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Jill -- great article... and there has been this pile i was planning on cleaning up this year... I actually removed a bit of it. Now -- i guess i will rebuild it so the critter have a nice place to hide again... I certainly i do have enough brush.
Brush piles are great! I had a pair of brown thrashers in the garden last year, and it looks like they're back... I'm sure my brush piles and undergrowth areas are a factor for them. :-)
I'm sure i've always had field mice or voles living back there, as Buddy is always sniffing. Usually when ever i trim trees back, even though they are invasives for the most part... i leave them for the birds, as i know they eat the lil berries on them. I did however kill off most of the wild grape... it just got into everything... but the grape vine that i clip back - the thick branches -- those all go in that pile.
I just love seeing the Cardinal pairs. I have a few of them this year, where 2 yrs ago, there was only one pair. And i only see the occasional Blue Jay... i'd like to see more... and i wish there was a way to get rid of the House Sparrows... I've got way too many of them.
I seem to recall the Audobon site had some info on controlling HOSP... google, and you'll find suggestions.
I think I still have just one pair of cardinals, but the male is quite territorial, so maybe my yard isn't big enough for a second pair. He perches at the top of the tallest tree and sings very loudly ("My tree! My tree! My tree!")
I did read one thing when i googled the sparrows, it said NOT to use the cheap/junk seeds in the feeders because that is what they prefer to eat... so, back to all black oil sunflower.
And - yes, i do have a bit of room, since it is all State Property behind my house... i dont even have a tree in my back yard... but i have plenty -out back.
I just love Cardinals... they are just stunning. sometimes when i know there isnt seed out there... i'll run out with my seed bucket to feed them... well, i do that for the ducks too.
I've got one HOSP that shows up at my BOS feeder, but at least they don't flock to it in droves.
As long as I don't see a huge vole/mouse problem, I'm going to keep my feeders up this summer -- they have plenty of other food out there, but the feeders bring them all close to the house for our entertainment!
OH, it really is. that is where 99.9% of my plants go... from all those seeds i received.
It's great... i can use it, maintain it, beautify it.. but i dont have to pay taxes on it.
what is HOSP (I'm new here...) and now that I'm certified, I'm making sure the brush pile is kept up!
I've been feeding the birds for about 5 years and right now they're all flocking back. The cardinals, robins, red-winged blackbirds, finches, but not goldfinches yet, are back. Junco's have just left; the chickadees, jays, titmice [mouses...?] and of course all kinds of sparrows keep me entertained all year round. Waiting for the hummers, but don't you just love the spring!?
Too funny...of course it stands for house sparrow...! Well, I prefer the hosp's to the grackles that empty the feeders in a day. Sparrows are a nuisance but eat less so I'm looking on them more kindly now... I got rid of the squirrels (I don't mean that I 'got rid of' them, rather now manage to keep them off the feeders) and then the grackles showed up. I think I've now foiled the grackles by using caged feeders, but have a 1/2 dozen [expensive] but unused feeders. Maybe I can use them to as planters!
OH yea... i have those too. and you are right... i can fill both my feeders [one is for the squirrels, since she chewed a HUGE hole in the lid] ... usually with in 2 hrs all the seed is gone. I also have a lot of Starlings and Red wings... but i like the Red Wings.. they talk to ya. Well, squawk at me if i get too close, but the are fun.
I also have hawks, which i hope are or can take care of the bird population explosion... I did find a pile of black with a blue shimmer to it, feathers in my yard one day... didnt think much of it, til i found a beak. that was it, no blood, no other anything, just a beak. and i have a fenced yard, so it wasn't a coyote.
Starlings have been a big issue when I try to feed peanut butter or suet, but I've started using a mix of sunflower (BOS = black oil sunflower, and didn't I have a time figuring that out on the birdwatching forum... sorry about using the "HOSP" without explaining!) and raw peanuts (got them at Walmart, red skins no shells) in a metal mesh "No No" feeder that birds can both perch and cling on... that has been attracting everybody, including woodpeckers & others who normally come to the PB & suet... but it doesn't seem to attract mobs of starlings. :-)
Ah, i recall reading that article. I dont use a real tree [didnt even put one up last year... how sad is that ... oh yea - it's cuz we jsut got Charlie]
and i did go back to one of the No/No sites and read the description - which i should have done in the first place, but i have seen those feeders before... I'm sure our squirrels would get to it too. They are crafty.
Just a quick comment. There's a couple of things you can do to discourage the blackbirds. You can use white safflower seed on the platform feeders. The grackles don't seem to like it. You can also get bird feeders that close when a heavy bird gets on it. One of mine is rectangular and the other is a cylinder. One is called and Yankee ? something. I call it Yankee Doodle but that's not the right name.
We also trap house sparrows. They are really mean to the bluebirds-they will go into their nests and kill the bluebird and break the bluebird eggs. Plus, they are not a native bird and really take over.
I only feed black oil sunflower seed, safflower seed, thistle seed, nut and berry seed, suet, and what I call a sunflower popsicle (you can get it a WM or Lowes). I also make a peanut butter suet for the bluebirds that winter over. They love it and so do many other birds.
Whew, this got a little long.
thanks Birder... next time i see the Black Oil seeds, i'm getting some. I will also look for the white safflower.
Thankfully i do not have Bluebirds here - though i would love to see them... i have A LOT of the house sparrows. I did get to see a BlueBird at our park in Wisc, and they are gorgeous!!
along with A LOT of the sparrow, i also have the grackles and Starlings... none of which i think are natives.
Every now and then i get a Blue Jay, just one i think... i have 2, possibly 3 pairs of Cardinals, lots of Robins and Red Wings... and the occasional Hawk ... hopefully he/she will snack on those sparrows.
Grackles and starlings are both non native, invasive birds. We have a blackbird that keeps putting a nest in one of our purple martin gourds. We tear it out, next morning, she's putting it back. And the beat goes on...
I'm using safflower in one little feeder, but unfortunately it seems to just trickle right out of our main hopper-style feeder. I may end up getting an excluder-style feeder... but so far the starlings etc. don't seem to care much for my "no no" feeder, even though it has perching rings that the cardinals have learned to use.
FYI, discussion of doing away with house sparrows or other birds is expressly forbidden at the top of the birdwatching forum, so although the prohibition isn't generally posted, I don't want to get into further discussion of it here. There are sites where you can find more information about various ways to deal with these invaders. :-)
I make PB suet also... but I don't get bluebirds. What fun!
no matter what the critter... i can't kill anything... well, 'cept for some spiders in the house.
I was even out tonight, in the rain, scooping all the worms out of my driveway - so the kids dont run them over when they pull in -- putting the worms in my flower beds.
Going shopping tomorrow -- i'll look for some different seeds.
Worms are good! Spiders... I used to carry each one gently outside, but we are really overrun with them here... still, they definitely fall into the "good bug" category. (Yes, I know they're not insects... but very few insects are true "bugs;" it's a general term for creepy-crawlies!)
