whenever I hear people discussing ways to discourage the sparrow I have to ask myself why? As You can easily see from my photo's when there is an abundant supply of food the birds will all mingle well. From my observation it is only when the food is in short supply that they really begin to be territorial. The question then becomes, why is the seed in short supply? No doubt the answer here is simple economics. People don't care to spend a lot of money on expensive birdseed, only to have it consumed by the less desirable birds and they don't get to see the species they are really interested in. From my experience the solution here is to shop around for your wild bird seed. By example, we have a local store that caters specifically to feeding and attracting wild birds. They sell a general mix of wild bird seed for $15 for a 20lb bag. On the other hand, Walmart has 20lb bags of the same seed for $10, however at Walmart it is a seasonal item and by now you probably can't find it. How would you like to find a year around source that has a better selection at prices far below the average retail store prices? In almost every community there is a store that specializes in selling feed, grain and hay for horses or farm animals. When my sister goes to the feed mill to buy feed for her horses I tag along and buy 50# bags of premium wild bird seed (mixed seed & peanuts) for $12 plus I buy a 50# bag of black oilseed sunflower seed for another $13. I then mix the two together and I end up with a premium blend for an average of $.25/lb. If you cannot find a Feed & grain supply in your community check out TSC (Tractor Supply Co.) TSC is also a great place to find feeders of all types for prices far below what you find in the regular retail stores, but then feeders are so simple to build i don't see why anyone would pay the prices they ask in most stores. While we are on the subject of bird feed, you may be surprised at how much you throw away every month without realizing it. When you bake a ham or a roast trim off the excess fat and put that in your suet feeder, the birds love it. At my house we all love to eat acorn or butternut squash. When you hollow out the seeds put them out for the birds, here again, they love it. Making a salad? Save the carrot peelings of the birds and by all means, be sure to save your orange or grapefruit peelings. I have seen a Bluejay grab an entire half section grapefruit peel and fly it up into the pine tree. Stale popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, breakfast cereal and cookies all go over well with the birds and as silly as it may sound, even leftover porky beans, whole kernel corn or green beans will quickly disappear when the birds find them. As you can see, I have taken feeding the birds rather seriously however to tell the truth it is more an means to an end. Since I retired last June I have taken up nature photography as a hobby, and since it is a bit too cold to get out in the woods like i would like to do, this is a way i can bring nature to me while i comfortably sit in the house...LOL. Gein that the subject of this thread was how to attract cardinals I thought i might post a couple more Cardinal Picks, along with one of my favorite pics of a Bluejay.

Angie: I didn't really see much yellow near the eyes but my local bird guru from the Manomet Center said that the yellow lores are often indistinct and that the plumage varies greatly between individuals. He also saw a Savannah Sparrow yesterday in Manomet, about 6 or 7 miles north of me. They were here again today although the sun wasn't. Here are the two Savannah Sparrows with a White-throated Sparrow and a bunch of Dark-eyed Juncos. I'm hoping they stay around for my next Project FeederWatch count which starts on Monday. That nyjer seed path really attracts sparrows (and turkeys). I saw an American Tree Sparrow there this morning also. I started broadcasting the nyjer because I have a few hanging nyjer feeders there for the goldfinches and I noticed mobs of small birds underneath the hangers. Claire

I see White-throats every winter here in SE Ma, although they usually stay near brush. Luckily I have lots of brush in my yard and I put feeders near by. The nyjer spillover is a draw for lots of sparrows, including white-throats. I've been fussing the last few days over these two birds which I think are probably juvenile White-throated Sparrows, but I'm not quite sure about the second one. The first one has the beginnings of the yellow dot behind the eye. Neither of these has the strong white stripe on the head, but maybe they're too young, or are of the tan-striped persuasion. Comments or corrections are welcome. The feeder is right outside my computer window so I can watch them while I'm online. Claire

Hi Konrad, I don't know. It's looks a little too bulky and dark colored to be a Clay-colored Sparrow. Usually, the Clay-colored Sparrow looks a little like a Chipping Sparrow. And, I think I saw some streaks near the base of the tail. But, I may be wrong. With only one picture there're always possibilities of mistakes. Wish is a Clay-colored, Luc