New Hobby!!!!

[muc33]

Well, I took my recent money gift from family and used it to buy a few simple bird feeders and some bird seed. Not sure exactly what I am doing, but so far it is very fun.

House Finches

Golden Finches

Rose Breasted Grosebeaks

Oriels

Bluejays and more.

I am very new and learning, feel free to pass on any tips, I am having a blast.

I live in extreme SW Mn 10 miles from Iowa and 50 from South Dakota. Not sure what that means as far as typical species, but thought I would let you all know.

Chad

I will start taking amateur pics soon and posting. I am NO photog!

[MN Shutterbug]

That's great, Chad. It's a very addicting and rewarding hobby. My cousin tells me you can never have too many feeders. The only advice I can offer is, if you don't have a creek nearby, put in a small recirculating pond. It doesn't need to be large, but the sound of the gurgling water cascading over the rocks like a mini waterfall really pulls them in. I think mine holds only 13 gallons, but the birds love it, especially on hot days. Also, it helps to have cover nearby so they don't feel too exposed to predators.

[muc33]

Again, not a photog, but I will take suggestions. I just point and shot with my Cannon Powershot SX120IS.

[eyeguy 54]

Looks like the addiction has started. :>)

[JayinMN]

One thing I wish I would have done is started a list of all the birds that have visited my yard from the time I moved here. The thing about birding is after a while you will think you have seen it all at your feeders and out of the blue a new bird will appear. Good luck and have fun.

[micpic]

You chose a great new hobby! You'll learn alot and enjoy it immencely. Keep your feeders clean and full is one tip. You can also feed Orioles grape jelly in a home made feeder. Just a plastic jar lid screwed to the top of a post. They'll find it faster than you can imagine.

Good Luck

Mike

[Steve Foss]

Good tips so far, Chad.

Long post, so get ready!

Based on the pic of your feeding station, my suggestion would be to spread those feeders out. Birds have their personal space needs just like people, and moving the feeders so they are farther apart will allow many more birds to feed at the same time in your yard.

Goldfinches, for example, are open country birds, and you can move those tube feeders out away from the trees and they'll still use them a lot. Some of the birds, such as purple finches and cardinals, prefer cover close by. Ground feeders like sparrows and juncos will eat cracked corn anywhere on the ground you scatter it. We only scatter cracked corn in spring and fall during migration, since that's pretty much the only time our yard is inundated by the juncos and many ground-feeding sparrow species.

Moving your suet away from the main feeder will also ease things. Woodpeckers in general and hairy and red-bellied woodpeckers in particular will often chase birds off all the feeding stations so they can eat the suet when the suet blocks are that close. You can buy a separate suet block holder for a couple bucks at the same place you buy the blocks, and then hang it in or nail it to the tree away from the main feeder.

Another note on spreading your feeding stations. If you haven't had squirrels show up yet, likely you will. You can get rid of them if you want to, but if you don't want to rub them out, a spread out setup will allow a squirrel or two to be eating and still leave room for birds.

I don't see black oil sunflower seed in your setup. It should be your staple food in the platform feeder. It contains lots of energy, and will bring in birds like crazy. It's running about $20 for 50 lb bags up here in Ely. Definitely buy it in those quantities, as it's cheaper per pound than the smaller bags, and you'll go through it over time.

Here's how we set things up, just as an example. In our back yard, we have three tray/house feeders, a tube feeder and two suet feeders. We also put out hummingbird feeders. One is a long shelf feeder attached to the windowsill outside Lisa's office (all the feeders can easily be seen from her 4-foot-long office window). We get lots of unshy birds right there at the window, and it's WAY cool to be two feet from them. That one gets black oil sunflower. About 10 feet out from the window is a tube feeder (with thistle/niger seed) hung on one of those plant basket hangers you stick in the ground. Goldfinches and siskins are all over it this time of year. About 30 feet from the window, on an old willow that has resprouted and offers a lot of cover next to our 6-foot wooden privacy fend, is a tray feeder with a roof over it. Sunflower in that one, too. Birds liking cover use that one. We have one suet station attached to the fence nearby, and another hanging from a hook about 20 feet away. All these feeders occupy an area roughly 30 feet in diameter.

Along with a notebook that stays on the table or windowsill to record the species you see, you should get the Sibley Guide to Birds. Best guide out there for ID. If you stay with it for a long time, it's also a great idea to not only keep a master list of species in that notebook, but to note the dates each year for the arrival of migrant species, both winter and summer migrants. Over 20 years, you'll be able to say with authority when the ruby-throated hummingbirds or Harris's sparrows tend to show up in spring, for example.

