Thanks for the link! I need all the help I can get to identify birds. We have two male red-headed woodpeckers bickering over who has the silver maples along the street.

I've been "entertaining" the cats with the sound bytes, Mephit (the tom cat) looked as if he was about to carry off a speaker, so I quit.

My hummers take off in February. I do not know where they go, but from the end of January into March they are never around.

Had to give up on most of my bird-feeding efforts:
- Feeding the birds attracts a smorgasbord for the neighborhood cat population
- Squirrels and grackles clean out a week's worth of rations in less than a day
- Seeds were reseeding all over my gardens, mainly because the grackles can't just be polite and EAT, but have to fling the stuff they don't like all over the place.

So now I have a few finch feeders and some suet cakes, but that's about it. My visitors are limited to chickadees, who are too clever for the cats, and finches, who aren't around in the winter.

The poor junkos didn't find much hospitality when they came through here on their migration. They were pecking around under the finch feeder like the mourning doves.

Patti, one thing I have done which I'm very happy I did was to plant a whole hedge of firethorn (pyracantha). Not only does it give a festive feel to the street now at Christmas time but the birds go absolutely bezerk about them. When the cold weather sets in they flock to the hedge and the ground is literally covered in small berry remains. It's probably not for the purists who always wish to keep their sidewalks clean, but I'm absolutely thrilled that they take to the berries. The firethorn berries hang on throughout Winter, if left alone by birds, so they are a very valuable source of food at a time when there's literally nothing available. So, in climates where this is possible you can plant berried plants, appropriate to your situation, to last them through the tough times.

I also keep the birdbath up during Winter to make sure the birds have somewhere to drink and bathe. It's actually surprising how many birds bathe during the Winter here.

I'm reluctant to put up seeds for them to feed, because I'm on a slope on the edge of wooded areas and big, big mice are not an uncommon sight in the garden, yuck... When I do feed them I usually use stale crumbed bread and make sure the quantities are small so that they are quickly used. I need to try and bake some suet cakes this Winter, never done it before.

I have loads of birds in the garden, including a few nests, so I assume they like it here. There are quite a few I can't identify, but we do have loads of blackbirds and sparrows and quite a few finches as well. Blackbirds have a feast at my mulberry tree - let's just say I hardly eat any blackberries at all... Robins are also a common sight during Winter. This year I heard one for the first time on October the 1st. They come here for the Winter I guess, and go back North during Summer, since I never seen them in the hot months. A local person has also told me one of the nests in my garden is from wild doves, but I can't confirm this since I have never seen them in the garden.

Quite often at night, both Summer and Winter, we can also hear owls. Some people freak at the sound, which is supposed to be an ill omen here, but I kind of like its sound. It's eerie now during cold Winter nights. We used to have a bat living in my (closed) patio umbrella during Winter, but we had to remove the umbrella last Fall as wasps were nesting there! So our little pet bat is gone, I hope he found a good home by now.

Eduarda

Eduarda, I'm fascinated you had a bat. I've pondered putting up a bat house but I don't know if we have any here.

I have so many birds with the feeder it would be difficult to count them all. The doves hang around my yard year around along with that rotten Billy the Blue Jay.

Thank you Patti for the info, I'll give it my best shot.

Edna

One February I visited a house with pyracantha planted at the porch, and bluebirds kept coming for the berries - a rare sight in suburban NC.

Edna, I didn't know I had a bat until two Summers ago I opened the patio umbrella in the morning and saw a dark shade, which at first I thought was a leaf that had got in between the layers of fabric. I was about to shake it when I realized it was a bat, sleeping! I was mesmerized. Up until then I had sometimes seen a bat flying in the garden at dusk, but it never crossed my mind that he would choose the umbrella as a house. We left the umbrella out during that Winter, closed, so that the bat could have a home.

Unfortunately, last Summer I had to have a huge wasp nest removed from the house (it was almost on top of our bedroom door, under the eaves) and the poor wasps were disorientated. One day I freaked out because they were swarming in the umbrella. I have loads of bees and wasps in the garden - the birdbath is a main attraction for them in Summer - but I have already been stung twice and was really afraid to let them build a nest in the patio umbrella... So we took the umbrella out and stored it. I was so sorry for the little bat, but we live on the edge of woods and I'm sure he found a good home elsewhere.

What was really surprising to me was the fact that I thought all bats in the wild lived in caves, so it never crossed my mind they would actually be solitary and seeking our company. Our national Convent of Mafra, a huge monastery from the 18th century, keeps a bat colony in its premises. They are released into the library at dusk after the visitors are gone so that they eat the bugs that damage the books. I thought this was rather neat.

