BIRDS

[odanny]

we have cardinals all year round - & they are monogamous. i can't whistle very well, but can mimic a male cardinal pretty well & one specifically will follow me around the yard while we sing to each other. i have baffles on the poles for all my feeders that the squirrels can't crawl around, but once in a while i get an acrobat that gets on the clothesline & then my BB gun comes out. i throw enough seed on the ground for groundfeeding birds & the squirrels are welcome to it- but that is never enough for them. the greedy bastards.

You can practice your pitch by listening to this:

Cardinals are my favorite, by far, and I really like the color of the females, the red and grey are beautiful together.

Minnesota Bird Songs | Minnesota Conservation Volunteer

This interactive illustration will help users identify and listen to 24 birds common to Minnesota.

www.dnr.state.mn.us

 

[OldLady]

This afternoon when I went outside I was greeted by the sweet sound of the summer birds, a big flock of starlings chirping and singing away in the next door neighbor's giant elms.

 

[playtime]

nature's little fairies..........

 

[Natural Citizen]

nature's little fairies..........

That was really cool.

 

[playtime]

lol ...

 

[Maskin]

This afternoon when I ....

f

 

[OldLady]

You should tidy up.

 

[OldLady]

Is that ballistic gel in your pic? Can't figure out what those 3 things in the center are: lipstick, crayons?

 

[Devils_Advocate]

I love Squirrels and those Red Birds can share!

 

[Larsky]

The Baltimore Orioles have arrived in Illinois. From a friend's window:

 

[Devils_Advocate]

The Baltimore Orioles have arrived in Illinois. From a friend's window:
View attachment 487144

I had one land on my shoulder once and just kept on talking to me...

 

[the other mike]

Specifically, Cardinals.
We have a pair that pays us a daily visit. They love whole Peanuts and Sunflower seeds. Problem is, so do the Squirrels. Damn tree rats hoover them up as soon as we put them out.
Solution: White Safflower seed.
Cardinals love them, vermin does not.

Our baby cardinals last spring;

 

[playtime]

a couple pretty male birds that migrate here for the summer -

a red breasted grosbeak:

& a baltimore oriele:

 

[the other mike]

 

[the other mike]

 

[playtime]

 

[lg325]

His pretty but has been defecating on my truck window for two days

 

[petro]

The Baltimore Orioles have arrived in Illinois. From a friend's window:
View attachment 487144

I have my feeder out but haven't seen them yet north of Twin Cities. For two years they stayed all summer, but last year came through and moved on.
My Hummy birds are at the window feeder though.
This weekend had a Bald Eagle circling over head, then later a couple Red Tailed Hawks.

 

[petro]

View attachment 496293His pretty but has been defecating on my truck window for two days

I have a couple post boxes out back, and they are regular here in summer too.

 

[Blues Man]

We keep bird feeders out all year and hummingbird feeders out from April to Nov.

We get dozens of different birds visiting our gardens.

Chickadees, Cardinals, Sparrows, Gold finches, hummingbirds, Orioles, bluebirds, wrens woodpeckers.

The more the better as far as I'm concerned

TIP

If you want to keep bird feeders in a garden and don't want the seed that falls to the ground to sprout you can sterilize the seeds by toasting them in the oven at 325 for 20 minutes just use a cookie sheet and put a layer on some parchment paper or you can put a pound of seed in a double paper bag and microwave it on high for 5 minutes.