Experiment - switching to Safflower seed to deter sparrows
paulsiu
14 years ago
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rachel_frome_ky
14 years agopaulsiu
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Sparrow Discord 'round Th' Birdfeeder
Comments (14)jillmcm: ...We have a very nice woods bordering the east side of our yard that we cleared to ground level, about 15 or so feet back, 8 years ago (accept for the trees and larger saplings and burdock ~ which I enjoy and respect too much to cut back). We leveled the area because the previous owners had used it as a dumping site for waste construction material, & it became a haven for poison ivy and the like. In fighting that nasty plant back off the ground and trees, we all went through a bad time with poison ivy. Worth it. There is now a flourishing old giant umbrella shaped maple [my favorite] & a beautiful holly tree in the back yard, that we transplanted in a prominent place after digging it out of nearly being smothered by poison ivy, as a reminder of that painful/itchy season of endeavor. We, then, just let nature reseed itself in any indigenous way it would, ...while tossing a seed or two in from time to time. Now itÂs thick, beautiful & willful of more space, ...& we are prepared to enhance it with fruiting vines and such...once we get a good list of the MOST effective plants. IÂm thinking wineberry, blackberry, blueberry, sunflowers, buckwheat, Jack-in-the-pulpit, bluebells, goldenrod & some kind of aster ...for starters. There are some cleome, lavender, alyssum, echinacea, coneflower and morning glories there already; I seeded them, ...but probably NONE are indigenous [chuckle] plants. ~You said, "Also, adding a water feature, even something as simple as a glazed saucer with water dripping into it from a suspended milk jug with a pinhole (what I have three of), will bring even more birds in."~ Our water feature is a large concrete bird bath with hanging plants suspended above & to the side; their long branches dangling into the water along the sides of the basin. Sufficient?...or should I install some sort of moving-water device? ~You said, "The only time we've had a mocker in our yard was during a hot spell when they came to drink and bathe."~ Not sure why that notion has gone over my head, ...unless you are speaking of the Northern mockingbird Mimus polyglottos...or the likes of the Blue Mockingbird spoken of in the following poem: http://www.lukecole.com/Birds/Smew.htm Sorry for the wordiness of this post, ...but you have inspired my imagination....See MoreSparrows everywhere!
Comments (3)I'm guessing it must be house sparrows; no other sparrows come in such large numbers. There is no food that house sparrows will not eat including nyjer and especially black oil sunflower seeds. They really like BOSS. They eat the nyjer seed as well; it's just not as easy for them to get at because of the small holes. I know as I have lots of HOSP so the only solution for me was active control of HOSP. Now I have their numbers under control and I have had other song birds galore that I never really saw much of before. I live in an urban area and have a small yard. I used to get overrun with HOSP because they seem to love the area I live in. Even -35 in the winter doesn't deter them. They are very hardy and adaptable. They will eat anything put out....See MoreThe price of bird seed! And liqueurs!
Comments (23)I learned a long time ago not to buy those bird seed mixes! I have stopped buying black oil sunflower seed because it attracts too many scavengers, especially grackles. I only buy safflower and niger now. I ordered 50# bags of each; don't remember exact prices; no doubt will be higher this year. The niger is primarily for the finches; grackles don't like safflower seed, and we don't have squirrels here. So the safflower is for the Cardinals, which I am trying to encourage, with minimum success because across the road from me are plentiful woods which they prefer. This spring I had seen a couple Cardinals in and out of the (ornamental) pear tree and then one day I heard a peep, peep and there was a nestling on my back porch rail. I watched and sneaked out the back door from the garage and got close enough to snap a picture. Soon Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal came by and had a discussion with him(?) and he got brave enough to attempt to stand up. I snapped a second picture and soon after all three were gone. Pictures are not clear; I only use those CVS throw-away cameras. A photographer I'm not! Click to enlarge. I'm hoping they will come back this year. Sue...See MoreAny Way to Attract More than Just Sparrows?
Comments (16)kilian, I'm between Ann Arbor and Ypsi and the lack of birds lately is really bothering me. My husband reminded me that our Cooper's Hawk may be the reason so tomorrow morning I'm going to move my feeders away from my windows and closer to our huge conifer lot line, where I had them last year. I, too, got more birds of all types in Spring and Summer. However, this year I am not feeding after June 1 and not before November. I said that last year, but hope I follow through this year. I do think the lack of snow and very cold weather recently is a contributing factor. I feed safflower in one feeder, BOSS in another, a mix in another, and 2 or 3 suet feeders. 2 of my neighbors also feed, but I haven't talked to them about their business. In this drab weather I am really disliking the BOSS shells piling up on the ground. I wish safflower seed was not more expensive because I would put it in all my feeders as House Sparrows here didn't eat it. The millet in my mix just stays on the ground and I rarely see a Junco or native sparrow anymore. Even the chickadees are rare. I want to feed everything that comes to my yard too -- one can keep so-called bully birds with a mix in its own feeder away from other feeders if one wants to. Squirrels will go to a mix on the ground too. I don't understand the lack of birds either, but we'll see if moving the feeders makes a difference. I have baffles on my shepherds hooks, and 18-inch domes on feeders hanging from my eaves to keep the squirrels on the ground. I want to feed the doves and squirrels but I want them on the ground. I can't help you, kilian. I think the weather is a factor for you. I will keep you posted and you do the same. We're really lucky with our weather, compared to other parts of the States, so I don't really want to complain too much. Pat ....See Morenmgirl
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