Feeding Wild Birds

[sourland]

Is wild bird feed the new toilet paper ? TSC has none and has no idea when they will receive more. Had to buy overpriced BOSS at Home Depot.

 

[R2elk]

Is wild bird feed the new toilet paper ? TSC has none and has no idea when they will receive more. Had to buy overpriced BOSS at Home Depot.

I buy BOSS when it is on sale at Menards. I find the mixed seed gets too much wasted and spilled on the ground as the birds go digging for the BOSS that is mixed in.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I buy BOSS when it is on sale at Menards. I find the mixed seed gets too much wasted and spilled on the ground as the birds go digging for the BOSS that is mixed in.

Eastern birds seem not to like milo - at all.
That is the seed that is always left in a feeder from lower priced wild bird mixes.
I had a dedicated cardinal feeder with safflower. They seem to be the only species that like it.

 

[pozees2]

Is wild bird feed the new toilet paper ? TSC has none and has no idea when they will receive more. Had to buy overpriced BOSS at Home Depot.

If you have a big box home repair store nearby they usually have some, and our grocery stores have been carrying it the last few years as well. We've been putting out one feeder of loose seed and a couple with seed cakes, and the seed cakes seem to last a lot longer and cut down on waste, although not eliminating it. Local cottontails appreciate the waste, but their numbers don't seem to be threatened whatsoever.

 

[sourland]

A lot of robins overwinter here especially on a mild winter like this. Right now there is what I am assuming is a migratory flock in my back yard eagerly searching for worms. Early this morning I was watching a male cardinal in a heavily trimmed magnolia tree close to the house. It almost looked as if he was looking for a nest site. That's something I had always assumed the female did.

 

[R2elk]

A lot of robins overwinter here especially on a mild winter like this. Right now there is what I am assuming is a migratory flock in my back yard eagerly searching for worms. Early this morning I was watching a male cardinal in a heavily trimmed magnolia tree close to the house. It almost looked as if he was looking for a nest site. That's something I had always assumed the female did.

I can't speak for cardinals but many kinds of male song birds either build the nest or at least help in the construction phase.

 

[Breakfast for dinner]

With the bottlebrush in full bloom decided today was a good day to get a couple hummingbird feeders out. With the warmer weather we’ve had I’d expect they’ll be here anytime.

 

[CapricornFarm]

A lot of robins overwinter here especially on a mild winter like this. Right now there is what I am assuming is a migratory flock in my back yard eagerly searching for worms. Early this morning I was watching a male cardinal in a heavily trimmed magnolia tree close to the house. It almost looked as if he was looking for a nest site. That's something I had always assumed the female did.

The boys lure the girls in with a nice home site, then the next thing you know.....egg making!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

With the bottlebrush in full bloom decided today was a good day to get a couple hummingbird feeders out. With the warmer weather we’ve had I’d expect they’ll be here anytime.

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Jealousy here.
It was just a couple degrees above freezing here this morning as it will be tomorrow. I see a couple green sprouts here and there and daffodils are about to pop. Bottlebrush is a long way off for us.
I do plan on planting some alfalfa, clover, peas and radish for the chickens before it rains tomorrow.

 

[sourland]

Another flock of redwing blackbird males arrived last week, and they arrived hungry. No females yet. Monday the tree swallows arrived, but they did not stay. Perhaps not enough flying insects ? Bluebirds are nesting. My Phoebes haven't come back yet. A Carolina wren is making its annual nest on my propane tank. That's my 'bird' update.