Eduarda

Eduarda - I'm now very, very facinated. A monastary keeping a bat colony!? How wonderful is that!

I have to know more. Off to do research now :-)

Edna

Very interesting this talk of bats. I've always been facinated by them. When we were kids we'd go to the lake and lie on our backs in the moonlight and watch the bats whizzing around eating insects.

Over the years a few have accidentally gotten into the house, which has caused a bit of hysteria by yours truly, but still I would love to have a bat house OUTSIDE someday.

Giving this a bump to remind anyone who was interested in participating.

Now that I'm at my new house where the coyotes are petstalkers so the cat is forever housebound,I decided to put up some feeders for the birds. My last place my garden was full of birds and as it was a gravel hill in the middle of a farm with just a few old fruit trees, I had no squirrels. This new place is a clearing in the forest edge- squirrel chitter chatter the whole day long.

I went to a wild bird store and inquired about squirrelproof feeders. There's a huge choice now of feeders and baffles and they work. I got feeders with springloaded cages that drop down and cover the feeding holes when squirrels and large birds attempt to feed. Clear plastic roofs that hang above the feeders- the squirrels slide of them like ski jumps. And wobbly screw on baffles that look like tin cans for the feeder posts- the squirrels climb the post up into the open end of the baffle, can't get through the closed end and can't figure out why. They try to grab on to the baffle and climb it but it's metal, wobbles and they fall off. Watching the confused squirrels' attempts is almost more fun than seeing the birds.

I also was worried about uneaten bird seed becoming weeds in the garden. It was recommended to use only use shelled and chipped sunflower meats. 99% of bird species will eat them and they're extremely nutritious. They are available in small, medium and large chips. I've found the medium to be the most desired. The large chips the small birds would sort through till they found a small enough size to eat with the bigger chips that they didn't want ending up on the ground.

Some bird species are only ground feeders and they peck through what ends up on the ground. The squirrels get only what's on the ground.

In the summer, I put up niger feeders for the finches. It has to be imported to Canada and heat treated to not germinate. The niger feeders are covered from dawn to dusk with about 20 goldfinches at a time- a beautiful sight.

The bird feeders are hang from double shepherd's crook poles set in the lawn so I can move them about a bit and use the lawnmower to clean up any mess underneath.

We have set up a group of rocking chairs on the porch that's adjacent to the bird feeders and spend most of the summer leisure time rocking back and forth with iced tea in hand watching the birds.

The area is right outside the kitchen window as well so we can watch them in the winter too from the kitchen table.

About 7 months ago, I moved to a smaller house in much busier location. I live close to a main road in a small city. At my other house which was in the northwest hills of connecticut - my feeders attracted small animals as well as birds and I could fill the feeders about 3 times a week easily! Now in this new house - I've had a feeder out there since the beginning of fall. And I'm still working on the same filling! One sunday morning to my complete delight - I looked out the kitchen window and saw 10 different birds! ..including a woodpecker, a cardinal, a blue jay, morning doves....I was thrilled! I thought that they had finally found the feeder. Now I'm back to no birds. I've never seen anything like it and I'm starting to wonder if they will ever come - maybe being so close to the main road scares them away?
Has anyone ever had this happen?