BUT, a person doesn't have to be a lister to love birds and enjoy having them around. It can be as simple as you want it to be. You're already having fun, my friend, and you've got a lot more fun to come. If you get stuck on an ID or just want to share, keep on posting in here. We are pretty bird-brained, aftera ll.

[Dotch]

All great tips. About the squirrels: One thing we do here is to provide access to an ear corn feeder. It's simple, just a couple of ring-shank nails on a shelf attached to the tree trunk. The rodents still clean up underneath the other feeders but it helps keep them occupied elsewhere. The squirrel proof feeders help too but there's usually one in the bunch that eventually figures them out. So far a baffle plus the squirrel proof feeder has been pretty effective. It's fun to watch them contort themselves trying though. The other good thing about the ear corn feeder here is it attracts the attention of blue jays and red-bellied woodpeckers. Ear corn isn't cheap in the store but if you happen to have a relative who still picks on the ear and grinds it for his cattle or something, that may be a way to get it a little more reasonably.

Something else that can be a part of watching the birds as we and folks like shutterbug and others have found and that's planting things around the yard to attract and provide shelter for the birds. It's rewarding to see them coming to the yard in greater number and variety as a result. As an example, the nannyberries we planted a few years ago are big enough to provide cover for the orioles as well as providing food in the fall for the migrating birds.

I think you've picked yourself a great hobby and one that can be a work in progress. That's part of what makes it so fun.

[muc33]

Thanks crew! So I went and dropped another 50 bucks today on some plant hanger rods for the yard NOT for plants! So, I will seperate like you suggested Steve. But here is my biggest question.

What seeds/feeds do I want for what birds, and second on that, what ones should go together.

I have a mixture of white millet, safflower and black sunflower

I have 100% black sunflower

I have Thistle/niger

I have suet, now in two suet hangers

I have a nut mix

and I have cracked corn mixture

I also have an oriole jar feeder, and a humming bird jar feeder

[MichaelSwan]

From what I understand, the millet is kind of a waste. Was told that most birds will leave it or push it out to get other seed. Is this correct in your experience Mr. Foss?

[beakgeek]

I've found that millet feeds the house sparrows more than anything, but ground feeders like it too.

[JayinMN]

Quote:

From what I understand, the millet is kind of a waste. Was told that most birds will leave it or push it out to get other seed. Is this correct in your experience Mr. Foss?

What your thinking of is grain sorghum, also called milo. Its a filler in cheep bird feed that most desirable birds won't eat. I have no problems with feeding white millet and it attracting house sparrows or other unwanted birds. I live in the country and they seem to be urban birds. Since a lot of the other finches and sparrows enjoy it, I put it out during migration. I am certain it is what brought a indigo bunting to my yard which was a new bird for me. I only feed it in spring and fall though. Best thing to due is start a feeding station and adjust the seeds you buy to what the birds in your area consume. What birds eat can vary by region too, for example, the gray and blue jays around here ignore peanuts but love them in other areas.

[Dotch]

I agree Jay. We live in the country and what the birds like here and what they like at my Mom's place just 75 miles away seems to be different. And the millet thing is a double-edged sword for us. I only feed it in the winter as part of the cheap mix we put out for the pheasants when the snow gets deep. They fish the millet out first, the sunflowers next, then the corn and seem to eat the sorghum last. The combo does seem to draw house sparrows though, something that shouldn't be unexpected where we have a couple small livestock operations within about a half mile of each other.

[Steve Foss]

Chad, black oil sunflower will attract and hold the vast majority of feeder birds that eat seed. Cracked corn on the ground in spring and fall will be just right for migrating sparrows/juncos, and you'll get doves and ducks coming in for the cracked corn if you're in the right location.

Each of these can be purchased from Fleet Farm or feed and seed outlets in 50# bags. That's nearly all the seed we buy. All the birds that like thistle/niger will readily eat black oil sunflower, but we got a stunning deal on 40 pounds of what is usually VERY expensive thistle/niger, so we went and bought it. It goes in the tube feeders. When it's gone, it's back to the one-two seed punch of black oil and cracked corn. Goldfinches, siskins and a few others like the thistle/niger better than sunflower, but we get scads and scads of them gobbling sunflower when there's no thistle/niger in sight.

That's just the seed stuff, though.

