Any Bird Feeders: 2nd edition

The other thread got pretty long so lets work on a new one.

The male Goldfinches here have started to brighten up and have a lot of the gold color now. The Junco have moved on and the Chickadees and Nuthatches are both singing and chasing so they must be about ready to nest up. Both the hHairy and Downy woodpeckers are doing the same. WE have three Pileated woodies here recently several times a day and keeping suet handy is starting to become a challenge since they eat like horses.

The Red Winged Blackbirds have returned to the water’s shores everywhere around here too.

With the melting happening so fast around the house I was able to clean up a little under the feeders and for a second time in as many years I found a dead Sharp Shinned Hawk piled up against the foundation. Besides feeders hanging from the pine boughs I have a pair of shepard’s hook with feeders and I think the hawks rip in for a kill and miss seeing the hooks and wring their own necks when they finally try to avoid them.

Its a fun time of the year at the feeder and its interesting to see the different birds transition thru the area. Won’t be long before the migrating birds begin to make a showing.

On the other side of the house next to our drive I have another feeder post and have always used generic bird feed there to help try and keep the pesky sparrows over there so they don’t chase the finches off from their feeder. This year I put plain black sunflower seed in it all winter and it worked great. And the Cardinal like it away fro the close quarters of the pine feeders.

I’m heading out to get feed and a new feeder today. A squirrel demolished our old one. When I was outside yesterday the birds where singing up a storm. It was great to hear the sounds of spring again.

I don’t put out feeders anymore since it attracts too many other critters. However with a tree lined backyard, a farm on the other side that I’m sure has scraps for them and a pond in view, I see plenty of birds.

The coolest experience lately was here a possum going through the trees before dawn. He either was hunting or just spooked a grackle who couldn’t fly. Not sure if he was a juvenile, molting or injury.

I grabbed him to put him back in a tree where my dogs couldn’t get him. He was very warm, not sure if that meant he was sick or stressed. They have a pretty strong bite.

Added wood chips and closed up my duck houses
as well as the bluebird houses last weekend.

seen my first bluebird of the year today!!!!!! starting to see more birds at the feeders more consistently also!!!!!!

I can even see parts of my garden!!!!!!!

glenn57 wrote:

seen my first bluebird of the year today!!!!!! starting to see more birds at the feeders more consistently also!!!!!!

I can even see parts of my garden!!!!!!!

I had upwards of 66″ inches of snow on mine so I went out the other day and blew it over the fence into the park land. At least a good portion of it went that route.

The wood ducks made their first appearance today.
they were checking out both the duck houses.

seen the first pair of slew pumpers, aka, BLUE HERONS today. havent seen any morning doves yet?????? first true sign of real sring is hearing that first loon!!!!!!!!

We had a Blue Heron on the stream behind us yesterday.

This morning I had two Pileated Woodies on the log suet feeder at the same time. I have just one of the holes filled with suet as I want to get the log down before the summer feeding starts and the big birds were one on either side of the plug eating away. Usually the Pileated woodies are territorial to the nth degree. I’m pretty sure it was a parent and a juvie. Something to watch though, 6 feet away from the window.

For me the first sign of spring was the White throated sparrows call.

this one

Chickadees, downy woodpeckers, cardinals and robins so far. Nothing too out of the ordinary yet.

The female hooded merganser was in one of the duck houses around noon yesterday.

Last nite I filled my mealworm tray up, no 10 minutes later there was a cardinal feeding out of it. Happened a few days ago also both male and female. In all the years I’ve fed mealworms I’ve never seen that. Anyone else??

We have a new pool service.

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anyone been seeing any morning doves????? I cant believe I haven’t seen them yet????????

Doves are everywhere down here. They’ve been here all winter.

glenn57 wrote:

anyone been seeing any morning doves????? I cant believe I haven’t seen them yet????????

Funny you ask. I hadn’t seen any yet either until yesterday morning. I went out to fill the feeders after breakfast. When I opened up the back garage door, I heard them “whistling” when they flew away. Saw that a Purple Finch also showed up this weekend. At least the first time I’ve seen them in a while.

We just got home from Duluth. Drove up yesterday to Two Harbors then spent the night in Duluth.. Still 3 feet of white in the yard and drive of the cabin. On the trip up 35 and again on the road home we saw many Sandhill Cranes along with a couple dozen Tundra Swans. The swans were in fields with water laying in pools. Saw several flocks of migrating pelicans too. Lots of deer near the cabin.

Penguins, Tom? Or pelicans?
I think spellcheck is your fiend!✌️

Long day…short on sleep. Thanks for catching that little blurb.

Seeing a lot of cranes now on the drive up north. Even a couple in Woodbury yesterday. They are definitely expanding. Pelicans were in Hudson last weekend. Probably still? A damn sapsucker is turning my maple tree into a pincusion the last couple of days and the sap is running! A female robin has decided her reflection in our front porch windows is the greatest thing in her life. She has completely $h*tified the front porch and spit all over 3 windows. Put an owl decoy out this morning and she befriended it in about 30 minutes. Then added crow decoy and that kept her away another 30…….

Put my Martin gourds up last week. Filled them with white pine needles.. Awaiting the scouts arrival.. Getting close now, but this weather could slow them down for a week.

Not a bird but one of my favorite signs of spring: heard the spring peepers yesterday.

And those peepers are singing usually when there are snow banks still around.

I just had a Brown Thrasher at our seed block feeder. It knocked a mega chunk from it then went to the ground grabbed it and was away before I could even get the camera turned on.

I no more than hit post on the previous post when this animal hit the seed block…

any one see or hear any loons yet? kinda hard to ID when going 70 on 94 but I could of swore I seen a loon in an open body of water by st cloud.

down the street a fella said he seen and heard loons yesterday up by osakis!!!!

Seen a loon last Saturday or Sunday. Was at Shady’s Long Shots (Rich-Spring Golf Club) one flew over making all kinds of noise.

rkb1041 wrote:

Seen a loon last Saturday or Sunday. Was at Shady’s Long Shots (Rich-Spring Golf Club) one flew over making all kinds of noise.

that’s really close to home!!!!!!!!!

When Carole and I drove up to Two Harbors on Monday and again coming home Tuesday we saw loons on a couple small bodies of water. There was one on Silver Lake here in town yesterday but gone today so they’re moving up.