It seems like everyone thinks it takes a long time to get the birds that tame, and you need to be very still, but after a day or two I can move around freely and could even be talking to you and the chickadees wouldn't mind the company. They'd be perched on shoulders, hat, clinging to arms, waiting for their turn at the handouts. I'm steadily snapping pictures. Something usually goes wrong - the bird moves, the camera automatically returns to regular focus (rather than macro-focus) after a certain period of time, the bird flies off before the shot & I get an empty hand ....... so only about 1 out of 5-6 shots get saved. I'll have to find a partner so you can see a wider variety of shots. Yell at me if you feel like I've hi-jacked your thread, Nutsaboutflowers. I'm sort of conflicted about posting. There's a fun thread HERE though, where I'll be posting more pictures. It's got some good stories on it, so you might find it worth the trip. ;o) Al

Nuthatch, Try the Growing From Seed Forum. I just let my Rain lily seeds fall to the ground & grow. Not sure what the true instruction are. Hope this helps. Honeybee

That sounds like a good mix. Depending on where you are and what type of tree cover you have, it should attract blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, LBBs (little brown birds = sparrows, finches, et al), nuthatches, woodpeckers, etc. These are mostly woodland birds, so if you're on the prarie, you'll get somewhat different results. The corn may attract doves, pigeons, grackles, etc. I'm not sure what a "hopper" is, but it definately should be higher than 3 ft. Most birds like to feel protected from ground predators and that's really too low for them to feel safe. I would probably put a mix like this on a platform feeder. You can also feed on the ground. I'm in the cities (old established area with large trees) and the birds at my feeder in winter include juncos, chickadees, nuthatches, downy woodpeckers and of course the ever present English sparrow. During the dead of winter here in MN, no matter how well I keep the feeder stocked, the only real diehards are the English sparrows. Everyone else seems to go elsewhere during the really frigid times. Even the juncos. Come visit us over at the Birding Forum! Here is a link that might be useful: Birdwatching Forum

I would wager, there are plenty around. Red bellies are very common in my part of the state. We usually have 3 pairs hanging around our feeders. Downies are the most common; hairies are rarer. Flickers are common, but we can't seem to draw them in. Pileateds and red heads are the rarest---although I had a horde of the red heads attacking my fruits last year. While we have loads of white breasted nuthatches, red bellied nuthatches have been like your red bellied woodpeckers. We've only seen one at a time.