Birds$$$$$

[Jessie]

I’ve been figuring out how much were spending in bird seed this year and it’s not good. Until we sit on the deck and listen to the concert in the afternoon.
What else would I spend it on? Bullets?

 

[M29since14]

Some things you don’t need to figure. You either enjoy doing it and can afford it, or you don’t/can’t. Numbers just confuse things. I’ve never regretted a single penny that I’ve spent on my various animal friends.

 

[Eric300]

I’ve been figuring out how much were spending in bird seed this year and it’s not good. Until we sit on the deck and listen to the concert in the afternoon.
What else would I spend it on? Bullets?

.177 pellets......

 

[6518John]

Jesse—I don’t know what seeds you are using—and you would think as a life-long birder I would have had sense enough to know this—but we changed to the feeds treated with hot pepper and we have cut our seed usage easily 80%. The varmints—coons, squirrels, tree rats, critters were stealing that much.

Mammals won’t eat capsaicin (but for man I guess), the chemical in the hot peppers, so we are just feeding birds now.

 

[Rustyt1953]

The birds around here are all totin' cicada doggie bags.

 

[MRB1]

Yep, it gets expensive, but the enjoyment factor justifies it. The hummingbird feeders are little war zones, and the song bird feeders are going through the sunflower seeds like candy. Deer and coons steal the seeds at night, the squirrels and Doves steal what's left. Keeps me busy.

 

[Jessie]

.177 pellets......

Oh Eric, “ Not the livestock”

 

[9mmPatriot]

Sugar water is all I put out.

 

[30-30remchester]

Had a robin this year that has been attacking our window next to the bed. For hours on end he would poop on the balcony rail and fly at our window hitting it with his chest. Starting at 5 AM every morning and continuing intermittently till dark. That little devil was smart too, at the squeak of a hinge he was off into the forest before I could get a shot at him. We would put pictures of hawks and owls in the window and strips of tinfoil hanging above the window to scare him off. Nothing worked till yesterday. He got lazy when I opened the door, and did not get out of range in time. Last night was the first night in over a month that we did not get woke up. Dang feather rat.

 

[6518John]

That little devil was smart too, at the squeak of a hinge he was off into the forest before I could get a shot at him. . . He got lazy when I opened the door, and did not get out of range in time. Last night was the first night in over a month that we did not get woke up. Dang feather rat.

I would probably remove this post in that a Robin is a protected species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is a misdemeanor to violate any provision of the Act with punishment of a maximum fine of $15,000 or imprisonment up to six months or both, (§ 707(a).

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Well, the way I look at it is "You can buy more bird seed but you can't buy bullets".

 

[Jessie]

Had a robin this year that has been attacking our window next to the bed. For hours on end he would poop on the balcony rail and fly at our window hitting it with his chest. Starting at 5 AM every morning and continuing intermittently till dark. That little devil was smart too, at the squeak of a hinge he was off into the forest before I could get a shot at him. We would put pictures of hawks and owls in the window and strips of tinfoil hanging above the window to scare him off. Nothing worked till yesterday. He got lazy when I opened the door, and did not get out of range in time. Last night was the first night in over a month that we did not get woke up. Dang feather rat.

Do you have a screen on that window. That usually stops that behavior

 

[mdf9183]

I buy 40 lb. bags of chicken scratch to put in my feeders. The birds like it and it is cheaper than bird seed.

 

[Bro. Dave]

My wife delights in feeding (and watching) the birds so we feed them since I delight in her! She does not have a particular affection for the squirrels and our daughter-in-law told her they would not eat safflower seeds.

I was skeptical, but apparently safflower seeds taste like soap to a squirrel. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it since they will eat insulation off of wires.

Of course, safflower seeds are considerably more expensive than the black oil sunflower seeds, but if she can tolerate my firearm addiction, it's a small trade-off.

 

[ZGrand]

We changed to the feeds treated with hot pepper and we have cut our seed usage easily 80%.

Us too. But then we started having to fill up the bird bath 12 times a day.............

 

[30-30remchester]

Do you have a screen on that window. That usually stops that behavior

Yes but only half of the sliding door has a screen. Even closed the curtain, the first time in 26 years, and he just moved to another window. Living next door to the forest, all kinds of critters abound. Even the moose have disturbed our slumber, but these are just a one and done. That bird was more irritating than an a rock in your shoe and more persistent than a tele marketer.

 

[625-7]

After a dinner of birdseed our resident bears floss their teeth with a squirrel

 

[walkinghorse]

Biggest issue we have had with our bird feeder is turkeys! They land on the deck rail and walk over to the feeder. Knock feed down to the ones on the ground. Occasionally a deer has come on the deck. Wife swats them both with a broom. Entertainment for all!

 

[jeffrefrig]

I feed the birds in the winter just to keep them around then slowly ween them off when the bugs come out. I even put a 150Watt heater in one of the bird baths in the winter.

 

[grover99]

I buy 40 lb. bags of chicken scratch to put in my feeders. The birds like it and it is cheaper than bird seed.

I found out the same when a neighbor who kept chickens in his back yard told me to try it. I get at a farm supply and they don't charge tax as it is an agriculture product. Your state may be different. I was working at a country club and we had a robin who spent half his time attacking the windows and the rest of the time attacking car mirrors. Some one got tired of his mirror being smeared up and did the bird in.

 

[lkabug]

I go through approximately 400 lbs of black oil sunflower seed and 40 to 50 suet cakes per year in my feeders.
Many different birds visit my feeders. With my arrangement Squirrels only get what the birds throw to the ground. Which actually is a sizeable amount. The crows have now found a way to get at the suet cakes. The deer hang around the feeders also.

 

[9mmPatriot]

.... Wife swats them both with a broom. Entertainment for all!

Video or it never happened.

 

[raljr1]

We feed the birds all year long...quite a variety...i have popped a few starlings to discourage their voracity...i only use no waste feed...more expensive, but no mess left behind..anything that falls get eaten.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Rustyt1953]

 

[usmc2427765]

I have always used black oil sunflower seeds with excellent results. Seems to attract a better class of bird.

 

[Greyman50]

In a smaller place now so only 1 feeder with seeds but 2 humming bird feeders. Miss these guys and few others that dined in Ga.
This type feeder is 100% tree rat proof.

 

[6518John]

You and Faulkner have hit the jackpot this year with Painted Buntings.

 

[Golddollar]

I have a single feeder hanging from a low branch in the tree beside my driveway. The sparrows and townhees eat from the feeder, and the doves, squirrels and rabbits eat what spills on the ground. Works all the way around.

 

[Chubbo]

Having read the accounts of the bird enthuses ts, on this thread, I thought I'd ask if any of you enthuses ts, can answer this question of a repugnant subject? You folks have observed a monumental amount of bird droppings while enjoying your hobby. The observant folks of this forum, I’m sure, have noticed that bird dung is perceived to be, Black and White. Do any of you, sincere observers, know what the white, colorless ingredient found in all bird dung actually is?

 

[Rustyt1953]

Do any of you, sincere observers, know what the white, colorless ingredient found in all bird dung actually is?

Tracers for aiming.