Gugny Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Yep! You want the orioles... An sliced orange spiked to a feeder will attract them. I'd actually love to attract orioles. I've seen one in my life and it was whilst fishing on the Hudson River (not far from my house). That will be my mission this summer. And bluebirds. My parents had bluebirds move into one of their birdhouses. I need a birdhouse, too. Perhaps two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 8 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Yep! You want the orioles... An sliced orange spiked to a feeder will attract them. I don’t want mike from horsehead hanging around my feeder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBills808 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Hmmm they eat the lettuce seedlings so I suppose I feed em, but not intentionally and it doesn’t make me happy. We have franklins and pheasants I try to feed buckshot about twice a week and endangered nene geese that make the most gawdawful racket when they decide to land in your field. I don’t like birds really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherpa Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I feed them. We have a maple about 20' off our front porch and I hang the feeder from it at about the six foot level. I keep a set of binoculars on a window inside, and I check them out every day. This year I decided to only use high end bird food. Its a little more expensive, but the cost is worth it to me. I always wondered how they eat the bigger stuff, but this year I watched them on through the binocs. The trap the larger nuts between their feet and peck away to break them down. My daughter told me I was getting to be an "old man." Oh well. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 10 minutes ago, sherpa said: My daughter told me I was getting to be an "old man." the binocs were for a tree 20 feet away? Um Sure OK I buy that. (no I don't) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherpa Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 13 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said: the binocs were for a tree 20 feet away? Um Sure OK I buy that. (no I don't) Absolutely. It's 20' off the front porch, which is about 8' wide, so the total distance from eyeballs in my dining room window to the feeder is about 28 1/2 feet. You can't see detail at that distance without them, and the interest is in the detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherpa Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 And here's a "for instance" about using the glasses to watch them. Right after I posted that, I put the glasses on and watched them. They have a real preference for various foods in the birdseed mix, as most people know. One of the items in the mix I am using is cashew, and it is their favorite. You can clearly see the cashew inside the glass feeder because of its color contrast and side. On of them was pecking away at the glass cylinder that houses the mix as it drops out the bottom. The bird was pecking away at the glass because there was a big cashew inside, but at the top of the mix, and and he was trying to knock it down, unsuccessfully. Would not have seen that without the glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I was busting chops. I bought into my development in 2009 and at the beginning and all you could see is fields (front and back). I used to use my binocs to watch the small herds of deer 50 to 100 feet away. Now my view is house after house after house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 I go through about 40 pounds of seed every 5 weeks...it slows down this time of year though. Love watching the woodpecker on the feeder. A truly majestic creature...he's worth the price of the seed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 glad to read that someone is so unjaded by what's freely out there that they could see binoculars as something pervy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 34 minutes ago, row_33 said: glad to read that someone is so unjaded by what's freely out there that they could see binoculars as something pervy.... In my case ... it took one to accuse one. What else are binocs for when living in or near an apartment complex? When a hot chick strolls in front of the wide open windows naked (every weekend) ... who wouldn't look? We would sit on the stairs outside my apartment door and the only view we had was the window across the way. My neighbors and I would have fun adding "commentary" She walks in naked, boyfriend / hubby watching March Madness, she says a few things to him then she picks up her medium size dog and leaves he room. Dog gets lucky, hubby gets the dog house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaoulDuke79 Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 (edited) I've got 2 feeders. One is pretty big and holds about 20 lbs. The other is much smaller and hold about 5. I get the big bags at Costco in the winter which contain some combination of Milo, Cracked Corn, White Millet and Black Oil Sunflower seed. I don't fill them up as much in the summer as I do in the winter. Its pretty cool to watch a day or two before a snow storm how the birds all flock to the feeders and clean them out. How do it know? I get a pretty decent assortment. Mostly wrens, finches, doves a few orioles, cardinals and the occasional blue jay. Theres a chipmunk or two that live under my deck that make regular visits as well. Edited December 7, 2017 by RaoulDuke79 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 I built a bird feeder for my cousin 15 years ago. Holds 400 lbs of birdseed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 I mentioned the suet, upthread. Anyone else put out suet blocks? Who doesn't like a little pure fat in their diet! Birds go crazy for it. The blocks go in a cage and we hang it from the spruce tree. Wife also takes another cage and stuffs it with lint/cotton and other nest building material. They sell it with the bird seed. 34 minutes ago, mead107 said: I built a bird feeder for my cousin 15 years ago. Holds 400 lbs of birdseed 400 POUNDS? Huh? Holy Smokes. Does it pass building code. Sure it isn't 40 pounds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 3 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said: I mentioned the suet, upthread. Anyone else put out suet blocks? Who doesn't like a little pure fat in their diet! Birds go crazy for it. The blocks go in a cage and we hang it from the spruce tree. Wife also takes another cage and stuffs it with lint/cotton and other nest building material. They sell it with the bird seed. 400 POUNDS? Huh? Holy Smokes. Does it pass building code. Sure it isn't 40 pounds? Nope. 400 lbs. he puts the bags in his tractor’ s bucket and one of his son’s ride the bucket up and dump the seed in. Next time I am at his camp I will take a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 2 minutes ago, mead107 said: Nope. 400 lbs. he puts the bags in his tractor’ s bucket and one of his son’s ride the bucket up and dump the seed in. Next time I am at his camp I will take a picture. Wow! Awesome... That is a lot of bird grub! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Of course I do. I feed 'em to my cats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 mead: How long do the birds go through this Mutha Lode cache of seed? Christmas is coming, time to count them... Don't read how the used to count them... If you get easily hurt feelings. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Bird_Count Tom sends his cats out to do the counting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 35 minutes ago, DC Tom said: Of course I do. I feed 'em to my cats. I know he fills it Thanksgiving weekend. Not sure when he refills. He all so has 5-6 other feeders. In front of Camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 (edited) 14 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said: I was busting chops. I bought into my development in 2009 and at the beginning and all you could see is fields (front and back). I used to use my binocs to watch the small herds of deer 50 to 100 feet away. Now my view is house after house after house. That’s a little creepy. Ever catch someone staring back at you eye to eye with their binocs? Edited December 7, 2017 by Augie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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