you should pop that suet outta the plastic tray because the softer
easier to eat side is on the bottom ....

and yeah that bird looks like it was born without it.:confused:

With all the rain and warm temps the other pump is no longer frozen.

Now that the rain is done the birds are back with a vengeance today.

Rav, i only leave one side open as it prevents the sparrows from ploishing it off in a day.
The good guys know how to hang on the open side and it will last a week or more.

i guess that's because
 

i don't have a single common Sparrow

i have several red finches
a couple of song sparrows
(with the white and black striped heads)
also known as fox sparrows
quite a few cardinals mostly female
a wolf pack of blue jays(man do they eat)
20 or so Juncos
two morning Doves
and a wild grey cat that wants to eat them

around fifteen wood Peckers-
Hairy, Downies and Red Bellies and Nut hatches

typically around 50 birds live on my deck
i have 1/2 round bark Quonset hut's shelters
taken from logs i burn as they peel and or fall off

the 4x4 cube of suet sits over an old bird house
with a slanted roof that catches the "droppings"
from the suet so the Juncos land there with GLEE

the house itself prolly an old bluebird design......
is stuffed with seed which when seed gets real low
entices only the most intelligent of the crew
to stick their head in the hole and feast away. :)

but my best idea is the thinly cut slab wood
screwed to the uprights attached to the railing
that gives the pecker heads a landing pad
where they line up for their turn at the suet.

the bark is what they love because its perfect traction!
one thin strip of bark (about 2 inches wide)
i have screwed to
the outside of the slider to the deck so i can
watch the smaller downies from just 16 inches away.

the Barn cat who's almost as fat as Garfield now
has a grand time watching the Action for hours on end.

A pack of Starlings invaded today. I don't usually get these. Very cool looking - winter plumage. After reading up on them, it sounds as though they are pretty common.

Common? a Starling
 

they are a non native species common to England,
but when an ornithologist here in the states accidentally
had four of them "he was studying" escape in 1954 they
multiplied .........and now ..........
Flocks blanket Texas so thick
they literally block out
all satellite transmissions.

Are there any equivalent websites like this one for birding that are focused on the Northeast? Anyone subscribe to a good birding magazine?

Searched Google (what else) for Birding in New England and came up with these reference sites, useful but not a bulletin-type board:

Common Birds of New England


Birding in Massachusetts

Chris, contact The Birdwatchers General Store in Orleans Ma., they will
have any publication you want. They have a web site too.

Rav, basically the same with the English sparrows we have. They used to be a ground bird eating the cheaper millet etc. but graduated to sunflower, niger and suet lately. They are worthless competing with all the good guys you have.
They are ugly, come in flocks, squawk, fight and eat you out of house and home.
:(

Oh BTW- spring is close behind :doh: we had a lost flock of Robins in the crabapple tree this AM. :)

the house sparrow was introduced here in the good ole USA via NYC and central park when 50 pairs were released in the 1800's. I hate them because they take the nesting spots from the native species.

along with robins

dA
 

ROBINS

EAT all of my worms.... i want to make robin kabobs. :grins:

~
wild bird's unlimited has a pretty good bird magazine in their stores
and the last months issue is there usually free....glossy photos

great place for seed that's better quality than walmart crap...

but agway usually has the best prices....

Good info guys - Thanks all for the responses. Here is a discussion forum that I signed up for. Looks promising.

BirdForum - The Net's Largest Birding Community, Dedicated To Wild Birds

Looks like the same engine as this site. About 90K members and the categories look well organized. There is even a state by state category.

First thing I'd do is get a copy of a good (i.e. classic) field guide like this one...get a used one, they already have mojo :)

Amazon.com: Peterson Field Guide(R) to Eastern Birds: Fourth Edition (Peterson Field Guides) (9780395266199): Roger Tory Peterson: Books

-spence

I have a copy of Peterson Eastern Birds with very little mojo, still looks brand new that I'd be willing to part with. I have several field guides which currently get very little use. I see that Amazon list new @$55. I'll part with mine for $40 (shipped) or $35 picked up/hand transferred.

