Do you think sunflower shells kill the grass or plants under a sunflower feeder? I ask because I lost some plants under a sunflower feeder. I will check further on line but wondered what you think.

Pat - Yup, mine do. Shells in the winter are so thick, it's like lava. I clean them up in the Spring only to start all over again. I don't expect grass to grow under the feeder, but a friend who does want neat, shell-less grass under her feeder, buys the shelled sunflower seeds. Pricier, but, no mess under the feeder pleases her. Me?, I just sweep them up with a snow shovel when the spirit moves me and dump them out back in a compost pile.

Jane

Pat: In the past I've googled the issue and gotten answers all over the map. Some say yes, some say no, and some say 'it depends'.

My own feeling is that some plants will survive but a lot won't, so I don't plant anything under the feeders. I pretty much leave the shells where they fall and the areas are mostly bare except for sunflower and other birdseed seedlings. Ornamental grasses such as miscanthus and panicums seem to be fine to the side. Shrubs such as Kalmia and Euonymus have struggled nearby.

The cover gets thicker and thicker (I do remove it occasionally) and the worms/grubs seem happy there; judging by the skunk holes.

Claire

Thank you,j Girls. My search has blown me away. Turning one feeder into safflower only and the rest may stay where they are. Got some shoveling to do right away. Will no longer blow shells out into the lawns or beds. Jeesh!

it's aways sunthen. Boy are the Gold Finches going to be pissed when they see the safflower feeder in the front.

I bought the ‘put it together yourself’ wren house in January when winter had made me lose what sense I had left. Next time, I’ll buy the one already put together. Once the pieces were together, I had to secure the hole opening to protect it against woodpeckers, and bought metal washers that proved to be too thick to screw in around the opening. Back to Home Depot to return metal washers. Then on Etsy, I found a retired guy in Florida (how odd is that?) who makes wooden bird house hole protectors and ordered some from him. Lovely, but I had to cut one corner off the square protector to get it to fit the wren house roof I had already screwed on. Did that. The little house sat on our porch looking for a proper tree branch on which to hang it. Not a good branch in sight in a relatively squirrel- safe area.

So, last Sunday morning as I was outside inspecting the state of our estate, I came upon a clear singing voice that carried strong intention and determination. A Winter Wren. Our eyes met and locked. I told him, “Wait right here. I’ve got the perfect house for you”, and within 4 minutes, a shepherd’s hook came out of the garage, was placed in the back garden out of squirrel reach and no kidding, within an hour the wren family was moving into their new house. It happened that fast after that long a process.

Jane

Lovely story about the birdhouse, Jane.

Pat, my observation and understanding is that sunflower hulls are allelopathic and many but not all plants are killed by chemicals they release. When I was still feeding birds, I switched over to hulled seed.

I've not been taking photos, but the song sparrows are mating and yesterday morning the male catbird serenaded me (or more probably his mate) with a waterfall of varied calls from the trellis right between the front windows. The tree swallows have returned and are performing their aerobatics around the house with their iridescent blue feathers shining in the sun.

Jane, I'm convinced birds communicate about your house, and Claire's, too. Word on the street (or branch) must be that it is The Place To Be. I think they figured out a long time ago that your yard is Park Place and Boardwalk.

(On a side note, my youngest loves Monopoly. Me, not so much. It can take a long time. Last time we played I monopolized the WHOLE fourth side...and put multiple houses on every property. I won. Now I kind of like the game. ;-) )

How lucky can a girl get? Four marauding, parasitic stud muffins at our water cooler for a chat. Cowbirds.

First thought: A Chipping Sparrow practicing for a trip to the Guggenheim.

Pretty sure he'd like a deeper bathtub. May be an afternoon event now.

Very envious of the orioles and love the photos of the hawk and his footbath. LOL The little sparrow is nesting but camouflaged well except only inches above the ground. I was gone for a week and my husband reported that he heard the whip-poor-will and saw a woodchuck. This morning I thought I saw the woodchuck and "drastic measures" were going to take place but as he got closer it turned out to be a porcupine. I think the tree swallows have taken over the bird boxes although sometimes I see a bluebird on the middle one. Two wild turkey hens walked thru the yard this morning. My husband complained he can't leave the garage door open or barn swallows come inside.

About a month or so ago I saw the most unusual sight over a small condo neighborhood in Penacook. There was a small flock of turkey vultures circling and circling. My friend who lives there said they are there most of the time. I can't imagine why they like that area. Surely not for the nearby MacDonalds?

A little while ago I refilled the feeders and put seed on the ground, and replenished the jelly/jam feeders. I always do this in the late afternoon, so the birds can go to roost with a full belly and so there's enough food left over so I don't have to hustle out in the morning before breakfast.

I just looked out to see who was out there and the usual suspects were there - orioles, blackbirds, woodpeckers, etc. - but a pair of mallards strolled into the yard and started feeding as if they knew exactly where the food was.

It looks really incongruous to see a duck under a birdfeeder rather than in the water. The other birds kept a good distance.

