New Birds at the Feeder

[Jim Almquist]

We had a male and female Evening Grosbeak come to the feeder yesterday for the first time since last spring. Maybe this year we will get to have a pair winter in the neighborhood.

[mixxedbagg]

Evening Grosbeaks are a funny bird when it comes to feeders. They seem to show up at practically any time, but so often, they don't stay. Particularly if it's a very small group that stops. Then, I know certain people who get large flocks of Evening Grosbeaks every single winter with nothing particularly remarkable about the habitat on their property or the feeders they use. I'm not sure what accounts for that. I have a friend and an uncle who live within a few miles of each other. The woods behind their homes are very similar, both have 'overachieving' feeder setups, but my uncle gets EGs annually and my friend doesn't. **shrug**

That said, I have noticed to some extent that EGs seem to like either open platform feeders or the roofed platform feeders that allow very easy access to all of the seed....the sort of feeder that would cost you a fortune if you have squirrels.

I think it's going to be an amazing year for winter finches. I'm already seeing plenty of redpolls, crossbills (both species), grosbeaks (both species), siskins, and goldfinches.

[Jim Almquist]

A few winters ago we had a flock around most of the winter and last year the only time we any around was in the spring so it would be great to have a few winter close by. We still have our share of House Finches,Gold Finches and Junco's and our female Cardinal finally made a appearance. The male has been coming around and this morning she stopped and ate for quite a while.

[eyeguy 54]

About every other year or so we get a lot of them in the spring for a short time. They eat stuff in the top of the Catelpa trees.

[bobbymalone]

i caught a northern flicker poking around in a cavity on one of my maples yesterday. not the most uncommon bird, but the first one I have caught in my backyard.

[mixxedbagg]

You still have House Finches, j? Seems late, though I've heard of them in winter.

[Jim Almquist]

They are new to the feeder so we will see how long they stick around. This next cold snap will push some of the birds further south.

[MN Shutterbug]

This next cold snap will push some of the birds further south.

Good. My feeders have been pretty quiet lately.

[finnbay]

Jim, we've had a few evenings, but only a time or two and they're gone. Have seen a handful of pine grosbeaks and a ton of siskins. I'm looking at three siskins and a goldfinch at the feeder right now. Still a few juncos, too.

[Jim Almquist]

Ken I am guessing that I am at the southern end of the range for Evening Grosbeaks so I only seem to get them when its really bad up north. That is very cool that you get a chance to see Pine Grosbeaks. I would guess that our Junco's will be gone with the coming cold snap. Not sure just why but we have a flock of 10-15 Goldfinch's showing up everyday but they just might hit the road soon as well.

[DonBo]

Didn't realize Junco's go south. South must mean the Twin Cities area, as we seem to have a bunch that stick around all winter. We've got a couple out there right now, along with a bunch of Goldfinches, all digging through the new snow.

[Steve Foss]

We get evening grosbeaks every winter. Sometimes they hang around most of the winter, off and on, and other times we only see them intermittently. Some winters, if they're mild enough, we get a junco or a white-throated sparrow or two that make it all winter. They are pretty hardy.

[mixxedbagg]

What Steve said. Juncos breed in far northern Minnesota and Canada. They winter in the southern half of Minnesota and farther south. A small number stay north. We had one bird at our feeders all winter last year.

[Jim Almquist]

I was starring at the feeder and noticed that all of my Goldfinches were gone and replaced by flocks of Pine Siskins. Must be 20 to 30 when its feeding time.

[mixxedbagg]

This is great....it seems like ALL of the winter finches are around, for once.

[Jim Almquist]

Makes me wonder what type of winter we are shaping up for ?

Just hoping it offers some good photo opportunity's

[Steve Foss]

Yesterday as this little weather system was starting to arrive, we had a big mix of evening grosbeaks, purple finches, siskins, redpolls, goldfinches, both types of nuthatches, chickadees, juncos, white throated and tree sparrows and blue jays.

It was a wild day at the feeder.

[finnbay]

Yep. Lots of the regulars and some "irrigulars". I have two mourning doves hanging around (mostly playing tag with a squirrel underneath the feeder) and a mature bald eagle spent the morning perched in a tree above the feeder.

[Steve Foss]

Ken, you can pick up 50 lbs of cracked corn for about $10. Not only will the mourning doves love it, but it's the food preferred by overwintering juncos and sparrows. I just scatter a bowl full on the ground each morning, as cracked corn eaters tend to be ground feeders.

But dang if they won't eat black oil sunflower seeds, too.

[mixxedbagg]

I've heard that in the west they feed Varied Thrushes cracked corn in the winter. My yard is ideal for VTs compared to the other 3 yards I have seen them in. So, I'm going to feed cracked corn this winter on the ground to see if it's possible to target VTs.

[Steve Foss]

Got crabapple or mountain ash trees, mixxedbagg? Like their close relatives the robin, varied thrushes will readily eat fruit in winter.

[mixxedbagg]

I planted both this year (planted lots of bird-friendly trees and shrubs when we moved in), but they don't have a lot of fruit yet.

When I planted the 2 crabapples, I made sure to select the ones with the really small fruit as I've seen more birds eating the little ones.

[finnbay]

Almost 50 siskins at the feeder this morning, along with several goldfinches, nuthatches and chickadees.

[MN Shutterbug]

I saw my first 2 birds (chickadees) in almost a week, at my feeders. I'm not sure what's going on. They all disappeared including the Blue Jay pair. Maybe it's the hawk that comes thru occasionally. The other day a hawk came in real low over my bird bath, with his talons extended. I have a stone in the bath to help hold down one end of the heater. I'm thinking the hawk, Sharp Shinned I presume, mistook the stone for a bird, due the size of the stone being the same as a finch. He didn't pick it up but landed on the neighbor's chain link fence and just sat there for a minute. I think he got fooled. But, this means that he has probably picked a bird or two off the bath in the past. He is the only reason I can think of for the lack of activity in my yard. Normally, when a hawk comes around, the birds scatter but reappear after the danger is gone. This is really getting frustrating, since I have invested in feeders and have mucho bird seed in my garage. Not only that, I dropped some ching for a security camera so I can keep an eye on my backyard on the TV in my basement, where I spend 95% of my at home time.

[WDH]

Shutterbug, if you want to give your birds a break and have a little fun at the same time from the Sharp shinned.

Go online and get yourself a few Purple Martin decoys. Mount them on a pole with a perch, or a shepards hook. The poles have to be mobile. Place them in and around your feeders and bird bath. The sharpe will all ways go for the slow bird, you will know when the Martin decoy has been hit it will be hanging side ways or up side down. After each hit move the pole to a new spot or add a decoy or two. If you leave the decoys in the same spot it won't take long for the hawks to learn to avoid the decoys.

By mixing the decoys up and moveing them around it will give your song birds a chance to escape. after a few weeks of this cat and mouse game the hawks will give up on your yard and feeders and look some were eals.

Not only will hawks hit the decoys, owls also. It's a trick I use to save my Martin coloney. When the Matin season is over I move them up and around my feeders and pond to save song birds.