I’m not really what I would call a bird watcher, but our backyard overlooks a wooded stretch of a river that is hunted by bald eagles during the winter. It’s fun to sit there and drink your morning coffee while watching them soar around.
-
You do not need to register if you are not going to pay the yearly fee to post. If you register please click here or log in go to "settings" then "my account" then "User Upgrades" and you can renew.
HuskerMax readers can save 50% on Omaha Steaks .
Any Birders On Here?
- Thread starter Strategery
- Start date
My wife is really into it since she retired last May. She'll sit on the back deck when the weather is nice and takes pictures. We had Bluebirds nesting in the back yard, Cardinals, a few BlueJays, Hummningbirds and dozens of other 'finch' sized birds I have no idea what they are.
She has a handful of feeders...which can get expensive, because she'll not feed 'her birds' the cheap stuff.
She has a handful of feeders...which can get expensive, because she'll not feed 'her birds' the cheap stuff.
Well, to be slightly sorta fair, do you err feed yourself the 'cheap stuff'?
Well, to be slightly sorta fair, do you err feed yourself the 'cheap stuff'?
Nope, LOL. She said the same thing.
'You spend $50 on a bottle of bourbon'
When the birds start doing chores, paying the bills, etc. I won't shake my head when she pays $25 on a bag of bird seed.
Makes her happy, so it's worth it.
Allegedly.
Feeding cheap stuff (e.g. millet, cracked corn, “wild bird mix”) usually gets you more house sparrows, starlings, grackles, and doves. Black oil sunflowers, Nyjer, and suet are my go-to’s. Grape Jelly in the spring for the orioles has been crazy. I went through at least 8 of the 32oz jars this spring.
OK, if you are a birder, are you on eBird and what is your life list total?
I’m showing 274 on eBird, which should be pretty close to the correct total. I took too many years off...I need to start chasing rarities this year as well as really hit this spring.
OK, if you are a birder, are you on eBird and what is your life list total?
I’m showing 274 on eBird, which should be pretty close to the correct total. I took too many years off...I need to start chasing rarities this year as well as really hit this spring.
Ever use the half orange rind for the orioles? Fill it with all sorts of stuff, they cant resist
My wife buys 6 bags of black oil sunflower seeds in the fall for 14 bucks per bag, I store them in my garage (have feared they will draw mice, so far so good). Orschelns runs a sale in the fall, normally they charge16 to 18 bucks per bag. Only problem we have is squirrels have taken a liking to the seeds.... you know, those long tail rats that live in trees and drive dogs nuts?
I put oranges or mandarins or whatever out occasionally, they mostly ignore them. Had my first ever Summer Tanager this year..great year for them in Iowa.
I’m probably going through a 50# bag every 2 weeks right now, will peak at about 1/week in spring. About a week ago I had 19 cardinals that I could reliably count at the same time.
i currently have 6 large tube feeders and a platform feeder with sunflower 2 med tubes of nyjer and 5 total suet cakes out right now. Spring will rotate in the jelly and nectar.
i’ve tried adding safflower, not really any
i have a couple of squirrels now for the first time in 9 years, but they only eat stuff on the ground occasionally. Same with possums. Racoons used to shake the shepherd’s hooks to get the seed until my dog took care of them.
there are squirrel baffles you can buy for poles/ feeders, you can relocate them to limit access. You can put out shelled corn somewhere else as a decoy. But if they want to get to your feeder, it’s tough to stop them. there are some great videos.
A lot of our oriels com because of our hummingbird feeders, th carpenter ants love the sugar, the oriels love the ants.
Get some fairly close looks.
I see an occasional great gray owl, huge, almost Eagle sized. See some snowy owls too.
Thins way down in the winter, unless youre near an open river, then they stack up.
i have never seen a great gray...would love to.
When we were moving into our house in 2011, I spotted an injured Snowy Owl on the roadside and took her to a Raptor Recovery volunteer in Omaha. She ended up dying a couple days later, was too emaciated-supposed to be 5 pounds, she was down to about 2.5#. OWH ran a story that mentioned her. There was a lemming population crash in Canada that year or something and there were a lot in the midwest that year.
My wife calls the birds “my entourage.” A year or so after we moved our neighbor across the road remarked at how many more birds he was seeing than before. Then 2 years ago he put up a hummingbird feeder and I put a bluebird box on his fence last year.
I haven’t gotten anything rare on the feeder yet. The Summer Tanager would be the big highlight in 9 years.
here’s a feeder list off the top of my head
house sparrow
house finch
american goldfinch
purple finch
pine siskin
dark eyed junco
northern cardinal
blue jay
black capped chickadee
downy woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
red-bellied woodpecker
red-headed woodpecker
northern flicker
white breasted nuthatch
red breasted nuthatch
Orchard oriole
baltimore oriole
rose breasted grosbeak
common grackle
rusty blackbird
red winged blackbird
brewers blackbird
european starling
mourning dove
eurasian collared dove
eastern bluebird
ruby throated hummingbird
wild turkey
northern bobwhite
Coopers hawk
sharp shinned hawk
summer tanager
lincolns sparrow
harris’s sparrow
white crowned sparrow
white throated sparrow
chipping sparrow
american tree sparrow
song sparrow
fox sparrow
american robin
hermit thrush
im sure im missing some.
I haven’t gotten anything rare on the feeder yet. The Summer Tanager would be the big highlight in 9 years.
here’s a feeder list off the top of my head
house sparrow
house finch
american goldfinch
purple finch
pine siskin
dark eyed junco
northern cardinal
blue jay
black capped chickadee
downy woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
red-bellied woodpecker
red-headed woodpecker
northern flicker
white breasted nuthatch
red breasted nuthatch
Orchard oriole
baltimore oriole
rose breasted grosbeak
common grackle
rusty blackbird
red winged blackbird
brewers blackbird
european starling
mourning dove
eurasian collared dove
eastern bluebird
ruby throated hummingbird
wild turkey
northern bobwhite
Coopers hawk
sharp shinned hawk
summer tanager
lincolns sparrow
harris’s sparrow
white crowned sparrow
white throated sparrow
chipping sparrow
american tree sparrow
song sparrow
fox sparrow
american robin
hermit thrush
im sure im missing some.
Last winter had three turkeys walking through the yard.
Not a bird, but my niece asked me what that was in he tree, I went to get a flashlight, it was dusk, and there sat a flying squirrel.
Had a bear in a tree about four summers ago, 15 feet from the house. Have a stoat living under the porch.
If you dont enjoy all Gods critters, your life has been short changed.
Last edited:
2011 would have been about the last time I saw a snowy owl too. Saw several that winter in the James River Valley near Aberdeen. Thought i read something as well about them moving south that winter. Scarce food or heavy snow pack or something.
Just had the Trumpeters fly over.
Everything's frozen here except the streams and rivers, an its where they're holding.
Great sign, likely means an early ice out!
The woodpeckers are out in force as well, a few pileated, and about half dozen other species
Everything's frozen here except the streams and rivers, an its where they're holding.
Great sign, likely means an early ice out!
The woodpeckers are out in force as well, a few pileated, and about half dozen other species
Last edited:
