Birds seen in a three-minute time span...
 

I'm sitting on the front deck. I angled my gliding chair so I can see the Purple Martins and the feeders in the white spruce tree.


In a three minute span I saw...


- A male Baltimore oriole
- A male Orchard oriole
- Three Hummingbirds
- At least six fledgling Downy woodpeckers
- Three or four fledgling Hairy woodpeckers
- Two adult Hairy woodpeckers
- House and Purple Finches eating the orioles' grape jelly
- More House and Purple finches slurping down the oriole nectar from the large-ported feeder
- Flocks of hysterically cute young chipping sparrows
- Female and fledgling robins
- Young Tree Swallow nestlings peeping out of their box
- Nearly all of the 24+ Purple Martins
- A pair of Red Wing blackbirds


On a table next to my chair is a stack of rocks. I can't hit the side of a barn, but anytime a grackle or young grey squirrel gets on the feeders, I chuck a rock toward them.

Now I have to go pick up all the pecan-size rocks and start all over again. I think I'll get a sling shot and use dried beans for "bullets."

Wow! My DH photographs birds and would love to sit on your front deck.

We've had wonderful bird viewing also! Indigo bunting and the Yellow-bellied sap sucker were new visitors this year. May use your rock idea...that darned pileated woodpecker devours the suet cakes!

I have an English sparrow problem and wonder if all you bird watchers can offer ideas! I have one large round feeder, one smaller one and a tray feeder, all filled with black sunflower seeds. We can fill all 3 one day and 2-3 days later flocks of these English sparrows have cleaned them out!! Even my cardinals get shortchanged and I don't see many of the other small birds now, e.g. chickadees, tufted titmouse, rosy finches, junco, golden finch etc. I've seen an idea on some bird watching lists of putting a circle of wire on the top of the feeder, with wires hanging down...supposedly the Eng sparrows don't like to go around them but the other birds will. TIA!

I have your list and add 1 gorgeous male Scarlett Tanager.
PS, also have seen two Pileated Woodpecker fledglings. Dad is quite a screamer as he zooms through the trees.

WOW, what wonderful viewing you have. I had a brown little guy perch on my window at my previous home and sing to me. I would whistle back to him from my bed. Then I moved and now I get a chorus of crows at sunrise every morning. Not as pleasant sound to wake up to.

I get all the yucky birds at my feeder, I want the pretty birds,But God seemed to speak to me and said they are mine to and they need food, so now I'm content with who ever comes, I wish I could get your variety, Enjoy them.

Lucky gal! The birds fly thru here on the way up north. But they don't stay long. I'd love to have them thru out the summer instead of a few weeks spring and fall. I'd love to share a cup of coffee and watch. Material girl, try the dried mealworms. It usually brings in the prettier bug eaters instead of the seed eaters.

We feed our finches only thistle seeds from a prepackaged bag. I buy it at Wal Mart.
We had to stop feeding the larger birds as the food was attracting raccoons, opossums and a groundhog. I don't like them in my yard. My two little dogs have a separate fenced in yard inside the bigger fence so they don't bother the dogs. They come into the yard before it gets dark. The wild animals leave big poop messes.

I used to chase off the grackles until I saw them catching snakes in my yard and flying off with them and finding dead snakes that they had killed. Now I leave them alone.