No birds

Lead works better than steel.

Crap! I said that out loud didn’t I.

I didn’t know what a pileated woodpecker was until around 1980 while trout fishing with Dad near River Falls. He was telling me they were plentiful in the Hutchinson area when he was growing up, but since they like to make holes in the barns, farmers seemed to like picking them off when they could. I’m sure DDT had an effect on them as well.

They’re a wonderful bird although I’m guessing I wouldn’t be saying that if I had a 5″ hole in the side of my house.

Step 1
Hang aluminum pie pans and strips of shiny mylar with string around the area the woodpecker is damaging. The movement and glare off the material annoys a pileated woodpecker and he may go elsewhere.

Step 2
Repair woodpecker damage on your home as soon as you notice it. This will deter the birds and they may give up.

Step 3
Fire a cap pistol or bang pots and pans near the woodpecker whenever he comes around.

Step 4
Check your house for insect infestation. Woodpecker drilling is sometimes a search for food, such as carpenter bees and their larvae, which are sometimes laid underneath wood siding or behind window shutters. Get rid of the food supply and you may get rid of the woodpecker.

Step 5
Fire a blast of water from the garden hose. After being hit a few times in this way, the woodpecker should give up.

Not my ideas.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

Step 1

Step 3
Fire a cap pistol or bang pots and pans near the woodpecker whenever he comes around.

What with all the crows we have right now the pellet rifle stands at ready next to the garage door from the house. About all a guy has to do is cock that thing and dry fire it in the air and the bang it makes will chase any bird away. Crows detest the sound of that thing. For the crows though I like to add lead to the offering so they get the whole point.

There’s stuff you can hang to deter them. Search on line. Also have heard of people putting some tanglefoot on the spots they hate the taste

Re-use those obsolete CD’s. Hang them with your old fishing line.

Rod Bent wrote:

Re-use those obsolete CD’s. Hang them with your old fishing line.

Don’t use 5.5″ floppys. They only work for drink coasters.

Winter is a good time for birding down here. This post made me pay attention yesterday. I spotted a blue gray gnatcatcher and kingbird. This morning, the pileated woodpecker was on the oak behind us, though they are year round residents.

In the winter I see huge numbers of a vireos. Tough to id which species, but it’s probably actually several species of vireo. They are pretty tame, I can get within a few feet of them without bothering them. Down by the water you’ll see several dozens of them flittering around the bushes on shore.

I need to make my DSLR camera with a tripod readily available to document all the different birds.

Must be first sign of Spring – they’re flocking back to Minnesota!!

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Wow, three males sitting together peacefully? Photoshop!

mplspug wrote:

Wow, three males sitting together peacefully? Photoshop!

Ok, busted at my first attempt to publish ‘fake news.’ Was waiting to see if anyone was awake yet on a Sunday morning.

My wife, who is a bird lover and not a fan of winter, had her relatives over. Thought she’d play a fun trick on them and put the plastic cardinals on the deck for their arrival. It worked for at least 2 seconds, but she had such fun watching their reaction, she left them out there to dupe others.

Shows what cabin fever can do to someone to get a few laughs. Pug, enjoy the weather and birds down there this time of year. We definitely miss it… especially my better half.

Moumn.org/avian/recent.php
Website for notable sightings in Mn.

That funny, I was just kidding and giving you crap. Although it is unlikely to see males together unless they are kicking each other’s butts, I didn’t think it was impossible to get a picture of a group. On my phone I didn’t notice they were fake.

I have 3 males with 4 female Cardinals at the feeder right now. See them pretty much every day at sunset.

-J.

They must not like my food. Light flurry’s and not a bird in sight. I do have one Cardinal pair that show up from time to time but it’s not daily.

Neighbors on both sides feed birds all year. I plow a lot of the yard to get at Trailer’s and for our chickens. Have a mineral lick and feed the deer all winter. The neighbor has a great thermal pine tree grove, plus I have some good roosting pines and dead wolf tree’s for the peckers. Amazing what all that does for birds. They have wind blocks, food, roosting and thermal cover. Have a flock of fifteen doves that’s around all winter. The chickadees, peckers, juncos, cardinals, blue Jay’s, etc are always around. As a closet birder, it’s fun to always have birds around. The crows have been hitting the deer’s corn more than the past few years. Squirrels are down but it’s been a banner year for rabbits. My brother has been feeding mallards in his backyard, man that’s wicked cool.

Last year I had squirrels and rabbits. This year, zip. I think the Hawks I saw this summer might have played a part.

Our squirrels and rabbits really go through cycles, and have no clue what controls that? Other than pellet guns and car tires.

Saw a Common Merganser at the DNR pond on Warner Rd. He was standing on the edge of the ice and looked like a penguin. Cracked me up!