Does anyone do life lists? When I last updated, I was at about 220 species. Use to watch birds much more when young (HS/college) than now but I do have feeders active and just checked: 8 different species at feeders in preparation for the storm.

use your imagination
 

you can have all the feeders you want but
you need to do some broadcast seeding also where you can.....

the birds respond to their environment too
so increase their FUN any way possible...

they like "sheltered spots" especially in this snowy weather

that's why i mentioned the Quonset huts made from pine bark.


for example:
just now after going out food shopping we noticed a sign
for FREE Christmas trees ....that did not sell b4 Christmas
and i grabbed two and tossed them into the back of my car

they are now out on the deck in my little Bird play ground
and instantly the birds Love hopping around under them.:buds:

Funny you say that Raven. Just took my xmas tree down and propped it up in the woods near the feeders. It's like a mini playground before they hit the feeders.

The guide I'm using now is Kaufman's Field Guide to Birds of North America - pretty decent. I'm always looking - I'm a sucker for guide books.

Audubon Field guides

Got the Audubon Birds and Rep/Amphib, too. I think the Peterson is better.

Cold is really bringing the birds to the feeders today. Saw my 1st Red-Bellied WP (female) since putting out the suet about a week ago. Funny name for a bird that has no red at all on the belly! More appropriate would be a Redneck WP?

Bad news: starlings are zeroing in!

I find they spook pretty easy with a bang on the window
or a little starling/blackbird chase. :D
Man can they eat suet. :(

Feeder's are already jamming today.

Made a log suet feeder for the woodpeckers and added it to the station. Now it is the wait game. Made it like this (Duncraft), but with poplar.

saw a bunch of bluebirds this morning around the boxes again. i have heard they will bundle together in boxes in the winter cold nites. That may have been the case. They should be south as I would if I had wings

Bluejays =Wolf Pack
 

if we buy a roasted chicken somewhere like say Bj's for five bucks

the black plastic tray goes out there with the left overs

and they devour it like Piranha :uhuh:

My parents have a small army of woodpeckers coming to their suet feeder. Dog keeps the squirrels away. :hihi:

We just got a birdfeeder down here where I am now (Southampton LI) about 2 weeks ago and the birds have found it.
Had a Cardinal pair out there yesterday and the usual hundred thousand chikadees that have found it.

tufted titmouse is my most abundant, and a lot of cardinals too. Really missing the few Carolina Wrens we usually always have but have been absent this year, although they were around a lot this summer as they woke me up often. Squirrels have been scarce the last few years must be the coyotes.

Got the wrens over here! Titties = chicks but all outnumbered by common house sparrows. Got 3 regular Cardinals, boy are they territorial.

I think you got a point there. Squirrels have been scarce my way too. Coyotes were so close last night they woke us up. We typically hear them when we are up, but they never have woken us up -Freaky

The real wackos are hunting them for food now? :rotf2:

Did anyone watch the Nature special on hummingbirds? Just finished on WGBH2, should show again. Great footage and several new learnings.

We've had lots of Wrens and Titmice here.The Downies have been absent around the suet feeders.

Haven't seen my Sharpie(hawk) yet this year.

The stupid Blue Heron is STILL hanging around!

suet
 

maybe the presentation isnt right..........
for the smaller downies as i have both kinds
the bigger Harries cuz they have a brownish tuft of hair
between the beak and their head
it acts as a shock absorber when they rat ta tat tat
on a tree drilling it for bugs

i find they want a long profile to land ,survey, and approach
as they are very cautious with much bobbing and weaving to
make sure nothing has changed since their last visit.

the wife's been buying suet at Job lot about 7 cakes per week
so that their is several options available.
they seem to have a pretty good selection there
and the Nutties (i callem) nuthatches
and the smaller downies like the peanut suet...

nuthatches are quite fond of the smaller spanish peanuts
and like Cardinals favor safflower seed which looks
like a hulled sunflower seed except they are white.

Today the birds were (almost) the food: visit by a sharp-shined hawk!

Right now at dusk about 20 mourning doves doing their best at cleaning up the ground.

Playing with my VadoHD camera spying on the birds. First attempt nice shot of some mourning doves. Weird, the birds seem to know they are being filmed!

Doves.flv video by PRBuzz - Photobucket

Cool Cam. Shame you couldn't get some cards in the shot. I'd tak a Junco. Friggin Doves - Always in the way :D

Doves were first. Got Cards, Junkos, and at end of day a Song Sparrow. Here's the song sparrow.

http://s772.photobucket.com/albums/y...gSparrow-1.flv

Nice. You mostly ground feeding?

I've got feeders but also spread mucho seed (premium mix: mullet, sunflower, and safflower plus thistle) on the ground.