I am a "bird feeder", my father in law passed the hobby to us as he was a avid bird watching and for 40 years he joined in local bird counts several times a year and kept a ledger on the birds he saw at his feeders daily.
I also found like Chris that grackles and starlings ate me out of house and home, and made a mess of the feeder area to begin with and sorted seeds flinging so much on the ground. This is a solution that was passed to me by fellow birding friends....not fool proof solutions but definate improvements..
Keep away from ANY seed that offers any source of corn in it. Starlings and crackles love corn seed..so no cracked or corn products will greatly reduce grackles and starlings. Most cheaper seed uses it for weight..stay clear of it will cost you a bit more, but you get more bang for the buck and less starlings, crackle mess.
Keep peanuts away also from feeders to "help" with the squirrel attraction. Peanuts and corn will attract squirrels faster than anything to your feeder. The best feeders I have found that detour squirrels are the Opus Topflight Trple Tube. You can find it on Ebay also.. #290079288613. My experience is that even the most persistant squirrels tire of trying to stay on this feeder. The dome top is so cupped and slippery that no matter how many times he tries, he slides to the ground and the feeder tray is far enough away from the top that just reaching down into the tray from the top means a good lean that makes the squirrel slide on down to the ground. I bought this feeder two years ago, and have not had a squirrel since. So if you love to feed but hate the squirrel problem..try it before give up feeding altogether.
Also, stay away from millet seed and thistle seed if you dont like the weeds under the feeder. Millet seed is a inexpensive filler seed that cheaper seed mixes use and ends up mostly on the ground as most birds in my area at least don't care much for it. There it quickly sprouts. Use only niger seeds for finches, not thistle, more expensive, but less weed sprout and waste. Thistle and niger are not the same seed, or at least that is what I have been told.
Also, a recent tip I found was to microwave your birdseed in your microwave in a paper sack for ten min to kill the germination ability. It renders it sterile. I have not tried this, but have been told it works great.
I personally combate it this way...in the summer, I ONLY buy the more expesive shelled sterile seeds for the feeder. I use only sunflower hearts shelled in the summer and NEVER use millet seed mixes. In the winter, I buy the less expesive with hull mixes...I find that most of the seeds get ate up anyway before it warms enough to sprout and then it costs me less to feed in the winter when the birds need the most help. Also, if you already have grackles and starlings ruining your feeders, emtpy your feeders. It takes about a week to ten days for the bullies of the feeders to move on to another source of food. Then when you restock the feeder again, stay away from millet, corn and peanuts. Suet also attracts the bullies....buy a suet feeder than hangs upside down under a wood a frame roof..those feeders only allow birds who have the ability to hang upside down to eat from them...keeping grackles and starlings completely away from your suet and still letting woodpeckers and nutchatches to eat. Ebay also has these...#290077935818 or 220077120153. I love bird feeding, tho it is a great deal of work and mess. But what life it adds to a garden and it is so restful for the soul. Great stress buster!

I've definitely gotten more into bird watching this winter. Something to do, I suppose. I seem to attract mostly little brown birds(Chickadees? Sparrows?) I've seen a few Cardinals, and the occassional Blue Jay, as well as some others.
The Squirrels have been a big problem. We made some of those peanut butter pine cone feeders and they were all on the ground and devoured within a couple days.
I'm going to have to invest in some "anti-squirrel" devices or feeders.
I feel bad for them with the ridiculous cold we've been having. I wonder where they go and how they survive. I haven't seen any birds or squirrels out for a few days.

I've never really minded the squirells. I buy 50pd bags of sunflower seed for $8. So i don't really care if the squirells eat. They are kinda funny to watch and they love to tease the dog. Which is also funny to watch.

Some very excellent suggestions here!
I really need more seed/berry bearing plants here, like Eduarda has.
No millet, corn or peanuts for sure, Keesha! I absolutely HATE the English sparrows and they just love millet. I've used safflower seed and niger almost exclusively for several years. Yes, Giardin- the goldfinches are wonderful on the feeders en masse! So cheerful in the spring especially.
This year I've put out black oil sunflower as well, but if I see the sparrows around I won't put it out any more. I love the variety of woodpeckers and nuthatches too much to give up suet. But I do cover it. I just use a plastic quart plant pot! I first use a regular wire suet cage to hold the suet. Then I thread a small chain from the suet feeder through the bottom of the pot, which covers all but the bottom of the suet. As Keesha said, the grackles and starlings can't get to it. HOWEVER, grackles and starlings do eat things like grubs, so they can be valuable visitors.

Amazon,I love to watch the squirrels too! At my MOM's house! lol

Lavendr- The birds will return(and probably are by now if you have snow on the ground). This year the cardinals and jays are making very infrequent visits here, but they do come back eventually.

MrMorton, I hope you'll consider Stan's book for Illinois birds. I think that even Benjamin will be able to use it quite easily. This will be a good time to teach him about birds. In a few years birds will have girls and cars to compete with . . .
;-)

PattiOh

Here is a link that might be useful: Stan Tekiela's Birds of Illinois

eduarda,

Why don't you put up some bat houses?
They are so easy to build and. . .

"If you build them...they will come".

~ Annie
(sa4u)

Annie, unfortunately I have never seen them offered for sale here, and I don't know what the requirements are to build one. Also, I have no idea where they should be placed. I have a problem that my trees are still very young, so they don't have branches or trunks that are sturdy enough to hang houses. The perimeter wall is also quite low, 5ft, due to legal regulations, so I expect this is too low to hang a working house. The wall is also accessible to the local tom cats, so I would prefer to not have anything there. My local birds very smartly avoided that problem by nesting in the laurustinus that is more towards the centre of the garden. So, all in all, I would place a bat house if I knew where to get one and where to place it. I sure miss our little umbrella bat.

