Backyard bird watching

[JohnnyD]

There have been no fewer than 20-25 sparrows on the feeder right outside my window every morning for hours and then throughout the day. So many of them, no other birds show up any more... damn things.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

There have been no fewer than 20-25 sparrows on the feeder right outside my window every morning for hours and then throughout the day. So many of them, no other birds show up any more... damn things.

http://www.sparrowtraps.net/?gclid=COmg_92szKoCFcnc4AodWVZw1g

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Raven

http://www.sparrowtraps.net/?gclid=COmg_92szKoCFcnc4AodWVZw1g

Alright now that looks pretty damn cool. Not sure if it's worth the $55 to me though.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

Alright now that looks pretty damn cool. Not sure if it's worth the $55 to me though.

if ya have some materials you could make one

[Raven]

it has allot to do with the plants on your property
and whats adjacent to you....

we have crown sparrows ,fox sparrows, chipping ect

but no english ,suits me fine because they are always rioting

[FishermanTim]

If you want to get rid of the sparrows, stop feeding them.
I rarely feed the birds during the summer because I want them to forage for their natural diet.
That also goes for other birds. Sure, eveyone enjoys the cardinals, bluejays, orioles, chickadees, titmouses, nuthatches, mourning doves and various woodpeckers. But I would like them to teach their young how to forage as if I weren't providing food, so that they can fend for themselves when the winter approaches.

I will feed during the winter, but as a supplimental food source, and not their ONLY food source.

Sure, having lots of sparrows around can be daunting, but if they were to feed on their normal diet, it would be small insects like mosquitos, so I encourage them in my back yard.
I will say that if they were actually a nuisance for me, I might think differently, but since I don't see them as a problem they are OK in my book.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Raven

http://www.sparrowtraps.net/?gclid=COmg_92szKoCFcnc4AodWVZw1g

I hate killing anything anymore. How far do you need to take them
so they won't come back?

[Raven]

China

[justplugit]

LOL Rav,thats what i figured.

Those English Sparrows would find someway to get backfor the noontime fights in the forsythia bushes.

[Raven]

has long branches with growth just at the ends

in the backyard...
anyways the cooper hawk comes gliding- swooping
through the branches every so often

then all ya see is a single small feather
floating ever so slowly to the ground.

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

There have been no fewer than 20-25 sparrows on the feeder right outside my window every morning for hours and then throughout the day. So many of them, no other birds show up any more... damn things.

Same here! The parents are teaching all the young ones how to raid feeders rather than really have to search for wild food sources. They empty my thistle tube feeder in 2 days and fight off the gold finches, chikadees, etc.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by PRBuzz

Same here! The parents are teaching all the young ones how to raid feeders rather than really have to search for wild food sources. They empty my thistle tube feeder in 2 days and fight off the gold finches, chikadees, etc.

I used to have a pair of goldfinches that were here all through winter and still coming back in the spring. Since this madness with the finches started, I haven't seen them back since and don't get any chickadees either.

Pretty much down to a couple titmice and nuthatches.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

don't get any chickadees either.

Pretty much down to a couple titmice and nuthatches.

i was looking out the window..........

then it hit me.... J-D

are you feeding your birds straight
black oil sunflower seed?

because that could make a HUGE difference.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Raven

i was looking out the window..........

then it hit me.... J-D

are you feeding your birds straight
black oil sunflower seed?

because that could make a HUGE difference.

I've been testing different seeds, one time at a time - black oil sunflower, hulled sunflower, safflower, crushed peanuts - and some mixtures of the above with dried fruit and other goodies in it. Same result with most of them. Also, nothing I use has millet or cracked corn which I heard is like a magnet for HOSP.

The little bastards also plow through my suet, so I stopped putting that out.

[Raven]

yeah............. them and the starlings
go ravenous on that sh1t like piranha