Not everything is a bird .. (Page 3): Thanks Sylvia. One is cute, two can be interesting, beyond that they become a nuisance. :sm17: --...

Bill_de Loc: US

Sylvias wrote:

How cute is he/she? Excellent shot Bill. We used to have them in the garden but haven’t seen any for a long time.

Thanks Sylvia. One is cute, two can be interesting, beyond that they become a nuisance.

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JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

photophile wrote:

Yes, they do.

The squirrels can be a pain, and when the crows or starlings show up in mass, either specie will empty the feeder in a few hours. I have two solutions (1) we bought a feeder (shown on left) some years back that has a spring loaded shelf for the birds to stand on when eating. The spring has several settings we have it set so that access to the feed will close when birds larger than a Cardinal ( Crows are our nemesis) stands on the shelf. (2) The second feeder (on the right) has a cage around the feed reservoir that is just large enough for the smaller birds; sometimes a young Cardinal can get his head through the cage.

This particular shot (no PP) shows a wood pecker at the column feeder and probably a House Finch in feeder with the spring.

Bill_de Loc: US

JCam wrote:

The squirrels can be a pain, and when the crows or... (show quote)

I gave up on feeders because the birds always wanted to include them in the picture. I use one open tray feeder and various (one at a time) branches or logs with holes drilled in them to stuff with chunky peanut butter. I get a pretty good variety during the year.

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Swamp-Cork Loc: Lanexa, Virginia

Excellent image, Bill!

merrytexan Loc: georgia

Bill_de wrote:

... but they still show up at the bird feeder.

nice shot...he's very photogenic and I love his big bushy tail!

Bill_de Loc: US

Swamp-Cork wrote:

Excellent image, Bill!

Thanks Corky. He's out there right now keeping the birds out of the feeder. Time to set the trap.

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Bill_de Loc: US

merrytexan wrote:

nice shot...he's very photogenic and I love his big bushy tail!

Thanks MT.

I remember when the fishing lure companies offered twenty cents each for those tails. Yeah, that was a long time ago.

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Annie-Get-Your-Gun Loc: Byron Center, Mi

Bill_de wrote:

... but they still show up at the bird feeder.

These amazing acrobats are fun to watch. Clever guys - I don't know if there's a squirrel proof feeder they can't master. I like the lighting and sharp focus on this image, Bill.

Bill_de Loc: US

Annie-Get-Your-Gun wrote:

These amazing acrobats are fun to watch. Clever guys - I don't know if there's a squirrel proof feeder they can't master. I like the lighting and sharp focus on this image, Bill.

Thanks Annie, I'm glad you liked it.

I once made a feeder designed to look like the Montauk Point Lighthouse on Long Island. Rather than eat the seed from the base they decided to eat through the roof. That's when I decided no more fancy dinning rooms when there are squirrels around.

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JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Years ago my father got tired of continually filling the feeders so instead of hanging the feeders from a tree branch or putting them on a pole, he took them all down and ran a length of piano wire between some trees and hung the feeders from the wire. The wire was so thin that the squirrels couldn't run on it or hang on when they lost a grip. It was a "hoot" watching them try to run on the wire and fall to the ground or try to jump from the ground to the wire, but the feeders were a bit too high. (:< ))

home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

We use to have a squirrel that would beat on the glass door leading from our kitchen to the porch when the bird and squirrel feeder was empty.

This year the pecan and walnut tree fruit is mushy and not good food. The squirrels are very hungry. I wish I knew what is affecting the nuts.

We have put out field corn on the cob out in a dish on the porch. Although we feed both the squirrels and the birds they flee when we go out to put food in the feeders.

Bill_de Loc: US

home brewer wrote:

We use to have a squirrel that would beat on the glass door leading from our kitchen to the porch when the bird and squirrel feeder was empty.

This year the pecan and walnut tree fruit is mushy and not good food. The squirrels are very hungry. I wish I knew what is affecting the nuts.

We have put out field corn on the cob out in a dish on the porch. Although we feed both the squirrels and the birds they flee when we go out to put food in the feeders.

The birds take off when I bring food out, but they don't go far. One exception was the day we had snow. I cleaned the snow out of the tray and filled it with seed. I then turned around to take care of the peanut butter log. When I turned back there were 20 to 30 sparrows and finches in the tray and on the ground. I walked through them and they just kept eating.

The next day they took off as usual.

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