This Place is 4 the BIRDS

[crash325]

We haven't had a bird thread for a while. So though I'd start a new one.

Bird seed & Scratch, I go through about 150 /200 pounds a month. + 1 Or 2 bird blocks & sugar water for the hummers. I've actually cut down, most of the white wing doves, little black birds & Inca doves have gone north for a while.

I have picked up some birds that do not really belong in this area. Rufus hummer, some kind of a blue bird, (bright blue, bronze on wings), tiny little finches (maybe wrens or ??) they are always in pairs, bright white chests, chartreuse chests & red breasts. Still see an Oriole now & then.

Lots & lots of quail babies, some from nesting #2. Some young parents in the mix.
Young Road Runners have left the nest. Had one about 1/2 grown, & a pair that looked like first time out. Fun to watch, hunting as a pair, and not doing it very well.

Not the first time, now have a 1 legged dove. this 1 still has both legs but one does not work. It hops & belly flops. In the past they did about as well with 1 leg as the 2 legged ones.

Watched a daddy cardinal feeding a baby. Couple of times he just fed it. 3 Time he would give it a tiny bit then hop away & make it follow.

Turkey Buzzards coming in low. A few big Ravens stopping by & a couple of fantails have shown up.

 

[Baby Grand]

We've been putting out sunflower seed and have a few rose breasted grosbeak families that decided to stay for the buffet this year.
I dug a little pool where there used to be a perpetual wet spot in our field. The idea was to have a place to breed dragonflies to eat some of the mosquitos. Worked out well with the added result of having lots of frogs, which was nice. This year, we had so many frogs that we had very few dragonflies hatch out. That was until last Saturday when we were visited by a great blue heron. The heron has eaten almost all of the frogs and I'm starting to see the husks of dragonfly nymphs that have been able to emerge as adults. Thank you big bird!

 

[Bird]

I buy a 50# bag of "wild bird seed" that has some sunflower seeds in it, then mix it with another 40# of black oil sunflower seed, but only use that up in about 3 months. I also keep clean water in a homemade bird bath for them. But I reckon we don't have anything unusual normally; sparrows, doves, robins, cardinals, etc. However, last week we saw a roadrunner in the yard 3 houses south of us; first time I've seen on in town.

 

[MossRoad]

We've got drip irrigation in our flower beds and hanging baskets, so I put one emitter in the bird bath. It keeps it full and cleaner. We don't feed them, but lots of birds come to the bird bath every day for a dip and drink. They used to come to our swimming pool, but I converted it to salt water several years ago. No more bird poop on the edges of the pool! :laughing:

 

[KTurner]

about 150 /200 pounds a month. + 1 Or 2 bird blocks & sugar water

200lbs/month sounds expensive. How much does a bag run you? I haven't picked any up in a while, but seem to remember about 0.75/lb or so for the big bag of the cheap stuff.

Keith

 

[J F]

We usually go through about 40# of sunflower seeds every month or so. I fill 2 feeders and a couple of hummingbird feeders. We just picked up some cracked corn yesterday at TSC to toss under the feeders.

We get a lot of cardinals and doves, as well as jays, goldfinches, house finches, towhees, titmice, chickadees, etc. Lots of fun to watch. We have a couple of birdbaths that the rain has kept pretty full all year, a big change of pace from normal years where I'm the one filling/cleaning 'em.

 

[crash325]

200lbs/month sounds expensive. How much does a bag run you? I haven't picked any up in a while, but seem to remember about 0.75/lb or so for the big bag of the cheap stuff.

Keith

Scratch ( chicken feed - lots of cracked corn in it. ) is about $18 - Bird seed is about $19 - Bird blocks $13. Wally World had or has 40 pound sunflower seeds for $18.
I add sunflower seeds to the other seeds. I have lots of cotton tails and they like the corn. May get a sack of whole corn to keep the birds from eating it all. I put a heavy dose of sunflower seeds in the bird seed for the cardinal areas (Up close, it helps keep the doves out).

Road runners love to eat baby quail. Those that have survived are big enough they are left alone.

Had a young female coyote looking through the fence a few days ago. Nice pretty coat on her. Not all shaggy like most of them this time of year.

 

[Bird]

Awhile back I checked with Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, and Tractor Supply Co. to see who had the best (lowest) prices on birdseed per pound and Tractor Supply Co. was cheapest. The last I bought, first of June, cost $24.99 for 40# of black oil sunflower seed and $19.99 for 50# of the wild bird mix.

 

[rekees4300]

I feed December to May, figure they should be able to fend for themselves rest of the year. Our most common are Gold Finches and Cardinals.

 

[crash325]

Awhile back I checked with Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, and Tractor Supply Co. to see who had the best (lowest) prices on birdseed per pound and Tractor Supply Co. was cheapest. The last I bought, first of June, cost $24.99 for 40# of black oil sunflower seed and $19.99 for 50# of the wild bird mix.

Try a Feed Store. That's where I get scratch, blocks & bird seed.