I like to feed the birds and have a few feeders. I went to the local place the other day and had sticker shock at the price of black oil sunflower seeds. 25 bucks for 50 lbs. and the guy says I am lucky as they just went down 7 bucks a bag the other day. Wow. Every hobby is getting expensive.

I have to check Wild Birds Unlimited.

Haven't bought safflower in a while, hate to see what it's at...

If I use sunflower the varmints will clean it out in a day. :cens:

-spence

bj's is 17.99 i believe for the 50 lb. of black hull seed

best spot is always at a feed store

Spence you need to get tree rat proof feeders, worth the extra cash.The kind where they close up when too much weight is on them. They give up after a while, smart little buggers. Got to be metal too or they will eat thru it. . Craig that was at a feed store.

the agway in i dunno, palmer i guess, has bulk seed in serve yourself barrels ...where ya make your own mix

just saying try a agway

the agway in i dunno, palmer i guess, has bulk seed in serve yourself barrels ...where ya make your own mix

just saying try a agway

will do, next batch. The flying squirrels are the ones that clean me out. They don't weigh much more than a bird so they don't trigger the cover. They are pretty cool to observe though so I really don't mind too much.

i have a chipmonk livin in my kitchen

ALVIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buy him a hula hoop

it's a dog toy..... gittem Star Gittem

great game.... http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/happy.gif (http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/happy.gif%5B/IMG%5D)

[quote=ProfessorM;639527]will do, next batch. The flying squirrels are the ones that clean me out. They don't weigh much more than a bird so they don't trigger the cover. They are pretty cool to observe though so I really don't mind too much.[/quote

I have the Audubon squirrel guard on my post, the have never gone up past it

I use the weight sensitve feeders to keep the stupid morning doves away.

The cardinals love the weighted feeder also, it's the only one they use because the dowel is big enough for them to get their feet around and be steady.

cardinals prefer the safflower as do the nuthatches

i used to watch in amazement as this nut hatch would land on my roof and tuck a single saflower seed up in the crevice of each shingle one by one all day long...

by the way Paul, im kinda concerned about Clammer's new Sleigh......the thing hauls ass.... no reindeer needed. -> saw him taking it on a test drive.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/Claamersnewsleigh-1.jpg

bj's is 17.99 i believe for the 50 lb. of black hull seed

best spot is always at a feed store


They changed the bag weight to 40 pounds.....sneaky bastages:smash:

Check Christmas Tree Shoppes.

Ocean State Job Lot usually has a pretty good price as well.

DO NOT store those bags inside your house...put them in a metal bin in a shed or something. We had the worst infestation of moths once from a bag of sunflower seeds it took an exterminator to get rid of them. They will hatch out of the sunflower husks and use the sunflower to feed on then when they escape out of the bag they will lay eggs EVERYWHERE inside clothes, in sleeves, you name it. MAN what a mess they made!!!

that happened to us once,,, back in the 80's except it was an old bag of rice....in an unused pantry.... to look at it you'd never know...little moths everywhere too.

DO NOT store those bags inside your house...put them in a metal bin in a shed or something. We had the worst infestation of moths once from a bag of sunflower seeds it took an exterminator to get rid of them. They will hatch out of the sunflower husks and use the sunflower to feed on then when they escape out of the bag they will lay eggs EVERYWHERE inside clothes, in sleeves, you name it. MAN what a mess they made!!!
Not to mention mice and rats, it is that time of year again.

-spence

yea spence them too but we put ours in a metal trash can... opened it up in the basement and you woulda thought it was snowing moths...just the warmth in a closed space they will hatch...once one gets away your doomed. We haven't fed the birds since. We used to have a lot of fun doing it too.

I gotta get my kids to stop leaving the damn garage door open for the mice now grrrr

My wife picks up bird seed at Walmart. 2 weeks ago it was $14 or so. Now it is over $18 for the same 50# bag.

My grandfather goes through approx 150#s a month. I actually hate it. My truck looks like a dalmation. Them little buggers crap on everything. We put up with it though as he can't do much else. Well that is except feed the dog....... we won't even get into that.:hs:

i used to buy seed from them because we had indoor birds. (they are Gone) Then suddenly they decided to move the bird seed right nest to the insecticides....in particular ....malathion :af:
which is nasty to have to breath while shopping.
and
although Katee brand is quite good..., i no longer buy from them. Can't afford it this year.... first time i can remember in 30 years or so....
~
Mac your GrandFather
would enjoy using less seed and setting up some suet feeders which you buy at the Christmas tree shops for 66 cents each...the squares... sold for $1.29- 1.99 elsewhere... and or you can grab the beef suet at the super market..

