PSA - Help The Wildlife

[llowry61]

If at all possible, try not to forget about our outdoor friends during this extreme cold.

Our birdfeeders have been getting a workout.

I can only imagine the toll this storm has taken on the local bird and wildlife populations.

 

[oldbrownhat]

If at all possible, try not to forget about our outdoor friends during this extreme cold.

Our birdfeeders have been getting a workout.

I can only imagine the toll this storm has taken on the local bird and wildlife populations.

This ^^^ My gf's heated hummingbird feeders are in constant use. Sometimes whe it's really cold, they actually SHARE a feeder rather than fighing over it.

We have a bit of a conundrum here as there has been an outbreak of avian bird flu and are being encouraged not to use our feeders I just looked out at my feeder and saw a little woodpecker going at the last bit of the seed bar in the feeder, so am having a hard time deciding whether or not to refill it.

 

[llowry61]

This ^^^ My gf's heated hummingbird feeders are in constant use. Sometimes whe it's really cold, they actually SHARE a feeder rather than fighing over it.

We have a bit of a conundrum here as there has been an outbreak of avian bird flu and are being encouraged not to use our feeders I just looked out at my feeder and saw a little woodpecker going at the last bit of the seed bar in the feeder, so am having a hard time deciding whether or not to refill it.

That is a tough one. I heard somewhere earlier this year about the outbreak.

I wish I had more suet for ours. All we have left is the seed. Better than nothing I guess.

 

[oldbrownhat]

That is a tough one. I heard somewhere earlier this year about the outbreak.

I wish I had more suet for ours. All we have left is the seed. Better than nothing I guess.

I get suet and seed bars from Walmart.

I think I'm gonna cave in and feed them this morning, though.

 

[30-30remchester]

I butcher my own meat. Mainly deer, elk and antelope. There is always plenty of scrap. I bag a good handful of scrap and put them in used sandwich bags I had saved. Put them in the freezer. Come winter and the heavy snows, our local fox has tough times finding mice under the snow and ice. I toss out a frozen handful daily along with any current scraps. Come spring the feeding stops.

 

[Golddollar]

The birds seem seem to have left, but this week I discovered that a squirrel apparently grew up and learned how to reach the bird feeder by hanging upside down on the trunk of the tree the bird feeder is hanging from. I'll keep the feeder filled in case we get snow that buries any spilled birdseed on the ground.

 

[Mule Packer]

Once we get the heavy snows and freezes, the bird feeders come out. Last year, we had an outbreak of avian flu and were told to stop feeding, but so far this year, we seem to be okay. We've got a couple downy woodpeckers that hit the suet blocks pretty hard. We have a couple seed feeders...one good-sized one in the backyard and another good-sized one out by the tack shed. We've even had pheasants beneath the feeders picking up the corn and seeds that are dropped to the ground.

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

H5N1 has shown it's face in the south with migrating birds. A friend saw a blue goose come and crash while they were shooting for White-fronted geese. They watched it not being able to fly away all morning.

The avian flu virus is taking its toll in the chicken industries, too. Hundreds of thousands of birds have died and been burnt.

My owl call is keeping the crows exercising and warm.

Our bird feeders are empty, though we will spread around seed for the birds. No snow here.

 

[wilkoi]

Three feeders out, black oil sunflower. Suet cake plus unsalted shelled peanuts that the crows love. We have one murder of crows, 5 strong. Another of 7 and a loner, a crow that fly's in by itself and is much larger than the average crow, it is not a raven. Always by itself.

 

[Sarge9]

In the last wk. 60lbs of deer corn, I can call them, they now come
like a dog, crazy. 4lbs apples
35 lbs of sunflower seeds
6 woodpecker suet.
We have fattest wildlife in SW Oh. IMO

 

[oldbrownhat]

... We've got a couple downy woodpeckers that hit the suet blocks pretty hard....

I've had either downy or hairy woodpeckers on my feeders recently, as well as flickers. And yesterday The Big Guy - a pileated - started hammering away. I often see him but he doesn't use my feeder all that often. Even the stellar's jays take a hike when he turns up.

Unfortunately I couldn't sneak outside and get a good pic without scaring him off so had to shoot through the front door

 

[MRB1]

I keep the feeder filled and also broadcast seeds in the heavy brush around the trees. That, and a heated water dish keeps them going. Little buggers eat more than teenagers.

 

[Rustyt1953]

We have had a house guest since last week. A large grey Tom. We found him nearly frozen under the grill cover. He has both old and new scars indicating that he has been around the block a time or three.

He is shut in our basement as the platoon upstairs views him as an interloper and have rolled out the unwelcome mat.

He is handsome, friendly and very tactile. JR wants to name him.

There are two No-Kill rescue shelters that we often use that will notify us as there is presently no room at the inns.

One of the most difficult things for me to do is enter a rescue shelter as every furry face stays in my mind for quite a while. I want to take them all.

In a nut shell; if I didn't love them so I wouldn't hurt so.

Bless all who have opened their homes.

 

[llowry61]

I've had either downy or hairy woodpeckers on my feeders recently, as well as flickers. And yesterday The Big Guy - a pileated - started hammering away. I often see him but he doesn't use my feeder all that often. Even the stellar's jays take a hike when he turns up.

Unfortunately I couldn't sneak outside and get a good pic without scaring him off so had to shoot through the front door

Those Pileated are some cool birds. We see them in the spring, but not so much in the winter.

Rusty, we have 2 that we have been feeding but they are really wild and you can't get close to them. The one hears the garage door open about 1/2 before sundown and comes running to get her food. The other one is stealth ane we see her show up on the ring camera.

Was worried about both of them during the storm, but sure enough yesterday they both showed up. They got double rations to keep them going.

Sarge, we have a deer feeder out where we hunt, and it used to be funny because there were yearlings that would come running when they heard it go off.

Glad we are going to get a warmup here soon. Had 5 deer in the back yard the other night and they looked pretty miserable. The small drainage next to the house very rarely freezes the birds take their baths in it and the deer drink out of it.

I enjoy seeing them all.

 

[Vtgw938]

Keep in mind that the wildlife populations do pretty well of tending to their own without our intervention. Yes, I do feed the birds but for our enjoyment not because I think I am saving them from anything. Feeding critter's in general is a bad idea.

Wildlife are managed as a whole population and there will be up's and downs with those populations for many reasons. It is very rare that people really need to intervene on behalf of the populations as a whole. If a population of animals needs human intervention on a regular basis there is a problem.

 

[ralph7]

I wonder what animals do for water when in an area that stays frozen for long periods. Do they eat snow? I guess some get some liquid from what they eat (plants animals), but don't really know for sure.

 

[Truckman]

I have noticed my birdfeeder getting emptied faster than when the temps were a little higher...I thought they all went south...But I'll keep it full for the stragglers......Ben