This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy was my first dog and he thought the garden was his, even though I did all the work. Now Suzie and Charley follow in his footsteps. We're located near Boston (USDA zone 6A). I have a community plot, a backyard vegetable garden, fruit trees, berry bushes, chickens, and bees. I use sustainable organic methods and do my best to grow all of my family's vegetables myself.
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
backyard birds
Not much variety in the winter, but very pretty birds. Maybe I'll see something special if I keep watching my feeders.
Those squirrels! They're all over my hanging feeder. I like to feed them from one feeder. They can't get to my feeder on a pole with a big dish sticking out below the feeder. My Mom keeps squirrels off her feeder by stringing several empty 1L soda bottles on the string holding the feeder. The squirrels can't climb over them.
such pretty photos! thank you for sharing... question- would you post a picture of what your bird feeder(s) look like if you have a chance? i'm having a hard time envisioning what you described but am super interested in your squirrel deterrent methods! also- have you had any issue with our "pests" taking advantage of the feeders? mice for example? as always- thanks for your posts... they are such a breathe of fresh air each time! christina
a piece of metal downspout over the post also keeps the squirrels from climbing. We hung about 2.5-3 foot section, so the top was about 4 feet off the ground. This week's Sunday paper showed a local-ish gardener's bird feeder setup wiht feeders that were inside a metal cage that was supposed to keep the squirrels and large birds out of the feeders.
I posted pictures of my feeders. I hope it gives you some ideas. No, I have never had trouble with mice on my feeders. I see many chipmunks under the feeders eating spilled seed. I imagine mice and voles do this too. They just don't go up on the feeders. I think they'd be hawk food up there.
A coworker of mine recommended mixing some cayenne powder with the bird seed. He said that while mammals are irritated by the spice and be deterred, birds lack the taste buds that would sense the heat and don't notice that it's in there. Last year that seemed to work for me, but this winter (we took the bird feeder down over the summer because it turned into a cat feeder...) the squirrels haven't seemed to mind.
7 comments:
Beautiful shots!! I love bird watching :)
We don't see many birds, but a squirrel destroyed our finch feeder.
Those squirrels! They're all over my hanging feeder. I like to feed them from one feeder. They can't get to my feeder on a pole with a big dish sticking out below the feeder. My Mom keeps squirrels off her feeder by stringing several empty 1L soda bottles on the string holding the feeder. The squirrels can't climb over them.
such pretty photos! thank you for sharing... question- would you post a picture of what your bird feeder(s) look like if you have a chance? i'm having a hard time envisioning what you described but am super interested in your squirrel deterrent methods! also- have you had any issue with our "pests" taking advantage of the feeders? mice for example? as always- thanks for your posts... they are such a breathe of fresh air each time!
christina
a piece of metal downspout over the post also keeps the squirrels from climbing. We hung about 2.5-3 foot section, so the top was about 4 feet off the ground. This week's Sunday paper showed a local-ish gardener's bird feeder setup wiht feeders that were inside a metal cage that was supposed to keep the squirrels and large birds out of the feeders.
I posted pictures of my feeders. I hope it gives you some ideas. No, I have never had trouble with mice on my feeders. I see many chipmunks under the feeders eating spilled seed. I imagine mice and voles do this too. They just don't go up on the feeders. I think they'd be hawk food up there.
A coworker of mine recommended mixing some cayenne powder with the bird seed. He said that while mammals are irritated by the spice and be deterred, birds lack the taste buds that would sense the heat and don't notice that it's in there. Last year that seemed to work for me, but this winter (we took the bird feeder down over the summer because it turned into a cat feeder...) the squirrels haven't seemed to mind.
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