I checked and I have photos of the last time I saw Mallards in the yard, in spring 2012. I have no idea how they came here and if they've been here before but I just missed them.

They walked in from the driveway which is in the direction of the pond and the salt marsh, but they flew off towards the bay (I think they may have noticed me and the camera and got scared).

Claire

There’s an X on your yard. They ALL know.

And a ring-necked pheasant?! I glanced out the window at about 7 AM this morning and watched a neighbor dog bounce through the yard scaring things. He/she likes to take a detour through my yard and then run and rejoin his people on the road to continue the walk.

When the dog was gone I noticed a large bird that wasn't a turkey walking through the yard. I got the camera just in time as the bird walked over to the ground-feeding area that's mostly out of sight from the house. The pheasant may have been feeding there for a while; it's pretty quiet except when the dog runs through.

Ring-necked Pheasant

The pheasant was probably stocked nearby for the benefit of the hunters, but he escaped.

The last time I saw one was in March, 2008.

Claire

first hummingbird of the season spotted yesterday!

OK, a BIG X on your yard, Claire. What a joy to see! Saw one years ago on our street, that's it. Stocking pheasants to intentionally shoot them? JMJ. Beam me up soon, please! omg...going back to my naive world. Later.

Hunting Pheasants in Massachusetts

They do it in CT too.

DEEP: Pheasant Hunting in Connecticut

Claire

Oh, thanks...like I needed to know that? I just mowed the lawn and had to brake for chipmunks and cat birds. I only shoot with a Canon.

I was SO impressed by the Governor of Conn. yesterday on MSNBC re gun control and how so many of your New England states have taken it on. His mission is to try to get many more States to join. What a guy! So much for admitting to be from Michigan!

Another unusual bird this morning; at least it's unusual for here.

I believe it's a White-crowned Sparrow, probably migrating through since they don't breed or winter here.

The last (and only other) time I've seen one was on March 24, 2006. This was before I owned a digital camera. I identified it by bird guide and didn't realize that they're not common here, although they're not a rare bird in the overall scheme of things.

Pretty thing, even hiding behind leaves.

Claire

DH is a mowing fiend and usually doesn't mow our wet meadow until August but he decided to do some brush hogging to keep the bushes down. Yesterday he had to stop because a bird flew up. It was an American woodcock and he saw a chick. He came to get me to see the chick. It was so hard to see because of its mottled coloring. I didn't see the adult bird. Today he decided to work in another place but again scared up a woodcock, this time he saw three babies. I told him to stop mowing during nesting season. We've never seen these birds before although I've read about their unusual mating flights. My husband said he is being careful to watch for the birds but I think he has stopped mowing for the time being.

DH spotted our first hummer, and I saw it whisking around the corner of the house shortly after. Our columbine is blooming, so that may be the attraction. One was visiting just down the road at the shop as well, again spotted by DH. We also spotted our first turkey poult of the season crossing the road with a hen, but there was only the single little fluff ball.

Defrost, DH waits until we figure all the ground nesters are done before his first mowing, usually almost July. One year he started a bit earlier and hit a turkey nest and was really unhappy that he had done so. I haven't ever seen a woodcock chick, though we do see them doing their mating rituals in the early spring.

defrost...where is your camera? Other than Claire’s sighting years ago, I’ve never seen one. You’re right BTW, mowing in August is much kinder. I think a female hummer is building a nest in my rhododendron border, but she’s so much faster than I am. I’m hesitant to trim in the area because of her. Oh, trimming in September will give me more time to goof off,lol.

Jane

These are photos from the sighting Jane mentioned. There was a big snowstorm and the woodcock appeared, apparently finding something to eat buried under the snow - maybe worms or insects in the mulchy stuff.

American Woodcock on Dec. 27, 2010

A turkey seemed to be outraged by the presence of the woodcock. Here the turkey is glaring at the woodcock huddled under the shrub.

This is the only time I've seen a woodcock.

Claire

Yesterday morning I saw the first possum I have seen on our property, though I often see them crossing the road in the evening. This one was rummaging around in the garden shortly after dawn, and when DH open the side door, the possum scurried around the house and into my view. It was quite fat, so may have been visiting the compost at some point.

Today we discovered a cardinal nest. There is a large Donald Wyman lilac (Syringa x prestoniae, not the usual S. vulgaris) just outside one of the doors of DH’s wood shop, and often birds nest there. We were watching a male cardinal flitting around for a while before we noticed the female flying to and from the nest. So I hope to get some photos eventually.

And today I saw a woodchuck, maybe a descendant of Guthrie who ruled the yard years ago (and destroyed most of my phlox). The fallen squirrel baffle doesn't faze woodchucks either.

I tried for a better photo but it started raining and the windows got wet and runny so I couldn't focus.