I have found it attracts more colorful birds that have no interest in seeds... even bluebirds that eat the tiny droppings underneath the pecker stations.

I'm not sure he feeds the birds out of enjoyment. I think he feels it is something he has to do. I'm kind of surprised any of them can even fly as he feeds them between 5 and 8 times a day.

He has been using suet feeders for years. Main problem is the tree rats like it too. Last year one of them chewed the branch off that held the cage and carried it away. I hate them little buggers too.

bird feeder = open border

slam the door shut i say....

yea spence them too but we put ours in a metal trash can... opened it up in the basement and you woulda thought it was snowing moths...just the warmth in a closed space they will hatch...once one gets away your doomed. We haven't fed the birds since. We used to have a lot of fun doing it too.

I gotta get my kids to stop leaving the damn garage door open for the mice now grrrr

LOL! My wife is the garage door police. Drives me crazy when I do yardwork.

I make it a habit to feed the birds primarliy in the late fall through early spring. After that, they "might" get a suet cake of some leftover seed, but I prefer to let them fend for themselves.
The main reason for stopping the bird seed gravy-train is that since the majority of the feeders are sparrows, I want them to do what they do best during the summer: eat bugs, lots and lots of bugs.
Sparrows LOVE mosquitos, and do a real good job of keeping them at bay.
If you are keen on bird watching, and want to cut down on the expense, build a few birdhouses (cheap and easy to build) and watch the bird population grow year by year.
We had one house on a tree in our front yard (tree recently removed) that had returning sparrows that raised successive generations of sparrows. You were able to see the parents return with beaks packed with bugs and see the young taking their fledgling flights. There are just a few specifics you need to be aware of.
1.) hole size. The entry hole size is specific for certain bird species.
2.) Reinforce the area around the entry hole with wire mesh or metal plate. Everyone will want to move into an "open house", and if that means enlarging the hole you started with, so be it. Heck, even the squirrels with try to move in.

With proper care and cleaning (annually) they will last for years.
I've had some that lasted close to 10 years, and then they needed some basic repairs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p7tiUxhd7o


:D

:rotflmao: guys gotta be from Joisey. :hihi:

Too funny! I'm native Joisey and even though he has that Soprano kind of thing going, I think he's a New Englander. He gave it away when he said "start", it came out Staht. Followed by "Bahbeque" and pwocket for "pocket". He would fit right in at our annual reunion though.

Very Good Karl!.

all the reasons i don't feed the birds are in there and on here.. the cost, the mess, the tree rats, (squirrels and chipminks), the mice, the non stop noise, and god forbid they find any empty they wil really squack.....chit qall over everything.. knocked it off years ago... and even one die hard bird loving bird feeding friend stopped becasue he had a "realization"... these are "wild" birds..should they not feed themselves???

now, i got the idiot neighbor with elaborate multiple feeding stations.. and non stop air rifle action with him killing the tree rats...(wtf...but..the guy has no brain)...o.. i love dead squirrels all over the yard, and pellets whistling thru the trees over my head... but.. like Forrest said... "Stupid is, as Stupid does"....
and don't tell me to call the cops...they is useless...

Dead squirrels on the hood usually gets their attention. :af: After he plugs a few and finds them on his car he will be sure to get to them before you do. Is this the bad -ss next door? Can you get a couple on his motor block??:rotflmao:

too bad he did'nt go on about the mawths

:huh:I have been having a great time with the woodpeckers l

I have quite a few feeders & the weekly expense is my family food bill :eyes:

I have had problems in the past with squarrals . bid I,ve got that down .by having a couple of lever shut feeders & one with that looks like a wire ball & the feeders is in the middle .
my other success has been to set a couple up where the squarrals can,t fty to them & my ace in the whole was to put axsel grease on the pole the holds them ;; that was two years ago & after each resident squarrals tried a couple of times & got greased up they now don,t even try ;;

as far as the seed
suet is mostly $1.00 with 50lbs of sunflower seed at Ocean state job lot being arounf 22/23 ll
OSJL sells 20lbs bags of that small seed / mixed for over $20 .

