What's in your feeder?

[Stephen]

What’s in your feeder? These are Eastern American and Canadian birds and the most common birds feeding at my bird feeders in my backyard: Asian Sparrows, American Crow, Black Capped Chickadee, Bluebird, Blue Jay, Brown-headed Cowbird, Cardinal (Red Bird), Common Grackle, Downy Woodpecker, Flicker, Gold Finches, Gray Catbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Mocking Bird, Purple House Finches, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Red Headed Woodpecker, Red-Winged Blackbird, Robin, Starling, Tufted Titmouse, Turtle Doves, and White Breasted Nuthatch. There are others I am still working on identifying. I catch a glimpse or hear a few notes from a songbird but I have not stopped to bird-watch long enough to recognize them. Are any of these birds found in Caithness?


/R

[bod1403]

I get Goldfinches, Robins & Starlings on my feeder & at this time of the year the winter birdies are coming back. Great Tit, Siskin, Collared Dove, various Finches & House Sparrow are very regular visitors to my garden but I've only to walk a little way & I'm by Loch Watten & the large selection of water birds there. Last year I had a pair of Wood Mice on my window feeder, got some fantastic pics.
I'll have to get info on your birds, what lovely names.
Happy Birdwatching

[Stephen]

The Goldfinches, Robins, Starlings (All Starlings in America came from a single pair let loose in Central Park in New York City a century ago) are familiars in the northern Hemisphere. It sounds like the Great Tit is a cousin of the Tufted Titmouse. Occasionally we see Pine Siskins. The Doves come in several variations – Morning Dove, and Gray Dove included. Purple and House Finches and House Sparrows are familiars here too. It’s sometimes difficult to tell the Asian Sparrows from the House Sparrows but the way to tell them apart is that the Asian Sparrows are always chattering. Last winter we had an Appalachian Wood Rat camp out under the shed and build a nest by one of the feeders. Field mice occasionally climb upon the windows sills here too. We have pictures of them in the feeders also.

[Mik.M.]

Have starlings,sparrows and a robin on my feeder but also get blackbirds and collared doves in the garden. Have just made a bird cake and had a bit of a laugh at the starlings fights for bird cake domination. Am in Thurso but in my old garden in Sussex used to get a pair of nuthatches and bullfinches coming to feed along with the usual birds.

[Julia]

Have starlings,sparrows and a robin on my feeder but also get blackbirds and collared doves in the garden. Have just made a bird cake and had a bit of a laugh at the starlings fights for bird cake domination. Am in Thurso but in my old garden in Sussex used to get a pair of nuthatches and bullfinches coming to feed along with the usual birds.

Any chance you could post your recipe for bird cake?

[bod1403]

I've found that my birdies will eat almost anything (except green veg). If I cook anything that leaves fat behind instead of throwing it away I mix into it seed mix, cake crumbs, ground nuts etc. in fact virtually anything then pack it into a suitable holder, (I use coconut shell or china bell that was originally packed with fat) leave it to set. Then sit back & watch the birds enjoy your efforts.

[sassylass]

What’s in your feeder? These are Eastern American and Canadian birds and the most common birds feeding at my bird feeders in my backyard: snip Cardinal snip

oooo my dream is to one day see a cardinal!

[Ricco]

oooo my dream is to one day see a cardinal!

You do get Cedar Waxwings in Thurso - I saw one back in '63. I think they are a European variety. There has been nothing, na-na, in my garden sine some new neighbours moved in - they have four cats. I'm taking up cat target practice.

[Julia]

I've found that my birdies will eat almost anything (except green veg). If I cook anything that leaves fat behind instead of throwing it away I mix into it seed mix, cake crumbs, ground nuts etc. in fact virtually anything then pack it into a suitable holder, (I use coconut shell or china bell that was originally packed with fat) leave it to set. Then sit back & watch the birds enjoy your efforts.

Thanks Bod1403, I never thought of saving the fat, I give the birds all leftovers but never thought of that. Will use it from now on too. Is there anything I should not be feeding the birds?

[ashaw1]

My son and i made some bird cake today. Just bought some lard, it's only 32p mixed it with peanuts, wild bird seed, raisins and some nuts i found in the back of the cupboard. Will wait till morning to see if they like it.

[Julia]

My new feeder is proving to be quite popular. I got really close to it today but did not have my camera handy Manged to get this one a bit later on but had to zoom in.

[Pterodroma]

Just to pick up Ricco's point on Waxwings.

We do not get Cedar Waxwings in Caithness. The species we get is Bohemian Waxwing.

Bohemian is larger than Cedar (length 8.25" against Cedar's 5.25"), it has white tips to the secondaries which show as a white trailing edge to the wing in flight and when perched as a white patch above the primaries, it also has white tips to some of the wing coverts which in flight show as a short wing bar and perched as a second white patch on the folded wing, it has rufous under tail coverts (white in Cedar) and yellow tips to the primaries which show prominently on the close wing. Cedar's body colour is a warm brown against the greyer body colour of Bohemian. On Cedar the inner edges of the tertials are pale which shows as a white line at the rear of the closed wing. Both species show a yellow tip to the tail, although there is an orange variation in some Cedars.

Bohemian has a wide circumpolar distribution across northern Europe and Siberia and into north western Canada. Cedar is found only in North America, breeding in Canada and wintering south into USA and Mexico.

Bohemian Waxwing is of annual occurrence in Caithness in small numbers in winter. Cedar has been recorded on once or twice in the UK.

[Stephen]

What is that feeding at your feeder? It looks like a Eurasian Tree Sparrow.
/R

Stephen

[quote=Julia;287142]My new feeder is proving to be quite popular. I got really close to it today but did not have my camera handy Manged to get this one a bit later on but had to zoom in.


Eurasian Tree Sparrow aka German Sparrow.

[Julia]

I'm not really up on birds but I think it's a male house sparrow. My feeder mostly attracts sparrows, starlings and blackbirds as well as the odd voyeuristic cat!

[Kenn]

The starlings keep me amused each morning, they spend more time quarreling than they do eating!

[Ricco]

I've got two peanut feeders, one niger seed (goldfinch there yesterday), a mixed seed and dried mealworm feeder and a insect/seed fat cake feeder... the robin loves this. Because of all the cats in the neighbourhood I no longer put food on the ground for the other birds.

[Housewifie]

I've found that my birdies will eat almost anything (except green veg). If I cook anything that leaves fat behind instead of throwing it away I mix into it seed mix, cake crumbs, ground nuts etc. in fact virtually anything then pack it into a suitable holder, (I use coconut shell or china bell that was originally packed with fat) leave it to set. Then sit back & watch the birds enjoy your efforts.

We use similar, is a good way of getting rid of the fat.

[Stephen]

The American Golden Finch families have left for the winter.
The dark-eyed Junco families (Junco hyemalis) have returned for the winter.

The feeders are full of corn-on-the-cob, cracked corn, Sunflower and Safflower seed, various nuts and berries, and Peanut Suet.

/R

Stephen
Washington, DC

[Kenn]

I have a peanut feeder, see the picture of the starling and a mixed seed feeder, am still trying to sort out a place where I can put birdcake...err made from several ingredients as we have a certain cat NOT mine that keeps lurking in the garden with EVIL intent.