Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I just put mine up and am a little disappointed at the lack of variety. Also, not a single cardinal. Anyone else have a bird feeder?
Is there supposed to be that large of a variety of birds in the middle of October (asking not being smart)? I mean it's abnormally warm but I would think that most of them have bounced anyways
Ours has been down for a couple of months now after having the house painted, but in late-spring and summer we had tons of birds, and quite a few different kinds including many cardinals and blue jays.
I just saw a female cardinal at our feeder yesterday. A lot of finches and sparrows too. I only saw the male cardinal at the feeder a couple times last year, but I did see him flying around quite a bit. I'm just now starting to see more variety. If you just put yours out, give it some time for the "word" to get out amongst the birds. They'll show up.
grawburg, if you want to attract cardinals, use stripped sunflower seed if u aren't already--it's they're fave. cardnials are pretty shy birds, but i can always woo them with it.
We get a great deal of enjoyment out of ours - lots of cardinals and a beautiful blue colored bird (any ideas what bird that is?). At first the squirrels were loving it - we'd look outside and see it swinging so we knew a little critter had just been there but for some reason we don't see them on it as much. I take the feed and scatter on the ground so we get much more that away. Our cat likes to watch but doesn't bother them.
I have feeders all over the backyard. My favorites are two, hanging from a shepherd's crook, just outside my bathroom window. They are tucked between two hollies, and I have the shutters angled such that I can see them.
Others in the yard are hanging off tree branches, here and there (where I have trees). You might also consider a bird bath, especially in this dry weather. Try some hummingbird feeders, too, if you don't mind making sugar-water for them. Hummingbirds are delightful to watch -- mean little devils, but sweet-looking.
It will take the birds awhile to find the all-you-can-eat buffet, and a little longer to feel safe enough at the feeders. My dogs seem to run them off, but fortunately, they must like the food because they always return.
I have a wide variety of birds here, including Cardinals that had two families this year, Orioles (whose parenting behaviors amazed me -- 8 mature Orioles guarding a little one that fell out of its nest, or was just learning to fly?), finches of all sorts, and mockingbirds and sparrows. I haven't seen bluejays and I think they are quite striking.
There are young eagles and hawks in the area, as well as herons and ducks and geese on the water near here, so I am just in bird-watching heaven.
Try different foods in the different feeders, and put them in safe-enough areas. And give it a little time. Be sure to check your feeders, too -- birds won't come to molded feeders.
I just put mine up and am a little disappointed at the lack of variety. Also, not a single cardinal. Anyone else have a bird feeder?
Birds have their favorite feeding spots and already know who in the neighborhood to visit. With time they will discover your feeders and put you on their trip list. Make sure you keep it well stocked and as others have said oiled sunflower seeds are a favorite. Do some research on what different birds like. Basic big bag cheap seed is a general source and not like peanuts and sunflower seeds. yellow Finch's like Thistle etc. I use to love to have Yellow Finch wars with my neighbors to see who could attract them to their yard. I can remember one of my son's laughing at me for having a love of birds and wanting to feed them. Probably didn't consider it macho enough. Now as a bright adult birds are something he is clueless about.
Just give it time - birds can sometimes take a week or two to find a new feeder. But once they do, watch out!
I have 8 feeders in my yard: two large (3' long) thistle feeders for the finches, two suet feeders for bluebirds and woodpeckers, a "general" feeder with a blend for most other birds, a feeder near my house with sunflower hearts (mostly for the bluebirds, but the chickadees, titmice, and other birds also like it), a hummingbird feeder, and a mealworm feeder (again, for the bluebirds).
This time of year, there remains a great variety of birds. I've seen bluebirds, cardinals, titmice, goldfinches, house finches, woodpeckers, morning doves, and our resident hawk (who doesn't seem all that interested in the bird seed itself :-). And a bunch more that I can't think of right now. I've even saw a Summer Tanager for the first time this year, which was a real treat, but has probably migrated for the year by now.
So, yes, there is a large number of birds that don't migrate. Most of the males will loose their bright plumage, so it may not be as easy to recognize them, but trust me, they are still there and will be more than happy to enjoy the birdseed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
cardinals
