Bird Photos

[MinnesotaTony]

I currently have no feeders or baths of any kind in the yard, but love the bird photos everyone posts. I'm looking for suggestions for the best bets on getting some birds around the house and close enough to the ground (out of the 60-foot Oaks) to photograph just to try this out. If part of it is "wait until spring", that's fine...

Basically, my favorite bird photo so far is one which I'm still trying to identify as original or extra crispy:

Thanks for any suggestions!

Tony

[Birdsong]

Leave some areas of either mulch or leaf litter. The perfectly groomed lawn does not attract a large variety of birds. A variety of low growing shrubbery is key. Even if it does not berry, the birds seem attracted to the tiny insects that reside there. Some kind of moving water if possible, or a bird bath if not. They need sources of water.

[dockothebay]

A feeder with suet or black sunflower seeds (or both) will get the birds into the area, and then the suggestions from Sarah will give you some nice spots for photos.

I really like the photo you posted! She's pretty, I'm partial to original

[Hwood]

I would say sunflower seed is the place to start. After you see what birds come around you can change up the feeding station. (Nothing wrong with a wood stump and a brach on it) You can put out the seed now, after all birds eat all year long.

[mcary]

Tony,

Part of what you'd put out on a feeding station will also depend on what species of birds you have in the area. Black oil sunflower seeds are the best bet as the others mentioned. If you have chickadees and nuthatches near your home, you can pull them in all year long with sunflower. If you have Northern Cardinals near your home, they seem to have an affinity for Safflower seed. Finches tend to gravitate toward thistle seed. Orioles have a particular liking for grape jelly or will often raid the sugar water in hummingbird feeders. Suet feeders tend to work very well for woodpecker species.

Another key consideration would be the type of "habitat" surrounding your yard. When I lived in Duluth, black oil sunflower kept birds coming all year round. My yard was surrounded by trees and low shrubs which provided the birds a lot of cover and was well suited to the little birds that will overwinter. Suet was another good option as there were lots of woodpecker species.

Here in Detroit Lakes I live on the edge of prairie. My black oil sunflower feeders will keep birds coming spring through fall (mostly finches & red-winged black birds), but look pretty bare in the winter. Thistle works well here since there are a good number of goldfinches, but I wouldn't even attempt suet because there are no woodpeckers near my yard. I've been experimenting with meal worms now, because we have a large number of tree swallows and a few eastern bluebirds (none of which you'd find where I used to live). My point is that the mix is dependent on the birds you have.

Your habitat type will dictate which species are most likely to roam near your place. If you go to a store that specializes in birds/bird feeders, they could help you to identify what types of birds are likely in your area and what combination will work best to attract them. If you already know which species tend to be attracted to your yard, they could help you to put the right mix out for the birds that are already there.

[Jim Almquist]

Tony the info the Michael gave you spot on for attracting the birds you want to photograph. If all you have right now is oaks you will want to create a perch for the birds to land on until its there turn at the feeder and that is were you will take your photographs. It would be nice if you could get either morning or evening sun to shine on the perch but if it is not possible a flash will work to fill in the light. I use to put out all sorts of different foods but I have found that black oil sunflower seeds and suet will bring in most all of the birds that are resident and most all that migrate through. Right now we have Juncos that are passing through but the main resident are red and white nuthatchs,blujay,cardinals,chickadees,downy and hairy woodpeckers. In the summer there will be all sorts of Finchs,Rose brested grosbecks and later this winter there might be redpolls and pine grosbecks to name a few. Once the birds find the food they will attract more and more birds along with "other" pest that will want to eat your seed. In the spring I have to watch out for Black Bears. Good luck and be sure to post some pics.

[Steve Foss]

Good advice so far, Tony.

You could take a few wide-angle shots of your yard and post them to help refine things further.

I'll say that in all the years I've been feeding birds in cities and the country from the prairie of N.D. to forests of Wis. and Minn., I've narrowed it down to three things: Suet, black oil sunflower and cracked corn. I've experimented with lots and lots of different stuff, but any seed eating birds will come in for these two seeds, and of course woodpeckers for the suet. The chickadees and nuthatches also will take suet.

Good luck, man.

P.S. -- I'd kill for a few oaks like yours in my yard.

[Catmendo]

Try spreading peanut butter in the bark of trees, you'll be amazed with the results!

[Birdsong]

Seems like a good place to post a reminder that all of these feeders need frequent cleaning. Right now it is imperative because of all the rain we have had. Moldy seed is not attractive to the birds, and can spread disease rather quickly. A little bleach added to your cleaning water is a good idea. And with that in mind, Tony, choose feeders that appear easy to clean, will fit in a sink or pail quite well and can be thoroughly air dried. Some of the squirrel-free feeders are a blessing for keeping the varmints out of the seed, but are bearcats to keep clean. Some feeders are lovely to look at, or blend well with your surroundings, but are also difficult to clean.