Jelly for the orioles (or orange slices), nectar feeders for the hummers, and suet stations for the woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches. In summer we use the prepared cakes like those you pictured. In the cooler seasons we buy beef suet from the grocery store or I render it myself from beef and chicken fat we trim from meat and freeze. We very much prefer the beef suet or self made stuff, but it'll turn rancid in the summer heat.

Once in awhile we put out peanuts in the shell if we want to give the blue jays a treat. They love those here.

[Jim Almquist]

What a great assortment of birds to have in your back yard so quickly! You will soon find out how nice it is to hear them chatter back and forth. We have got a few Goldfinches around and they are one of my favorites to listen to at the feeders.

[muc33]

Today after work I had several Orioles and also a green hummingbird. I have spread out my feeders, added oranges and grape jelly to a platform stand, put out more feeders with Black Sunflower. And wowzers, even the neighbors have stopped and watched and then came up to the door to talk about how pretty they are.

I do have a mystery bird, I have yet to get a photo of him. I will try to explain as I am sure you all know what it is.

It is smaller than a black bird, yet bigger than a finch. Looks like a swallow of some sort, but not sure. It is all black but the head seems brown or dark "copperish".(I work in radio, so I make up words) Any clue as to what this is?

[JayinMN]

Sounds like your mystery bird could be a brown headed cowbird.

[MN Shutterbug]

Jay, you beat me by a few seconds.

[itchmesir]

muc33.. I too have slowly started an addiction to birds... right now I only have two feeders out.. but I plan to hang a couple more throughout the year.. I do enjoy hearing the birds chat back and forth.. or even at times take claim and fight off other birds from time to time

[muc33]

Ok, sorry for lack of updates, I did achieve the sighting and picture capture of an indigo bunting, beautiful. Many others and lots of Bird seed! WOW, I am wondering how long do most of these species stay during the summer, are they here and then gone or like the finches and such do they stay all summer? sorry for the dumb questions, I am having troubles getting the oriels to do the nectar feeder or for that fact I have only seen one hummingbird at the nectar feeders ever. am I doing something wrong there are are they fussy?

[Steve Foss]

Chad, you may just not be in a good area for orioles and hummers. Be patient, keep putting the stuff out and time will be your friend.

Also, this time of year the female hummers are on the nest and finding food for the chicks. They rarely are seen at feeders in summer because of that, and because they look for insects to feed the young, not nectar. Almost always we're seeing adult male hummers at the nectar feeders this time of year. The men don't hang around and do anything to help raise the chicks. Come early or mid August, when the chicks are fledged and flying, look out! You may have to hire a traffic cop to handle the influx of nectar-hungry females and immature hummers.

Three general classes of birds come to the feeder.

Year-round residents: Self explanatory. Your house sparrows, blue jays, chickadees and woodpeckers are good examples.

Summer residents: These species winter down south, sometimes WAY south, and come up north to nest and raise young, leaving again for the south at various times in fall. Buntings, orioles and hummingbirds are just three of the gazillion summer migrants you see at southern Minnie feeders.

Winter residents: These nest and raise young north of Minnesota, and tend to move down south a bit in winter. We get quite a few of those in the northern end of the state, but not so many down where you are. A few winter migrant species are redpolls, crossbills, rough-legged hawks and pine grosbeaks. You'll see the rough-legged hawks starting to move through late in November, and some will winter near you. On occasion, redpolls winter as far south as you are.

Your feeders will be at their busiest in spring and fall because of the migration. The wealth of different and handsome sparrow species that come through in spring and fall make those times of year special for me. Sure do like all of those. Cracked corn scattered on the ground is the ticket for them.

[jps]

I have used upside down finch feeders for some time now. Fun to watch the finch learn, other birds can not eat that way. Fleet at Worthington had them , not sure now that it is Running's. Menards has had them other years, haven't seen them this year.Using niger thistle seed in these feeders. jps

[harvey lee]

I got hooked on the bird feeding a few years ago Chad and the feeeders continue to be more and more.

I even planted a row of small schrub type bushes that are now 6ft tall and 4ft wide just for cover for the birds.

I can sit in my recliner and look out the patio door for an hour or better and simply watch the different birds feed.

I had so many orioles this year I believe there were times when I had 6-10 feeding at the feeders at one time.

I have 2 feeders with safflower in them and it seems like I can fill them every 3 days. My finches use to eat the thistle seed and now it seems the safflower seed is thier fav food.