Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,349
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,349 |
We've fed and watched birds for many years. The most interesting visitor I've ever seen near a feeder was at my father's house a few years ago. He lived on the edge of town and would often get interesting birds due to his proximity to fields & woods; turkeys, quail, etc. One winter, a Kestrel showed up for a few days. (Not my pic; copied from Wikipedia) As you can probably guess, it wasn't for the seed. But it was for the food. {S}He had learned that there were lots of fat & happy little finches and sparrows cheerfully feeding. I'll spare the fellow bird-lovers the details, but let me just say that it was pretty amazing to watch that Kestrel hunt right in my father's back yard.
M80v2 | VP150v2 | QS8v2 SVS Pci+ 20-39 Emotiva UMC-1 & LPA-1 M22ti + T-Amp, in the Office
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,357
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,357 |
The only reasonable argument for owning a gun is to protect yourself from the police.
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,236
connoisseur
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OP
connoisseur
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,236 |
Blue Jays are mean!
Medic, last summer I had 20 Goldfinches at my feeders at one time, it was awesome.
M3 and M80
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044 |
Wow, those are great shots. What camera are you using?
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,357
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,357 |
Thanks, Ken. It's a Canon G3 with the zoom lens on. Although it's an older camera (was highly regarded at the time), it takes great pictures. Going to upgrade to a DSLR in a year or two.
The only reasonable argument for owning a gun is to protect yourself from the police.
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,443
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,443 |
How do you trap a humming bird? They place a trap around the feeder with a trap door and a string attached as a trigger. The hummers are not very cautious and they will fly in to get to the feeder. All you have to do is pull the string and, Voila! http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/hummingbirds/winterhummingbirds.html Check out this site if you are interested. One other point - The hummers will fly south whether you leave your feeders up all year or not. There is no need to take them down to insure that the birds will leave. It is the feeders that are left up past October that attract the vagrants that have lost their way for whatever reason.
"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" Churchill
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,443
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,443 |
Thanks, Ken. It's a Canon G3 with the zoom lens on. Although it's an older camera (was highly regarded at the time), it takes great pictures. Going to upgrade to a DSLR in a year or two. I have a Canon 20D that I have had for some time. Excellent camera - zero lag time when you press the shutter button. I think that the series is up to 50D now?
"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" Churchill
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,443
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,443 |
As you can probably guess, it wasn't for the seed. But it was for the food. {S}He had learned that there were lots of fat & happy little finches and sparrows cheerfully feeding. I'll spare the fellow bird-lovers the details, but let me just say that it was pretty amazing to watch that Kestrel hunt right in my father's back yard.
Cooper's and Sharp Shinned hawks also latch on to an area where homeowners are feeding birds. You see a lot of complaints from the "bird lovers" that the hawks are preying on "their" birds. I, for one, enjoy watching a bird of prey take down a meal every now and then.
"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" Churchill
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,928
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 6,928 |
My parents have an "island" of bushes in their back yard that has about 10 feeders and 3-4 suet stations, as well as 3-4 sugar feeders for the hummers. They get pretty much all the birds mentioned here plus several types of hummers, grackles, stellar jays, several types of chickadees(mountain, brown/black cap) and many others I can't remember. I'm sure every bird in Whiterock knows their house because they get adult birds like Pileated Woodpeckers and Nuthatches bringing their babies to the suet feeders to eat.
Every once in a while, they do get a Coopers or Sharp Shinned swoop down and pick off an unsuspecting bird though, or even a ground squirrel near the feeder.
Half of communication is listening. You can't listen with your mouth.
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Re: Cool birds at your birdfeeder.
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441 |
"So what are your Axiom buddies talking about on the boards today?" "Hummers, and taking pictures of hummers." " "
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