Life on a family farm
in the wilds of
Upstate New York
Saturday, December 22, 2012
CBC
Tomorrow. For once I managed to put the map away where I could find it. Gotta charge camera batteries and pile up field guides. Anyone else have the dilemma of which is the best one to drag along? Suggestions as to your favorite? The boys often give me Amazon gift cards for birthdays and such, so I have a good selection. Of course I could take them all....but dang they are heavy. Weather is supposed to be pretty cruddy, windy, cold, not too sunny, but there are sheltered little hidden places we know how to find and that massive flock of snow geese has been seen this week all around the edges of the count circle.
Maybe we will luck out with a few of them or some of the winter finches that seem to be all over the place. Hope so anyhow.
I take Sibley, and my grandfather's 1947 Peterson with his signature in it for good karma. Ours was last Sunday, nothing very spectacular, but a snipe nearly gave me heart failure by flushing right out from under my feet in a small wetland patch in my count area. Have fun.
About three weeks ago I hung a new metal, chalet-style bird feeder. The chickadees found it immediately, of course, and several other species followed.
Then the resident flock of 15-20 house sparrows took it over, and all the others disappeared. I had read the article you linked about a halo for the feeder, so when I was in the Dollar Store, I grabbed an 8-pack of beaded necklaces. I hung one on each side of the feeder.
A few minutes later, the mob of sparrows came swooping in - and turned away about a foot from the feeder. It looked as though there were an invisible shield around it! The sparrows sat on the porch railing, looking up at the feeder, and occasionally making a run at it - and turned away every time.
Within a day, the chickadees had returned, so I'm hoping others will, too. Thanks for the tip!
Good luck tomorrow! I'll look forward to hearing about what you see.
Joated, we took Sibleys along and my brother used it and liked it. I believe he is going to get one for himself.
Linda, thanks, it was a lot of fun!
Caroline, oh, that is so sweet! I have my grandmother's old golden, although I keep it in the bookcase. We had a sort of hohum day. Lots of birds, but nothing wildly thrilling. Lol at the snipe.
NW, so glad it worked for you. I was astonished at how effective it was! No sparrows yet on mine at all and i only have three sets of beads on it. When I get to the dollar store I am going to get more beads and do my other feeders too. Haven't used them in years because of the sparrows.
5 comments:
Sibley's is the best guide out there IMO.
HAVE FUN!!! GOOD LUCK!!! wave, wave,
Linda
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I take Sibley, and my grandfather's 1947 Peterson with his signature in it for good karma.
Ours was last Sunday, nothing very spectacular, but a snipe nearly gave me heart failure by flushing right out from under my feet in a small wetland patch in my count area.
Have fun.
About three weeks ago I hung a new metal, chalet-style bird feeder. The chickadees found it immediately, of course, and several other species followed.
Then the resident flock of 15-20 house sparrows took it over, and all the others disappeared. I had read the article you linked about a halo for the feeder, so when I was in the Dollar Store, I grabbed an 8-pack of beaded necklaces. I hung one on each side of the feeder.
A few minutes later, the mob of sparrows came swooping in - and turned away about a foot from the feeder. It looked as though there were an invisible shield around it! The sparrows sat on the porch railing, looking up at the feeder, and occasionally making a run at it - and turned away every time.
Within a day, the chickadees had returned, so I'm hoping others will, too. Thanks for the tip!
Good luck tomorrow! I'll look forward to hearing about what you see.
Joated, we took Sibleys along and my brother used it and liked it. I believe he is going to get one for himself.
Linda, thanks, it was a lot of fun!
Caroline, oh, that is so sweet! I have my grandmother's old golden, although I keep it in the bookcase. We had a sort of hohum day. Lots of birds, but nothing wildly thrilling. Lol at the snipe.
NW, so glad it worked for you. I was astonished at how effective it was! No sparrows yet on mine at all and i only have three sets of beads on it. When I get to the dollar store I am going to get more beads and do my other feeders too. Haven't used them in years because of the sparrows.
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