But the Christman Tree shop>>>while it last ;;
suet .89 18lb of the small grainy mix >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 4.99 .. stock up ><>,

Best selection of suet I,ve found is Bass Pro shops ;;

My BITA is the sparrows , those suckers set a target on a feeder & hit it from sunrise to sunset .. enoughs / enoughs ..............
the cardnals, wrens, chickadees, finches, snow birds, can,t get near them ;;
the doves just walk around the ground getting the drops ;;

Enought of this >>>>>>>>> lets design traps & ways to destroy the f #$%^&*()_)( bLOOOOOOOOFISH population :nailem:

that's because millet is the main ingredient in those
cheap mixes....

Cardinals mainly want SAFFLOWER "the white ones"
which is absent from those mixes

so i don't /won't buy them ....plus the seed doesn't need shelling like sun-flower seed does...
so the sparrows just gobble it up

what was the price of suet at bass pro shops $1.99
each ? or similar ?

Christmas tree had them 3 squares for 2 bucks last time i looked

C/T was .89 ea last week & BPS is .99 ea.:love:

A red mesh onion bag full of raw beef suet found in the meat section at some markets kicks Butt! and it's cheaper usually.... and not so greasy to handle

My BITA is the sparrows , those suckers set a target on a feeder & hit it from sunrise to sunset .. enoughs / enoughs ..............


Ya, and the sparrows hit the sunflower seed feeders now where before they would just eat the cheaper mixes.

Then after pigging out they all gather in the bushes and fight like crazy from noon till one. :(

Here's some added food for thought....
If you buy the "songbird / wild bird mixes, you are getting a variety of seeds. Som of these are weed seeds, and since birds know what they want, they will target the best seeds first. What they will do is pick away the "junk" seeds to get at the desired ones. That is why feeders filled with "mixes" need filling more often. The sparrows are renowned for spilling the junk seeds to get at the sunflower seed.

Cracked corn will be eaten by most birds, but if left on the ground, the decaying corn will act as a pre-emergent weed killer, preventing most seeds (like grass) from germinating.
Sunflower seeds - the shells can pile up around a feeder and act like a mulch, preventing desired plants from growing properly.

I feed the birds with 3 primary food types.
Sunflower seeds - My feeders are squirrel proof, so they only get the spillage.
Thistle (niger) seeds - Small songbirds LOVE these, but the larger birds and squirrels don't.
Suet feeders - Mainlly for the woodpeckers, although the squirrels will hit them for the sunflower seed in the suet.

Pigeons are pretty much a rarety in our yard, and the few that stop by never stay long.

I stay away from the mixes they attract too many squirrels IMO. I just use sunflower seed.
Anywho if you have been feeding the birds make sure you keep them full this week as it is going to get real cold and wouldn't be fair to them to not have any food available as they probably depend on you now and would have a harder time finding new feeding areas during this snow covered cold spell.

I am down to sunflower and suet, a little mix for the scratch birds, but the thistle and safflower prices are just too expensive now.

Come out and play little birdy. Look who I just saw out here this afternoon. Looking for stupid birds eating a feeders. Kind of far away so pics. are not that good. Been here a lot lately.

What is that a grouse?

Red tail hawk - hungry? Oops there goes anther dove.

What happened to all the birds we used tohave around here?

Gee, that snow looks an awful lot like white feathers...!


I saw what had to have been a hawk, although it was smaller than the red-tailed hawks I have seen. I didn't get a good look at it, as it was chasing another bird across our yard. The reason I suspect a member of the hawk family was that it had to fly through lots of tree branches in pursuit of its quarry. The only birds that will fly kamakazi style through tree branches are birds of prey. (all others stop in the trees, seeking protection whereas birds of prey intend on flying right on through with victim in tow.)

I wouldn't mind a little visit now and then, to keep the regulars on their toes.

Come out and play little birdy. Look who I just saw out here this afternoon. Looking for stupid birds eating a feeders. Kind of far away so pics. are not that good. Been here a lot lately.

Nice get!

This was/ is working great ;;

I have been using this lobster pot as a bird feeder ;
I block the two entrances with kids / play balls >> just pushing them in ;;
The other nite I went to put food in it & I didn,t have any shoes on .kinda f $%^&*() cold .. so I removed the balls for access & than ran back in the house / neglecting to block the entrances ;;;

well ya see what happens . BUT I watched him for a while the M/ F#$%^&*() free dives ..he goes under the snow for a long period of time ... getting & eating the seeds that was put in there before the snaow <><><><>:gorez:

The other nite I went to put food in it & I didn,t have any shoes

Hmm, bare feet, somehow i always pictured you wearing $300 leather slippers with like Hugh Hefner silk bathrobes. :hihi: