[GypsySoul22]

I used to love to watch birds back in old you know where (NY). I am pretty surprised I haven't seen more and different ones up here in though.
My backyard has a good deal of ground cover but so far the only birds I have 'spotted' are blackcapped chickadees, some sparrows, lots of crows, a few bluejays, and I believe I saw a falcon.

What other birds are in the area and where's a good place to see them?
PS Speaking of wild life, the hubby saw a skunk the other night. We used to have them in Central PA.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

I used to love to watch birds back in old you know where (NY). I am pretty surprised I haven't seen more and different ones up here in though.
My backyard has a good deal of ground cover but so far the only birds I have 'spotted' are blackcapped chickadees, some sparrows, lots of crows, a few bluejays, and I believe I saw a falcon.

What other birds are in the area and where's a good place to see them?
PS Speaking of wild life, the hubby saw a skunk the other night. We used to have them in Central PA.

Year round lots of:

Bluejays
Cardinals
Morning Doves
Chicakadees
Crows

Seasonal

Gold finches
Orioles
Robins
Juncos
Red headed Woodpecker
Red throated Thrush
Other Thrushes
Hummingbirds

And probably a dozen others that I can't think of.

Our Hummingbirds are insane. When they first appear they are relatively peaceful. After a while they are very possesive of the hummingbird feeders,
battling and buzzing each other. It's not unusual for a couple of them to miss my head by inches on our porch.

[flu189]

The wildlife here at least being able to see it can be sporatic. I had a bear on my driveway last night, and a few weeks ago had two moose cutting across my woods. Today I was out cutting wood and during the afternoon actually had a bat flying in circles around where I was working. Now and then I have a group of five turkeys in the yard and of course the deer are always around. Since I don't have pets and don't create a lot of noise (sawing being the exception) I see quite a bit of wildlife. A few days ago we must have had several dozen Robins on our lawn, assume it was a cluster migrating as usually I don't see but four or five at a time. Spend time outside and you will see all kinds of wildlife.

[GypsySoul22]

We're always outside. I have seen chipmunks, squirrels, birds and bats. My husband saw a skunk. I'll happily avoid bears and moose if possible.

[flu189]

Seeing a bear is actually really cool. When they know you are there they will quickly leave. The only problems arise with folks that leave trash out which when the bears get into it can make them a perpetual pest. The same goes for bird feeders in season. We have several apple trees scattered about and also some meadow, so this attracts quite a few visitors, mainly at night. Some of my distant neighbors have dogs that always are barking, so I think this helps direct much of the wildlife towards my land. It is neat to be outside and see the various animals and then notice that even when they are aware of your presence they don't completely run off. I guess they are pretty good at sensing who or what is a threat.

[pauldorell]

Some birds I've seen in my yard in Middlebury:
downy woodpeckers
hairy woodpeckers
hawks
red winged blackbirds
cowbirds
grackles
crows
ravens
ruby-throated hummingbirds
northern flickers
pileated woodpecker
tufted titmice
black-capped chickadees
robins
catbirds
cardinals
rose-breasted grosbeaks
mourning doves
chipping sparrows
juncos
nuthatches
goldfinches
purple finches
pine siskins
blue jays (which ate all our blueberries).

The most common are goldfinches year-round at the feeders. The chickadees have thinned out this summer. Pileated woodpeckers prefer deep woods - I saw a group of four while hiking on Snake Mountain. I heard a wood thrush next to the yard. As far as other animals go, we have lots of chipmunks and deer mice. We have a few gray and red squirrels. There was a large woodchuck wandering around for a few days. Deer come through at night. I haven't seen any bears but saw a couple of moose in Ripton last year.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by pauldorell

Some birds I've seen in my yard in Middlebury:
downy woodpeckers
hairy woodpeckers
hawks
red winged blackbirds
cowbirds
grackles
crows
ravens
ruby-throated hummingbirds
northern flickers
pileated woodpecker
tufted titmice
black-capped chickadees
robins
catbirds
cardinals
rose-breasted grosbeaks
mourning doves
chipping sparrows
juncos
nuthatches
goldfinches
purple finches
pine siskins
blue jays (which ate all our blueberries).

The most common are goldfinches year-round at the feeders. The chickadees have thinned out this summer. Pileated woodpeckers prefer deep woods - I saw a group of four while hiking on Snake Mountain. I heard a wood thrush next to the yard. As far as other animals go, we have lots of chipmunks and deer mice. We have a few gray and red squirrels. There was a large woodchuck wandering around for a few days. Deer come through at night. I haven't seen any bears but saw a couple of moose in Ripton last year.

Sounds like our birds


the woodpeckers clean out the finch feeder I'm afraid.

[pauldorell]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

Sounds like our birds


the woodpeckers clean out the finch feeder I'm afraid.

It depends on what you put out. The woodpeckers don't like nyjer in a thistle feeder, but the goldfinches do. I currently have sunflower hearts in another feeder and that attracts everything, including squirrels. When that runs out I'll try something else. During the winter I have suet (with fat in it), which the woodpeckers like but squirrels and most other birds don't. For the summer I tried suet with millet to keep the fat from melting, but the squirrels like that. I prefer the smaller birds and no squirrels.

[arctichomesteader]

All the usual ones are what I see around my home: goldfinches, robins, hummingbirds, crows, etc. Now and then I see a falcon around. It took down another bird in the backyard a few years ago. Owls are out in the more wooded areas nearby. Over the Winter I saw a bald eagle a couple times around Shrewsbury/Plymouth, but only a couple times. I saw a snowy owl as well last Winter.

Up in Ferdinand and Lewis in th NEK, I've seen spruce grouse, boreal chickadees, gray jays and other boreal species.

[tkln]

Owls are amazing. Believe it or not I had one living in the park across the street from my house here in NYC all winter. Flew over me one night and it was just incredible. Love hearing their hoot.

I saw a bald eagle on 91 on a drive up last fall...I didn't realize they were in this area until I looked it up.

What's the best way to attract more birds to your property up there? Down here in NY I have a bird bath, I feed them in winter, have lots of bushes with berries/etc, but feel like I might have to work harder to attract them in Vermont.