Tag: Bird Feeding
Bird Feeding Fatigue
I’m suffering from BFF. Not Best Friends Forever, but Bird Feeding Fatigue. Normally scrupulous about keeping my various birdfeeders well-stocked, for about eight weeks I didn’t put out so much as a single seed. After a long hiatus, on Wednesday I filled the feeders with fresh suet, safflower, and nyjer. Part of the reason is …
Will Work for Peanuts
This time of year I start putting peanuts out for the birds, both shelled and in the shell. Peanuts attract woodpeckers, nuthatches, and Bluejays. The Bluejays are the only ones that actually prefer peanuts in the shell. Peanuts also attract grackles, starlings, and house sparrows. These birds gorge so ferociously that the feeders seem to …
Return of the Prodigal Grosbeak
The beginning of May is when many migratory songbirds return to the Chicago area. And so, before leaving home for a business trip, I stocked the bird feeders with some of their favorite foods. Sure enough, when I returned today, there were Baltimore Orioles and Rose Breasted Grosbeaks making themselves at home in the back …
Cardinals in the Snow
A bright red Cardinal against a snowy backdrop is one of my favorite sights of winter. We had a few inches of snow (preceded by rain) last week, so Judy had an opportunity to take some pictures. The light wasn’t great, so they’re a little dark. Cardinals have been very plentiful in the garden this …
A Good Winter for Woodpeckers
Or at least, for watching woodpeckers in our back yard. We’ve been getting lots of downies, plus regular visits from some hairy and Red Bellied Woodpeckers. But the species I’m happiest to see is the Northern Flicker. That’s because we had a Northern Flicker show itself occasionally during the summer of 2010, but neither he …
LBJs Are Eating All The Bird Food
Not clones of the Texas-born President. Rather, the dull little birds that Judy calls LBJs, or Little Brown Jobbies. Lately I’ve been re-filling the peanut feeder almost every day, and the bulk of its contents are going down the gullets of LBJs. I’d say they’re eating most of the sunflower seeds as well. The real …
2012: The Year in Birds (Part II)
Since my head may be about to explode as a result of watching cable news and reading political blogs, this seems like a good time to work on the second installment of 2012: The Year in Birds. A summary of the year would not be complete without mentioning the wild parrots in my neighborhood, though …
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