Thanks for that great story and those photos. Love that robin’s egg blue. Are the first blue eggs from the chipping sparrows or robins?

Lucky you! Sandhill cranes!

First eggs are the chipping sparrow.

Jelly? Here that would attract tiny birds. About a half inch long. Black and yellow striped tails. :)

I love feeding and watching the birds but I stopped because of bird flu and the rats and squirrels being drawn to the dropped seeds. Also, Pine Siskins come in waves to the feeders and they carry some kind of virus that kills them, so I figured it was bad for other birds, too. I got weary of sterilizing the feeders. I have great habitat, but mostly now I watch them bathe and drink from a water feature I have.

i'm the crazy bird lady. when the songbirds show up here in the spring, it's like a full time job keeping up with the feeders. between the orioles, catbirds, woodpeckers and indigo buntings, i go through a jar of grape jelly every couple of days.

i am on my 3rd clutch of eastern bluebirds. usually, i only get 2 clutches but they started nesting early this year so this is a real treat. so far, 4 eggs (the fist 2 clutches were 5 eggs, all successful fledges) so i'm hoping she may still lay another one today.

Wow, ninapearl! Fantastic and thanks fir sharing those Photos.

From where did toy but that nice jelly feeder?

@petalique

https://www.amazon.com/Perky-Pet-Jelly-Feeder-Oriole/dp/B00QNAYBRY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=33SZSZ6Y3YOVP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fdfX2DbDsTIk_WggmUFlMXpuhsKNvRB2dO3JW2MifsdLeL3w3nd17p6VbYn4S47r0O2mu39KGatwwoBCBjKCDq6fzsx3orcjClCadrDjGcuCVyzjSHITYfDZiph2yJ5Tbe8rD0fn7Lo0IpujhFJprS5_Orw0mXW7LghLY2t4Xbf8bCD0amjbAZlTKDmgFdFxkKn1h6RT6iziUPFmSwAJkua0LU3hlLViVDDJ9ky6MTXPGkNjyh6eTKXoDXjdupA_mt5sFUtyujVl1zFoknp00mHkAiFXKfG8-Bp8M3QUHEs.bLLaSwHKrSe8331L31ObToEvxPLAoedhsxoCRAt1ZDU&dib_tag=se&keywords=perky+pet+oriole+jelly+feeder&qid=1754405022&sprefix=perky+pet+orio%2Caps%2C279&sr=8-2

i have 3 of these feeders. i use the jar that comes with it but i've also found that jelly in any 32 oz. jar will also screw right onto it.

Thanks, Ninapearl.

We do get opossums and raccoons and occasional black bear.

I left a plastic 32 oz mayo jar filled with black oil sunflowe seeds BOS overnight by mistake. The next day the jar was on the ground, intact, but empty with the jar intact. Probably a raccoon could and did unscrew the blue plastic lid. Squirrels just eat a hole in the wide plastic jar. (How can they open that wide?!)

Black bear just rip down everything in sight. Then all feeding stops. I have had some close calls.

This photo is entitled ”Birdbath on Hosta.” Usually lots of little birds, but a critter knocked it over late in the night.

How do you keep the bees away from the jelly containers?

Good question! I have not noticed any on the small bowl of jelly, but we have oodles of flowers in bloom. I think there are less bees than there used to be. In late August and September, the yellow jackets show up. They do not follow the usual protocol — “leave the bees alone and they will not bother you.”

Late ETA (To avoid extra postings that Shakey’s people might feel they have to pay me for; this is in response to comments below, to avoid initiating extra posts.)

I think rats will even eat photos of food. Boston has a rat problem. And those cities w trash collectors on strike. Coyotes eat rats.

And, Elmer, are those ”Roof Rats?” Rats creep me out more than authoritarian fans.

How often does the service check on the traps indoors? Are the rats just nesting? Why are the around?

Fascinating pictures and stories from all of you. I don't feed any animals, but have added some flowers to attract pollinators. This year, swallows built two nests on the side of my house so that's been interesting to watch. The nests are much too high for me to see inside them, but I see heads peek out now and again and hear chatter when I go outside to water my plants.

What else likes grape jelly is rats. My pest control guy uses it to bait box protected snap traps. Sometimes he uses peanut butter too. I've joked with him that what he uses depends on what kind of sandwich he has for lunch that day.

Rats are one rodent I never worry about.

Alberta is considered a rat free area, one of the few places in the world, so I’m told.

We have an active provincial rat patrol. We don’t allow them to breed.

The only place I’ve seen rats are on the streets of Paris, and once in a local greenhouse. The critter had apparently hitched a ride on a pallet of bedding plants from British Columbia.

My neighborhood is not far from an undeveloped area. Rats are around as are other animals - deer, coyotes, raccoons, wild turkeys, an occasional possum, and an occasional skunk. And, the very odd cougar up in the mountains. One can go for years and years and never see anything but the occasional deer. So it's not like living in the middle of a game preserve.

Rats in my area are nocturnal. Once established, it can be hard to be completely rid of them. We found a garage shelf/crawl space/in-wall infestation when doing a partial back to the studs remodel. We've used a pest service since then, it's been over 20 years. Access points to the crawl space and attic took a bit of time to find and seal. We keep our cars in the garage but the door is kept closed. We have maybe 2 dozen boxed snap traps around, located in the garage, the crawl space, and around the perimeter of the house. An occasional rat is found in the outdoor traps but nowhere else. No further problems and peace of mind from using the service.

Oriels come for grape jelly early summer. I was told once their young are older they no longer need the jelly. That matches our experience with oriel feeders. This year for the first time we did have a few smaller woodpeckers interested in the jelly. I thought they were bug/protein eaters so I find this odd. We get more bees interested in the humming bird feeder than we ever have the oriel--but again come fall the bees are very busy and they aren't as active in the spring, so that matches. We feed birds sunflower seeds all winter. Never once their natural food is prevalent. "Bird watching" has never seemed a great reason to mess with their instincts. I have fresh water in my fountain, bird bath and come winter a heated dog dish available year round.

petalique, I missed your question about what kind of rats.

I don't know. The one thing I can say is, they can be quite large. One time I asked the pest service tech to take one he'd cleared from a trap out of the black plastic bag it was in so I could see it. From nose to tush (not counting the tail) it was as long as my shoe. I wear a size 13 shoe. So that's maybe what, 12 inches?

I asked the guy if this one was exceptionally large compared to others he finds in his work. He said it was on the larger end, they're sometimes smaller, but that it wasn't unusual.

Sounds like wood rats. There are several kinds of those.

patriciae

I don't know. I only distinguish between two kinds of rats around my house - the kind that have been caught in a trap and will be removed, and a second kind I hope to soon be part of the first group.