Claire

LOL, Jane, I got out of the habit of using a camera because it eats up batteries. I liked my previous Canon a lot better. Now I don't want to walk in the area because I'm afraid I'll step on a chick. When my husband took me to see the first one I had to look and look and look because they are so well camouflaged. The feathers are mottled, large spots. Yes, I think he has put the brush hog away. Before he has always waited until August when it's usually dry enough not to get stuck because the meadow is so wet.

Also very exciting news on the town Facebook page with a photo of an eagle sitting on a sand bar in the river. There may be more than one eagle in town because the photo taken last fall was on Pillsbury Lake.

Your yard is certainly home to a wide variety of wildlife, Claire. Great photos! I've seen a woodcock on only two occasions ever, in the past, in deserted meadows surrounded by woods on state parkland. Mostly I'm familiar with them from a print that hung in my grandparents' kitchen while I was growing up. It was quite amazing to finally see one for real decades later.

I think we are too far north for pheasants, although my grandfather in CT used to shoot them, but his too might have been stocked, even back then in the 50s and early 60s, hard to know.

Only one possum ever wandered onto our property (as far as I know). It was in our barn one night, but gone the next day. I think because our brook is just a spring fed tiny trickle, possums don't find life on our property sustainable. Sometimes we see them at night, further down the road where a wide stream (the destination of our small brook) heads toward Otter Creek. For the same reason, we have no raccoons.

Very cool about the eagles' nest in your town, defrost.

I doubt that he's counting carbs, but a cherry leaf sandwich was what he fancied.

I'm guessing sawflies may have had something to do with this quick lunch because the birds cleaned the tree very well.

Jane

Lesson learned: I changed 2 feeders to all-safflower and my Orchard and Baltimore Orioles and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are gone. Major bummer.

All Goldfinches are gone also.

Pat, I only switch to safflower in mid-summer IF the house sparrow popultion becomes a bullying gang. Give it a week, if nobody returns, fill a feeder with the other seed you were using. See if this article helps: Safflower seed

Robins in my front door transom window.

Nice, Saypoint, and thanks for coming back to let us know the results of the nest. I have been thinking about your robins because we have a nest of cardinals that have laid eggs but are never on the nest during the day. Hope we have similar results.

There were five eggs, two of which were unattended for over a week. After I took this photo of the three babies, they no longer popped up for me when I tapped on the glass, so I don’t know if there are any more that hatched. I can’t tell who is in there unless I can see their hungry mouths. I should be able to tell when they’re a bit bigger if there are more.

Hummingbird thought I was a flower until I blinked.

Newsflash. I updated the other thread just to close it out. Latest count...all five eggs hatched. Surprise!! Parents are very busy.

I'm glad all of the robin eggs hatched, saypoint. Those are very demanding mouths though!

A gray fox stopped by my yard yesterday evening.

I usually see red foxes, not the gray ones.

Claire

What a beauty, Claire.

So glad you got see and it and save the memory. Nice and healthy.

DH always looks out the window at the right time. He spotted a pileated woodpecker hopping around on my new lasagna bed that had been topped with composted horse manure. As expected, the little sparrow's eggs disappeared. The barn and tree swallows make so much noise that sometimes I chatter back at them. Robins must have a nest someplace because we see them with food in their beaks as if they are collecting for babies.

Pretty grey fox, Claire. Also I keep going back to look at those charming photos of the fox mom and kits, Jane. I miss the family of red foxes that used to have a den in the woods just above our property line. The puppies (I know they are kits, but I call them puppies) used to chase each other in circles and wrestle one another in the corner of the meadow. We loved to watch them.

This little fellow came out of the garden I where I was working, and then scooted across the lawn back to his hiding place when it saw me.

These aren't exactly wildlife, but they are creatures in the (water) garden. They are doing the happy fin and tail dance, glad to be out of their tub in the cellar for the summer.

I wonder if frogs will join them this year. The brook is fairly low, so they may come looking for better water.

Birds can see magnetic fields

Much is still not known about the mechanisms for avian navigation and magnetic fields (it seems they are still piecing together the pieces of the puzzle), but research done on pigeons showed that birds unacquainted with a route used their internal compass to find their way home, while birds who had flown the route before used landmarks to navigate, for instance an intersection in a major highway or a bend in a river. Fascinating stuff.

Violet (the bunny) is out regularly now, chomping away. Remaking the gardens this year and no longer planting dozens of impatiens (which Violet ate through August), I spread a pound of white clover in the lawn to compensate. No chemicals in this yard and plenty of natural vegetation for her, she seems happy.

The titmouse, however, is still struggling with the alpaca hair in the nesting ball.

Jane

---"no longer planting dozens of impatiens (which Violet ate through August)"----

Yes, I can relate. No more coleus plants in my brookside garden for the same reason!

To me, it is a nice little blue birdbath. To them, it's a kitchen sink. I don't even want to know what he's washing (or drowning).

We all see things just a little differently. As long as he's happy.

Jane

The thread is getting long and slow to load for some, so I just set up a new one

Birds and other mobile features in the garden 2018 #3.

As always, please feel free to continue the discussion on this thread, but please post new material on the new thread.

Thanks,

Claire