On the other hand, we have gained a new overnight resident. Our carport is covered and has a door connecting to our basement. On top of that door, and almost close to the ceiling of the carport, we have a light. A couple of weeks ago I nearly dropped dead scared when I was out fetching some logs for the fireplace at dusk and something suddenly flew from the light! After closer inspection we realized that a small bird was perching on top of the lamp for the night. We have since seen him everyday in the same spot - comes in at dusk, gone in the morning. I don't know what bird it is, because it's quite dark by the time it's there and even if I turn the light on, because he sits on top, I can't quite see him/her. He's such a cutie. Both DH and I are thrilled that he/she has chosen to live with us. I've named him Chico, which is short for Francisco (Portuguese for Francis). We have an expression "chico esperto" to designate a resourceful guy, so I thought Chico was a good name for an obvioulsy resourceful bird. :-)

Eduarda

How cute Eduarda! Perhaps he will be joined by a Senhorita Esperto and little ones this spring!

I just wanted to encourage people to look further into building bat houses. My sister and her husband are members of the Organization for Bat Conservation (OBC). They have information available on how to build and hang a bat house. Actually, many bats live in the bark of trees or any other narrow, protected crevice. The folds of an umbrella would be perfect.
Martha

Martha, thank you for mentioning the OBC. I've checked their website and noticed they have instructions to build a bat house. I'm not sure I'm proficient enough to do it, but I know there are other people here who are, so you may wish to give it a try.

Eduarda

Here is a link that might be useful: Bat houses

For those who have fought the squirrel wars, I received a Squirrel Buster Plus bird feeder for Christmas, and it works. It's one of those with the spring that covers the seed ports. Actually the squirrels that regularly emptied my other feeders just slide right off the narrow roof, so they've never even triggered the spring. A red-headed woodpecker is about the largest bird I've seen land on the feeder and he can still get the seeds.

We just moved to our house in PA a year ago this month, and the previous owners left their shepherd's hooks in the yard, with one birdfeeder attached. I rec'd a nice birdfeeder as a housewarming gift and have been so delighted with the birds that are visiting. I will probably regret all the seedlings that will be sprouting in my walkway and beds in a few months, but for now, I am a (happy)slave to the birds. So far, my main birds are tons of male and female cardinals, goldfinches, juncoes, sparrows, 2 red-headed woodpeckers, and chickadees, plus two nuisance squirrels. This past spring and summer we had two separate bird families rear babies in the eaves of our gazebo, and that was just great watching them on the day the babies learned to fly. The parents spread out into two trees and called loudly for their children to follow. Slowly, big brother waddled out from the nest and perched percariously on the edge of the eave. "Wow, it's a long way down from here", he thought as he looked below his little feet !! However, he got up his nerve and hopped off the ledge, only to crash a few yards down on the patio (I gasped in horror as he hit the ground !) Quite embarrassed at his first flying lesson, he started hopping into the brush to hide as he gathered his wits about him, and then began a series of short, low flights until he was resting at the base of his parent's tree. Well, in quick succession, his siblings followed suit, all going off in many directions, so fast I couldn't keep up with them all. I learned to recognize their young voices as they called to their moms for help, under a bush, under the bench, or right in the middle of the lawn ! Happily, all seemed to make it into a tree and I am hoping that they come back as adults and make my gazebo their family's choice of home once again. Looking froward to spring and new bird babies !! It's funny, in summer I concentrated on attracting butterflies since I thought the birds could find plenty to eat in spring, summer and fall. Maybe this year I will continue feeding the birds year round, and try to attract more hummingbirds as well. Thank you, God, for making such beautiful animals for me to look at !! I am amazed at every detail.

Hi All,
OK, the G.B. Bird Count starts this weekend.

Here is a bit of info from their site. (Details at link below)
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Its as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes during February 16Â19, 2007. Count birds at as many places and on as many days as you likeÂjust keep a separate list of counts for each day and/or location.

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time, and write it down.

3. Enter your results on the Great Backyard Bird Count web site!

That's it!

Thanks to Eduarda and Martha for the Bat House info. I'm sure there's a place for one somewhere around here!

Joy- the Squirrel Buster Plus feeder would be great for my mom who lives at Squirrel Central.

3dogsmom, I enjoyed the cute story about your bird family. Birds really do add interest to our lives. I don't even consider myself to be a "real birdwatcher". Most of my observation (and enjoyment) takes place in my own backyard.

PattiOh

bump

Slim pickin's on birds since we've had a few warm days. So far I counted two, my silly Blue Jays. Do turkeys count? I've seen 13. Yesterday the BJ's followed me all over the yard when I was tilling the soil.

This year I'm building a bat house.