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Ramblings after a year of feeding

15 years ago

It's been a year since I move to Northern Illinois and started bird feeding for the first time. I have to admit that it's been quite enjoyable.

Year around, I have been getting chickadee's and cardinals. Lately, I notice that the usual large red cardinal have been absent. In its place is a youngster trying to become red. Did the older cardinal died or did it give up its territories to his kids?

The Downy woodpecker that was around all winter abandon me during spring, but it appears to have come back. Oddly, in the old days, it never ate anything from the bird feeder, but have been there often.

Late year, I had no grackles. This year I had tons. I am hoping that they will migrate soon. Last year, several blue jay used to visit my yard. Now I don't even hear or see them.

Late summer, I had no gold finch, now they are extremely common. They are hungry buggers and empty an entire sock daily.

For over a year, I have been battling the large army of squirrels. I have switch from a hanging feeder with a baffle to a pole with a baffle. That seemed to work much better. No squirrels have been managed to get on.

Paul

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Comments (3)

afkate
15 years ago
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kendra2003
15 years ago
I also use a pole with a stovepipe baffle and have not had any squirrels or chipmunks able to get to my feeder. I figured if it could keep raccoons out of a birdhouse, it would work to keep the squirrels and chipmunks out too.
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terrene
15 years ago
Been feeding the birds for 4 years, and it does change over the years. I can't put out the suet mix as much any more - as soon as I do, it attracts the House sparrows. Normally I don't feed the birds during the summer, and provide a natural habitat, but this year it has been so dry, there are much fewer bugs and the birds were suffering. So I've put out a small amount of BOSS each day.

My feeders are also mounted on poles, with the stovepipe-style squirrel/raccoon baffles. Works extremely well, easy peasy to fill and clean.

I also have a suet cage hanging on a hook on the big Oak tree for raw suet from the grocery store. Lots of birds love the raw suet but the squirrels don't seem at all interested (whereas they like suet mixtures with nuts and fruits). The raccoons like it and nibble sometimes but they can't pull it off the tree.

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