit under control!

[operamommy]

Yay for birds! We currently have 5 birdfeeders. 2 are filled with mixed seed, one w/ thistle for finches, 1 w/ suet, and 1 with sunflower seeds. I always make sure to sprinkle seed on the ground too for birds like mourning doves. In addition, we also put out shelled corn for the blue jays. This seems to keep them from trying to bully the smaller birds away from the feeders.

[Kleine Hexe]

No bird feeder but I have a bat house and so far no bats have moved in. I'm sad. I want bats to like my bat house.

Back to birds....

[Black Orchid]

Me, me me!!!!! I am a TOTAL ornthology geek and turning my DD into one at the ripe old age of 2! We've got every feeder imaginable and a couple baths... we are actually relandscaping our yard and chose plants that attract birds We live in an urban bird sanctuary and have all types in our yard.

This is my favorite time of year. The neat mating rituals at the feeders, males chasing females around the trees and the beautiful symphony in the morning. I've been trying to learn the various songs to help me identify who's singing nearby... anyone know of any online resources?

And is anyone a member of the Cornell Lab of Ornthology? They have a really neat program where people all over the country keep track of the birds they see at their feeders at various times of the year to help track migration patterns. I cannot remember the address of the website, but I think it is like $12 a year to join, you get all kinds of cool stuff and you help support a great project.

[AmandasMom]

I've had several feeders up for years... 2 feeders with cages and they also hold suet, and a finch feeder. I needed to put up feeders with cages to keep out the crows, blackbirds, grackles. The little birds are used to it now, they hop right in, I have 3 different kinds of woodpeckers hop into the cage to eat the suet. My dd knows all the birds, we just love them! We feed them year around.

I have 2 of this feeder, which will also solve any squirrel problems you may have.

[Mom4tot]

Kim~ thanks for the link! I found the perfect birdhouse for out front

[LittleYellow]

I'm on bedrest and dh put up a birdfeeder outside the living room window of our third floor apartment so I can watch the birds from the sofa. We get sparrows, two pairs of purple finches an a grackle daily. Occasionally a mourning dove or cardinal will stop on the pole that the feeder is hung on, but they don't eat. Dh puts out seed from the grocery store, but i'm looking forward to seeing what other birds will visit when I'm up again and can experiment with seeds.

[DaryLLL]

We have 2 feeders. One is squirrel-proof and one is like a little house with open sides so the squirrels can eat too. I only use sunflower seeds. Everything else we have tried is wasted.

We get cardinals, jays, nuthatches, chickadees, sparrows, mourning doves, tufted titmice, the occasional purple or gold-finch. This is in MA. When we used to live in a more rural area of MA we got grosbeaks as well.

This past yr we had more cardinals than ever. Usually we have one pair with maybe an extra male whom I imagine to be their son. This yr we had 6 males and 4 females that I counted! I have a birch tree outside my kitchen window which is near the feeders and I do not think there is a prettier sight on earth than several cardinals in a snow covered birch tree. It makes me glad to be alive.

I guess we had too many cardinals b/c my neighbor said she saw a hawk grab one in my front yd just the other day.