Bird updates

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Recently I had to move the bird feeder back to its old place because the squirrels figured out how to jump on it. It is harder to see now because the window is over the kitchen sink, but the squirrels can't get on it. The birds don't mind though and the odd thing is that it seems that they like it more out in the open than where it was. That might have something to do with the fact that the feeder had been there for many years before I moved it and it had been moved for only a couple of months.

I also put out a suet feeder. For years I had put these feeders out from time to time but nothing ever ate from them and the suet would rot. Now, they've been through several blocks of the stuff. At first I had it hanging from a hanger in a dogwood tree just outside the kitchen window. However, first a raccoon somehow got to it and ran off with the first feeder, which I later found, and they the squirrels would get on it. They had a nasty habit of trying to lift the string off the hook to try to steal the feeder. Instead they would drop it to the ground where they would eat up the suet.

So I moved it over to an old fence post I have in the yard. Its a big thing, maybe 8 to 10 feet altogether, but about 2 feet of it is buried in the ground. It used to mount a solar powered, motion-activated light on it, but that thing had always been rather a disappointment. I took that off and put the feeder hanging from another light bracket still on the post, though the light hasn't worked in ages either. In addition, I had put flashing around the bottom of the pole 4 tiers high. That was put on because the squirrels use to climb the post to jump on the bird feeder which was nearby.

Unfortunately, they had figured out how to get up the post to the suet feeder. I added another band of flashing thinking they could jump over the first few that were up there. I later caught one in the act of simply jumping part way up and then climbing right up the flashing. Really annoying that. The simple solution was to put a coating of Vaseline on the top tier of the flashing. I was watching a while later when a squirrel came along, climbed up most of the way then was stymied by the new obstacle. He still made a go of it but fell right off the post. He sulked around for a good hour trying to find another way up but hasn't yet.

So far I have seen the Titmouse, Chickadee, Cardinals, the Gold and House Finches, Black Capper Catbird, Thrasher, Downey and Red Bellied Woodpeckers, and Blue Jays on it. Some other birds might have been on it too, but I'm not sure. Different birds liked different flavors. Most all liked the peanut blend, but the smaller birds loved the mealworm mix. The catbird really likes the Blueberry mix

Last week I saw a hummingbird amongst the roses. My old hummingbird feeder turned out to be rather dirty, so I bought a new one today, one that is easier to clean. It went up on the hook on the Dogwood branch. I've seen the hummingbird, a Ruby Throated kind, 4 times. No decent pictures of it though because it never stays long and doesn't sit still even when feeding. Its wings also seem to cause problems with the focus on the digital camera. One nice thing about the old 35mm cameras was that you could set it up and leve it ready to shoot all day it you needed to. Digital cameras have various shut down features which take time to recover from, which makes them of less value for such projects. Still, if they keep coming, I'll get a shot eventually.

Also, I think the flying squirrels are back. The other night I heard the flap on the bird feeder snapping shut. So I got my flashlight ready and got to the window shortly after I heard it close. All I saw was a little think on there with big eyes since it jumped once the light hit it. It was about the size and shape of the flying squirrels I got pictures of a few years ago. Don't think I have any of the pictures anymore though.

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