OK Scot, enough about the cougar. LOL It is amazing what you can see when you have snow. Last snowfall we could see tracks all around our chicken coop, and where it went over the fence and all around our neighbors storage, then back around again. We didn't find them until some melting had occurred but we think ours was a red fox since we see them in our neighborhood lots of nights. A couple of nights ago, I walked outside late at night and saw something move by my front porch. Since there is usually a cat there, I didn't even pay any attention until I was well into the yard and when I did look it was a possum. I guess the cats had left him a little food. LOL

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.

Two things, from my perspective: With regard to feeding bluebirds during nesting season, I would do this only in emergencies such as extended periods of cold, wet weather when insects are scarce. Bluebirds love "junk food" too, and providing a diet of mealworms or suet can encourage them, especially females, to become calcium deficient. Not good, especially at a time of year when their bodies are expending so much during egg-laying. Bet has posted info on this at sialis.org-see link below. The second is a reminder that your nestboxes should be mounted on metal conduit with a predator baffle. Someone may have said this already, but I didn't see it. I hope everyone has a safe and productive nesting season! Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: Supplementing Calcium

Jiggreen, have you seen more birds in your yard lately? How did your fountain work out? The birds love the big trees in my yard, but I used to have a much more heavily wooded lot and had trees removed on 2 occasions which resulted in more of an open woodland. Tree work is expensive but it enabled me to grow a few veggies and bigger gardens. Understory trees and shrubs do well in a woodland setting and many of these make berries and fruits for the birds, such as Dogwoods, Elderberries, or Crabapples. The more sun they get the more they will flower of course. The birds seem very attracted to a mix of vegetation. Some birds like the grassy areas too (no chemicals of course with a bit of clover and crabgrass) where they forage for seeds or ants or whatever.