mead107 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 I just put our feeder out last week. Birds are just coming around. 3 feeders on one pole. Fun watching the squirrels try and get to the feeders. I will switch one to sunflower seeds in a couple weeks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Birds and squirrels And a cat that stays indoors and watches them intently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) 4 minutes ago, row_33 said: Birds and squirrels And a cat that stays indoors and watches them intently Squirrels comes inside? My grandfather would open the front door and the squirrel would come in and take the nots right out of his hand Edited December 5, 2017 by mead107 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Nope, not indoor, the cat stays indoor and watches thru the door and window. this one hasn’t tried to sneak out, not a life goal for her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 We have birds, squirrels (squirrel cannot get into feeder but sometimes will lay on top and stick paw into it) and a very busy chipmunk. The chipmunk goes into the feeder and eats while pushing more seed out. The bigger birds like doves eat the leftovers from ground along with squirrels while they behave. This is the 5th birdfeeder type we have had and only one effective against the squirrels. I miss the bigger birds feeding from feeder but we needed to find way to keep squirrels outs out and evidently hooking bird feeder to electrical circuit and frying them is illegal; my wife tried using an air gun on them but they learned to ignore it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 18 minutes ago, mead107 said: I just put our feeder out last week. Birds are just coming around. 3 feeders on one pole. Fun watching the squirrels try and get to the feeders. I will switch one to sunflower seeds in a couple weeks. We have one. I buy wild bird food and ACE usually has a sale where you get a sunflower seed for free. I mix the two. Funny thing I don’t have squirrel problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 3 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said: We have one. I buy wild bird food and ACE usually has a sale where you get a sunflower seed for free. I mix the two. Funny thing I don’t have squirrel problems. Of course. In Loundon County squirrel is high in demand for meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 8 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said: We have one. I buy wild bird food and ACE usually has a sale where you get a sunflower seed for free. I mix the two. Funny thing I don’t have squirrel problems. A singular sunflower? How generous! I have a bird feeder, but our neighborhood discourages them because of squirrels and rats. I haven’t put food in it in a couple years...which may have coincided with the great “Flying Squirrels in the Attic” event. Yay, $2,500 to seal up the attic. We do have a big fountain in the back yard (slightly taller than my wife, but not quite Billy Crystal in Analyze This or That - “Quick! someone call the Vatican to see if anything is missing”) which the birds love and keeps them in the yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 No. Those begging little bastards can fend for themselves. Get a freaking job, tweety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 (edited) Had a HS English teacher who when catching someone chewing gum would make them open the window and throw it out on the lawn. He would say "Go feed the snowbirds" (seagulls). The same teacher had a few more good ones. He taught a senior elective on mythology. He said we were covering Greek, Roman , Norse, Egyptian, and Polish (yes they had gods before becoming Catholic). A girl (with a Polish name)started laughing and he said. "Want to hear a Polish myth?- You graduating." Edited December 6, 2017 by Wacka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Yes. Suet this time of year... I also cut open the pumpkins for the squirrels... Make it a bit easier for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsidethebox Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 8 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Yes. Suet this time of year... I also cut open the pumpkins for the squirrels... Make it a bit easier for them. The real question EII, do you feed the carp? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 2 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said: No. Those begging little bastards can fend for themselves. Get a freaking job, tweety. I would feed them if we could get a deal that they would stop pooping on me! I have quite the track record there, and it’s usually in public. Ask my wife to tell you about the time we were on a cruise and I came out of the water after snorkeling toward a couple thousand fellow-cruisers staring at me on beach chairs. She’ll laugh so hard you may never hear the story. What’s the over/under on how many times the average person has been pooped on by a bird? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Start a !@#$ing Geriatric Club for this ****! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 2 minutes ago, Gugny said: Start a !@#$ing Geriatric Club for this ****! I’d be a founding member, but I fear it will land on me. Again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 17 minutes ago, Gugny said: Start a !@#$ing Geriatric Club for this ****! So what do you feed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Just now, mead107 said: So what do you feed? I prefer goldfinches, actually. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Just now, Gugny said: I prefer goldfinches, actually. My wife is the crazy birder. American goldfinches are so pretty. I believe she feeds them thistle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Just now, ExiledInIllinois said: My wife is the crazy birder. American goldfinches are so pretty. I believe she feeds them thistle. Yes, that's what attracts them. They are beautiful birds. The males are so bright and they seem to travel in pairs a lot (male/female). I usually have 2-3 finch feeders and another 2 hummingbird feeders in the summer. I also have one, larger, birdhouse that my parents gave to me. It's kind of like a gazebo. I just put a generic seed mix in that and it attracts anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 1 minute ago, Gugny said: Yes, that's what attracts them. They are beautiful birds. The males are so bright and they seem to travel in pairs a lot (male/female). I usually have 2-3 finch feeders and another 2 hummingbird feeders in the summer. I also have one, larger, birdhouse that my parents gave to me. It's kind of like a gazebo. I just put a generic seed mix in that and it attracts anything. Yep! You want the orioles... An sliced orange spiked to a feeder will attract them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Yep! You want the orioles... An sliced orange spiked to a feeder will attract them. I'd actually love to attract orioles. I've seen one in my life and it was whilst fishing on the Hudson River (not far from my house). That will be my mission this summer. And bluebirds. My parents had bluebirds move into one of their birdhouses. I need a birdhouse, too. Perhaps two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 8 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Yep! You want the orioles... An sliced orange spiked to a feeder will attract them. I don’t want mike from horsehead hanging around my feeder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBills808 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Hmmm they eat the lettuce seedlings so I suppose I feed em, but not intentionally and it doesn’t make me happy. We have franklins and pheasants I try to feed buckshot about twice a week and endangered nene geese that make the most gawdawful racket when they decide to land in your field. I don’t like birds really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherpa Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I feed them. We have a maple about 20' off our front porch and I hang the feeder from it at about the six foot level. I keep a set of binoculars on a window inside, and I check them out every day. This year I decided to only use high end bird food. Its a little more expensive, but the cost is worth it to me. I always wondered how they eat the bigger stuff, but this year I watched them on through the binocs. The trap the larger nuts between their feet and peck away to break them down. My daughter told me I was getting to be an "old man." Oh well. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 10 minutes ago, sherpa said: My daughter told me I was getting to be an "old man." the binocs were for a tree 20 feet away? Um Sure OK I buy that. (no I don't) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherpa Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 13 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said: the binocs were for a tree 20 feet away? Um Sure OK I buy that. (no I don't) Absolutely. It's 20' off the front porch, which is about 8' wide, so the total distance from eyeballs in my dining room window to the feeder is about 28 1/2 feet. You can't see detail at that distance without them, and the interest is in the detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherpa Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 And here's a "for instance" about using the glasses to watch them. Right after I posted that, I put the glasses on and watched them. They have a real preference for various foods in the birdseed mix, as most people know. One of the items in the mix I am using is cashew, and it is their favorite. You can clearly see the cashew inside the glass feeder because of its color contrast and side. On of them was pecking away at the glass cylinder that houses the mix as it drops out the bottom. The bird was pecking away at the glass because there was a big cashew inside, but at the top of the mix, and and he was trying to knock it down, unsuccessfully. Would not have seen that without the glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I was busting chops. I bought into my development in 2009 and at the beginning and all you could see is fields (front and back). I used to use my binocs to watch the small herds of deer 50 to 100 feet away. Now my view is house after house after house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I go through about 40 pounds of seed every 5 weeks...it slows down this time of year though. Love watching the woodpecker on the feeder. A truly majestic creature...he's worth the price of the seed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 glad to read that someone is so unjaded by what's freely out there that they could see binoculars as something pervy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 34 minutes ago, row_33 said: glad to read that someone is so unjaded by what's freely out there that they could see binoculars as something pervy.... In my case ... it took one to accuse one. What else are binocs for when living in or near an apartment complex? When a hot chick strolls in front of the wide open windows naked (every weekend) ... who wouldn't look? We would sit on the stairs outside my apartment door and the only view we had was the window across the way. My neighbors and I would have fun adding "commentary" She walks in naked, boyfriend / hubby watching March Madness, she says a few things to him then she picks up her medium size dog and leaves he room. Dog gets lucky, hubby gets the dog house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaoulDuke79 Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 (edited) I've got 2 feeders. One is pretty big and holds about 20 lbs. The other is much smaller and hold about 5. I get the big bags at Costco in the winter which contain some combination of Milo, Cracked Corn, White Millet and Black Oil Sunflower seed. I don't fill them up as much in the summer as I do in the winter. Its pretty cool to watch a day or two before a snow storm how the birds all flock to the feeders and clean them out. How do it know? I get a pretty decent assortment. Mostly wrens, finches, doves a few orioles, cardinals and the occasional blue jay. Theres a chipmunk or two that live under my deck that make regular visits as well. Edited December 7, 2017 by RaoulDuke79 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 I built a bird feeder for my cousin 15 years ago. Holds 400 lbs of birdseed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 I mentioned the suet, upthread. Anyone else put out suet blocks? Who doesn't like a little pure fat in their diet! Birds go crazy for it. The blocks go in a cage and we hang it from the spruce tree. Wife also takes another cage and stuffs it with lint/cotton and other nest building material. They sell it with the bird seed. 34 minutes ago, mead107 said: I built a bird feeder for my cousin 15 years ago. Holds 400 lbs of birdseed 400 POUNDS? Huh? Holy Smokes. Does it pass building code. Sure it isn't 40 pounds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 3 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said: I mentioned the suet, upthread. Anyone else put out suet blocks? Who doesn't like a little pure fat in their diet! Birds go crazy for it. The blocks go in a cage and we hang it from the spruce tree. Wife also takes another cage and stuffs it with lint/cotton and other nest building material. They sell it with the bird seed. 400 POUNDS? Huh? Holy Smokes. Does it pass building code. Sure it isn't 40 pounds? Nope. 400 lbs. he puts the bags in his tractor’ s bucket and one of his son’s ride the bucket up and dump the seed in. Next time I am at his camp I will take a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 2 minutes ago, mead107 said: Nope. 400 lbs. he puts the bags in his tractor’ s bucket and one of his son’s ride the bucket up and dump the seed in. Next time I am at his camp I will take a picture. Wow! Awesome... That is a lot of bird grub! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Of course I do. I feed 'em to my cats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 mead: How long do the birds go through this Mutha Lode cache of seed? Christmas is coming, time to count them... Don't read how the used to count them... If you get easily hurt feelings. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Bird_Count Tom sends his cats out to do the counting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 35 minutes ago, DC Tom said: Of course I do. I feed 'em to my cats. I know he fills it Thanksgiving weekend. Not sure when he refills. He all so has 5-6 other feeders. In front of Camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 (edited) 14 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said: I was busting chops. I bought into my development in 2009 and at the beginning and all you could see is fields (front and back). I used to use my binocs to watch the small herds of deer 50 to 100 feet away. Now my view is house after house after house. That’s a little creepy. Ever catch someone staring back at you eye to eye with their binocs? Edited December 7, 2017 by Augie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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