I'd like to know what evolved dinosaurs are coming to your bird feeders. If you have some short comment on some, include it. I'll start. Tufted Titmouses ( Titmice?) Cardinals - usually in a male/female pair Black-capped Chicadees - little cuties Blue Jays - only occasionally, the other birds don't seem to like them Blackbirds - oddly they only come to one feeder in the back yard ( I have three ) Mourning Doves - nearly always in a pair Crows - never at the feeder. only once have I seen a crow in the backyard. He/she was huge - bigger than a pigeon Brown-headed Cowbirds - mellow critters Barnes Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker - look just like Barnes except for size Redpolls - pretty sparrow-sized birds Sparrows - several kinds American Goldfinch - only once Catbirds - they never visit the feeders but hunt seed on the ground Mockingbirds - like the Catbirds, they just hunt on the ground, my favorite bird - they seem to sing for the joy of it Starlings - they came for a few days but the other birds ran them off House Finch - I'm still trying to tell them apart from Redpolls I've identified other birds in the woods and marshes around where I live ( my favorites are the hawks ) but they don't come to my feeders
Well,, @Dwight Ward , I have a story to tell you about that ! We do not have a bird feeder per se anymore, because the squirrels ate almost all of it and dumped the rest, and the poor birds had to peck around on the ground for leftovers. Now, we have some sunflower seeds and some raw peanuts and we throw those out in the front yard to watch the squirrels enjoy them. If we have leftover bread, then I break it into chunks and throw it out for hungry birds and squirrels. We have about 4-5 of those “bird-dinosaurs” that show up and tootle around our yard and flowers just about every day, and we enjoy watching them. They are an unusual variety, with large, grey-black speckles. They are called “neighbor’s chickens”, and I look forward to their visits each day. As far as actual birds, that is interesting , too. They have a “bird feeder” out back, and it is called “the dog food dish”. We mostly get starlings, and they are very bold, and will go after the dog food with the dog sitting right there on the porch by the bowl of dog food. The dogs go after the squirrels, but ignore the birds. We usually bring the dog food dish inside after the dogs have a chance to eat, and we have had the starlings right in the back door, looking for their buffet dinner. They actually screech at us to stay away from their food !
we feed the birds and squirrels...homemade bark butter for downy and hairy woodpeckers... seed cakes with mealy worms....nuthatches...bluebirds....pine siskins...yellow finches...wrens....purple martins....ruby throated grosebeaks...bluejays...cardinals...doves...thrush.. hummingbird feeders...ice jugs to keep birdbath cool... fish pond for birds and fish...frogs... peanuts and blackoil sunflower ..squirrels and all... it's extreme..
I know most people think starlings are pests and I can see why but I try to make up my own mind about that and other things. Supposedly, starlings were one of the first birds to live off the leavings of people, way back when the first towns and cities were started in Europe. Starlings are from Europe. I forget which city it was but they found a starling's brood on the roof of a skyscraper in this country ( you couldn't call it a nest because it was too huge ) that they estimated was home to more than 20,000 birds. Yipes! Poor starlings. No one likes them - not even other birds.
I'm going to combine the best of both worlds and get a feeder just for flying squirrels. Hopefully, a talking moose will show up too.
That sounds like my list, Al. What part of the country are you in? Just generally - I'm not asking your exact location. I'm on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland..
Does anyone ever get their email temporarily blacklisted? It happens to me about every two weeks and lasts for a few days. I don't change anything and it goes back to normal by itself. It's making me more paranoid than my normal paranoia. I know this is wildly off topic but it's my topic ... so there.
What do you mean "blacklisted"? Something with this site, or elsewhere? Regarding birds, being in central Virginia, your list and mine pretty much over lap. I used to have the following feeders spread about my property: -Regular millet -Sunflower seeds -Open tray with dried fruits & nuts -4 suet holders scattered about -Wire wreath to hold unshelled peanuts for the pileated woodpeckers (pic below) -Thistle feeder for the goldfinches (unlike you, I had lots of them little buggers) -Ground feeders -Probably others I'm forgetting That wreath is an internet pic. I got tons of photos from my feeders. I took my feeders down when I started having bear issues. Just so you know, there is an Audubon Society request for folks to take their feeders down here on the east coast until a pathogen that's been killing songbirds has been identified. Sorry to be the bearer... edit to add: I know for certain that this request extends from Connecticut to Kentucky, and may be farther north & south.
From thunderbird I get a message from each of my two email accounts that my account has been 'temporaily blacklisted' and to try again later, then a box for trying a new password.. From Em Client I just get a failed to connect to server message.
Just so you know, there is an Audubon Society request for folks to take their feeders down here on the east coast until a pathogen that's been killing songbirds has been identified. Sorry to be the bearer. I didn't know. Thanks for telling us, John. That's really too bad. I'll miss my birds. I read the article. It reminded me I've only seen one robin this whole spring.
I figured you'd want to do the right thing. On the upside, birds don't really need our help until winter sets in. Perhaps the cold will kill this thing.
We've had a few that I don't recognize, but the ones I recall seeing, in order of commonality, are... Blue Jays Pigeons Chickadees Red-winged Blackbirds Crows Cardinals Mostly, the crows are in the backyard, along with robins, but I have seen the crows at our feeder a few times.