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Attracting birds
I was fortunate tonight to have a night alone at home with extra time on my hands. (that doesn't happen very often!) Spent the last couple of hours reading through old forum's and members profiles and learned so much. Doesn't matter how old you are or how long you've been around log homes, there is always something new to learn, or different ideas to try. But my hours of reading and looking at photos, left me needing some help.
Several of you have posted photos of pilated woodpeckers at feeders. I SO want one on my feeders!! I use several different styles of feeders and different feeds, also make my own suet cakes using a variety of recipes. I've seen them fly across the tops of the trees but they never stop for a snack. We have hundreds of downy woodpeckers and red bellied woodpeckers as regular visitors. Any tips to bring the pilated to my feeders?
Several of you have posted photos of pilated woodpeckers at feeders. I SO want one on my feeders!! I use several different styles of feeders and different feeds, also make my own suet cakes using a variety of recipes. I've seen them fly across the tops of the trees but they never stop for a snack. We have hundreds of downy woodpeckers and red bellied woodpeckers as regular visitors. Any tips to bring the pilated to my feeders?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Glenn V on -
I am not an expert on birds but have had several feeders to attract different kinds of birds for many years.
Pileated woodpeckers want a different suet feeder with a large tail support. You can see one here.
http://www.birdsforever.com/woodyfeeders.html
You can also use log feeders which would go well with a log home.
http://www.birdsforever.com/suetfeed.html
Right now I have quit a few hummingbirds visiting my back yard. They are fun to watch.
We love watching the birds and squirrels and put a lot of different food out year long. We spend a lot on food!!! I keep a bird book and binoculars close to where I sit.
There is a lot of information on the internet on them also. They may even like a log home.
Good luck.
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Permalink Reply by Marion Ferguson on -
We have a beautiful pair of Pileated in our woods surrounding our Log Home. This bird is very secretive and doesn't seem to like being watched if you are close. They seldom visit our suet feeders mostly because they are too big to rest on it. We have 6 feeders of various configurations at our feeding station. I built a wooden gazebo for the birds and it is visited by every wild animal you can imagine, including many different birds.
This past Spring we saw the Pileated pair twice, eating from a large tube feeder that has a cage around it to keep the squirrels and raccoons from tearing it apart. They hang on the cage and reach into the feeding holes for the seed.
We feed as little as possible of cracked corn or millet. Oil sunflower, striped sunflower, sunflower hearts, shelled corn, peanuts in and out of the shell, safflower, nyger thistle seed, various suet combinations. We have 20 to 30 birds at any one time. Some times there are so many they sit on the dowel rods I have inserted in holes on the support posts waiting impatiently for others to get their fill.
Bird feeding can be expensive but the entertainment is worth every penny of it. We buy seed about three times per season. Our seed source stores what we buy each time until we need it. I suppose we spend $1200 to $1500 per year on feeding the birds and the deer. How much do some folks pay to go to movies that are by and large, terrible?
Hope you get the chance to see many different birds. Learn to watch any time you get a few seconds.
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Permalink Reply by Jackie Pinkston on -
Marion first of all thanks for the correct spelling! spell check wasn't much help to me on that one! I'm in complete agreement, I consider the cost of bird seed as an essential. Even as much as we spend, it costs much less than 'therapy' ;o) Jackie
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Permalink Reply by Jackie Pinkston on
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Glen, thanks for your reply and also for the links. I esp like the log feeder. A perfect addition for log homes! Makes sense that they need extra length on the feeders for tail support, I hadn't even thought of that. I appreciate the help. Jackie
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Permalink Reply by Edward Davis on -
Glen, thanks for posting the links for the birdfeeders. I especially liked the log feeders (of course!). Since they're so easy to make, they'll be perfect gifts. Ed
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Permalink Reply by Jackie Pinkston on
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I still haven't attracted a pileated, but my log bird feeder stays full of every other bird! Wish a could get a decent picture when its covered with birds....but...not yet.
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Permalink Reply by Glenn V on
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We had 3 Flickers , downy and this was the first I had seen a red bellied woodpecker on the suet feeders this past weekend with 8 -10" of snow on the ground. We also had a large flock of Juncos feeding, really friendly birds I could walk up to a foot away inside the sliding glass door to them. They are fun to watch. Had also cardinals, and gold finches and some black capped chickadees and blue jays and had 9 morning doves all feeding along with the squirrels. It looked like a big party, there was more than 50 birds all feeding at one time. A red tailed hawk flew through the back yard and scattered the birds when I was watching once. Nice picture. Looks like a cardinal.
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Permalink Reply by Greg Fields on -
I am creating a multi-family bird house out of 3/4" dowels. The bird house will be a small copy of my Log Cabin. The hard part was to notch the dowel half way at the ends, so that the dowels stack well. I have noticed that other log cabin bird houses on the web that alternate long-short to avoid notching. To notch I used a chop saw to remove material, then a 1/2" rasp, then a 3/4" barrel sander for my drill. I am not done. but is looking great!!! The bird house will be placed on a 4' tall 4"x4" in a meadow/marsh. I am expecting that it will be used for nesting in the spring and likely bats in the summer/fall. Here is my home:
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