bird feeding

suzuki wrote:

Funny how Orioles do that. We still have them at the cabin but as soon as the hatchlings can fly they mostly leave.

seems that way here too!!!!!! weird how that seems to happen!!!!1

anyone else that had bluebirds still have them around?? think mine flew da coop!!!!!

Think my wrens packed it in now too!

Our wrens came late and boogied early this year. The orioles have been gone for some time. Haven’t seen a Robin in a month either. Hummer are keeping us entertained. Sparrows are thick.

Hummingbirds show up around our house in late July and early August. Stay until the temps start dropping into the upper 30s at night. Two at the feeder this evening.

Last year we had them most of the summer, but that seems to be the exception and not the rule.

I just started putting out a hummer feeder this year it took a little bit to see them around but now have a few frequenting it. I put it out a little late probably June.

John Rasmussen wrote:

I just started putting out a hummer feeder this year it took a little bit to see them around but now have a few frequenting it. I put it out a little late probably June.

as a general guideline, i put mine out right around fishing opener!!!!!!!

Ok, thanks Glenn. What about Oriels my folks used to get a lot of those.

John Rasmussen wrote:

Ok, thanks Glenn. What about Oriels my folks used to get a lot of those.

April 15 or thereabouts.

Thanks Tom. Anyone doing anything other than the grape jelly?

John Rasmussen wrote:

Thanks Tom. Anyone doing anything other than the grape jelly?

yep i just use the same juice i feed to the hummers……..but in a feeder designed for orioles!!

problem i see is all these feeders are turning so goofy fancy. ya cant find just a plain feeder anymore. i seem to have better luck with simple feeders!!!!
and oriole feeders……..dont get the ones with the ball in the feeder hole… they suck

Ok that sounds easier, I know my folks had little tin cups they put jelly in for them. I will look around at Oriole feeders thanks.

Since the orioles nest in our yard I dont try to attract them with food but they usually have no problem sucking on the hummingbird feeder so I guess I still do!

I had a hummingbird buzz by the front last night and one checked the back this morning where I usually hang the feeder. So I hung up 2 feeders this morning. They usually hang around until October.

And a hummer found the feeder in just a few hours. I’m on the deck drinking coffee and they are feeding!

I only feed jelly for the orioles. Just screw the jar on the top and squeeze it once a day. A jar last about a week and a half.

John Rasmussen wrote:

Thanks Tom. Anyone doing anything other than the grape jelly?

We have two jelly feeders that allow us to screw on a jar of grape jelly to each and a jar can last anywhere from a week to 10 days. Jelly is bought at an Aldi.

I made two board feeders that have a pint of juice mounted on a chick waterer in the center and an orange half at each end. These boards have rope hangers. A jar of juice lasts about two days here. Oranges last about three days when the birds first arrive and slowly taper off after about a month. The last feeders I bring in are the jelly ones and they’ve been in for well over a month.

Orioles, like Hummers, are very unassuming and tend to be about the friendliest birds there are, save for maybe Chickadees. One of our jelly feeders sits right next to steps from the driveway down to the back yard and Orioles will wait their turn to chow sitting on the handrail while I am sitting on the steps…. like about two feet away.

Thanks for the ideas sir!

Anyone else noticed the lack of robins around???

No shortage of robins by me. There is a spring fed creek going through my back yard and I see them bathing in it often.

Lets see if anyone can relate to this weird bird story.
Rails. They were once a very common game bird in the US and are still hunted in many states. There’s even seasons here with liberal bag limits but I have never met anyone that hunts them. For the past several years they just show up on our lake in the late summer. This started after the wild rice spread and grew into vast areas. Apparently they thrive in it, walking around and eating bugs. I have no idea where they nest and raise their young before arriving on our lake and you would be hard pressed to see one without trying BUT you can sure hear them all day long. I thought about hunting right in front of my place (legally) but it would be a nightmare finding one after dropping it and maneuvering through the thick rice. Has anyone shot/ate a rail before?

Not a Rail but I did get one of these.

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i did shoot a rail duck hunting a long time ago. my goal was to have it mounted but i blew the smitherines out of it!!!!!!

up here by walker, I feed all winter, spring till the bears show up, then only hummers and orioles, hummers are gone by sept 15th, orioles usually leave mid august

I saw lots of robins in Ravine Park today. Some small flocks and singles. They were in the grassy trail. There wasn’t anything that I could see for them to eat. Maybe picking gravel? Could be staying there for the water that’s available? I haven’t seen any around the neighborhood here in Cottage Grove for awhile.

Now that it’s mentioned I have not seen one in a while at my place. I imagine the lack of rain has something to do with it, since they eat mostly worms and the lawn has been to dry for that lately.

I haven’t seen a hummingbird since Thursday but did see some fall warblers. Migration must be starting.

I still have hummers at my place.

we had hummingbirds at the cabin……but not near as many as 3 weeks ago. still here at home.

the lack of other birds is baffling. i havent gone through a 8 pac of suet at the cabin all summer. and i can actually afford sunflower seeds up there. lol!!!!

and robins are completely AWOL!!!!!!

We have more hummingbirds now then I seen all summer. Hadnt put any thought into it but now that you say it I dont remember when I last seen a robin. Seen a few flocks of about a thousand blackbirds last night.