bird feeding

Juvenile orioles around now, but not as many as last year. Squirrels all over, at least 3x more then ever before. Wife is freaking out at how many I’ve thinned out but a suit cake a day is getting expensive. Trying hot pepper suit but not seeing near the woodpeckers I had before the squirrel explosion. Any thoughts on the pepper suit? It has cut down on squirrels but not convinced yet the birds are ok with it. Trying a second suit location harder for the tree rats but only a few birds have found it so far.

You could try hanging the suet cages from wire hooks with a squirrel baffle just over the cage. That’s help a bunch for me but the squirrels can be a very determined critter. Personally, I use either the pellet gun or the .22 with quiet rounds if the shot has to be stretched out, to control the Mr. Squiggles population. If the little suckers are climbing up a pole or post to get to the suet you can put tin air duct pipe around the pole or post.

I haven’t tried the hot pepper suet and probably will not. I make my own suet cakes using rendered venison fat, peanut butter and black oil sunflower seed and the woodpeckers love them right along with Chickadees and Nuthatches. I also have a couple of 4″ diameter woodpecker log feeders with 2″ holes drilled thru them that I stuff with the venison suet mix without any seed in it and these get more attention than any suet cake.

The hot suit works great! Only one squirrel even touches it, but very little, and the birds seem fine with it. Orioles are thick now, lots of juveniles learning to eat. Really fun to watch. I went thru a whole jar of jelly in a day and a half.

And I haven’t seen an oriole around in 2 weeks when this jar of jelly is gone, both the jelly and oriole juice feeder are coming down and the wasp traps ate going up

glenn57 wrote:

And I haven’t seen an oriole around in 2 weeks when this jar of jelly is gone, both the jelly and oriole juice feeder are coming down and the wasp traps ate going up

Maybe upgrade from that Teals jelly to Smucker’s.

^^^ there to dang spendy, it’s cashier jelly.

Roseville yesterday

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the past few days the hummingbirds sure have picked up the pace around here…..plenty of morning dove activity too!!!!!!! with other feathered friends in the mix!!!!

fun to watch!!!!

glenn57 wrote:

the past few days the hummingbirds sure have picked up the pace around here…..plenty of morning dove activity too!!!!!!! with other feathered friends in the mix!!!!

fun to watch!!!!

I noticed the Hummers too. Gave the H-bird feeder a good wash and put it back out. I brought it in because the ants were using it more than the hummers. Didn’t take more than an hour and they were using the feeder again. They sure are cool little creatures!

I was out of black sunflower feed for a week or so. The birds started hammering the Finch food and the premium mixed food twice as hard. With the cost of the black sunflower seeds being far cheaper than the others, I had to stop and get more sunflower seed before they ate me out of house and home. For some reason almost all the birds hit those black sunflowers far more than the other 2 foods I put out.

I saw a turkey on Lexington and VanBuren in St Paul, just pecking in someone’s front yard. Those guys are everywhere now.

Have your Hummingbirds in central MN left yet?

Denny O wrote:

Have your Hummingbirds in central MN left yet?

nope….actually there quite busy now!!!!!!

The damn blackbirds are flocking up now. I cant hardly throw out scoop of wild bird seed & cracked corn without them decending on it, and they leave nothing left. At least a dozen fewer now than about Tuesday though, but they hit so fast and there’s so many it’s hard to even catch them out in the yard. Plus they’re getting pretty wary now. Still lots of orioles again too.

anyone else notice the absence of robins??? it kinda hit me today. havent seen one in a while and there usually cleaning out the mealworms in that feeder????

My hummingbirds finally left this week and the Orioles seem to be gone too. They’re coming your way Glenn, better step up to the next best jelly.

The hummers at our cabin in Northern MN have left, but the Northern Flickers have arrived like every fall to eat the ants in the lawn. There are still a couple hummers at the feeder in the Twin Cities, fattening up for the big migration. They’ll be gone any day now. Gonna miss those little guys. They’ve been ever-present at the feeders since May.

We just had a Hummer at a feeder here this morning. 48 degrees at 7 this morning so I’d bet the little guys will be heading out soon if those chillier temps persist.

3rdtryguy wrote:

My hummingbirds finally left this week and the Orioles seem to be gone too. They’re coming your way Glenn, better step up to the next best jelly.

i pulled the jelly feeders long ago.they seem to be around till they nest, then disappear.

still have hummers here, i’m headed to the cabin north of deer river tomorrow i hope we got hummers up there yet!

I had to make another batch of sugar water. Two different hummers here this morning. I usually keep my feeders up until October in case they are late in there migration.

Orioles left over labor weekend like normal hummers are still here and with the hot weather coming up they will here through September.

my hummingbird feeders got cleaned up today and ready to put ni-nite for the winter!!!

Just saw some yesterday. They are still around.