Post #171,077
8/26/04 3:23:08 PM
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Re: They are just strategizing...
Maybe so, but they're awfully polite.
The doves and pigeons line up on my roof and the overhead wires and wait patiently for me to fill the feeder. :) And the cardinals and sparrows wait on the fence. Only rude ones are the grackles. ;)
I like all birdies, wouldn't ever shoot any.
Nightowl >8#
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
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Post #171,170
8/27/04 12:12:09 AM
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Do you also have a bird bath?
I have a full service bird stop myself. Birdbath, bird feeder, and hummingbird feeder. The birdbath needs to be brushed out and refilled every other day or so. It is used by all kinds of birds including some larger ones like mourning doves and robins. The bird feeder is of the type that closes if a large bird gets on it. Really that was to keep the fucking [link|http://web.birdbarrier.com/BirdBarrier/Site%20Pages/Grackle_id.htm|grackles] away. They used to empty a bird feeder in a day. The visitors are mostly cardinals, house finches, chickadees, and titmice. Squirrels and chipmunks pick at the droppings.
Alex
"If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words." -- Philip K. Dick, US science fiction writer
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Post #171,172
8/27/04 12:20:03 AM
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No, I don't have one
But on really hot days I put a shallow pan of cool water out there and they go crazy taking baths in it.
I have a huge feeder and the grackles can't clear it in a day, but they can with help from everyone else. :) I like the grackles, I just wish they would play nicer with the sparrows.
However, the sparrows learned a trick, I love it. They wait till there are several grackles on the feeder at once, and then 5 or 6 of them swarm at the feeder all at the same time, it startles the grackles, they mostly lose their grip and fly off, and the sparrows eat till the grackles regroup. ;)
Nightowl >8#
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
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Post #171,173
8/27/04 12:23:45 AM
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Re: Do you also have a bird bath?
Hummingbirds are extremely annoying once the novelty of a bird the size of your finger wears off. They are gluttons and fight each other constantly. When they aren't swilling food (rare) they sit and wait for their co-hummers to appear, then run them off. They buzz the cats and even me on occasion. I took a half-hearted swipe at one with a flyswatter.
Of all birds I like the sparrows and the chickadees the best. The sparrows have good manners and the chickadees are extremely cute.
Cardinals make an enormous mess, and are too uppity to eat bird food off the deck. The sparrows clean up after them.
-drl
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Post #171,175
8/27/04 12:37:44 AM
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Re: Hummingbirds.
I know what you mean about the territorial fights by the feeder. The silly feeder has four perches by the pseudo flowers. I have never seen more than one bird on the feeder. Not even a male/female pair. Big contrast with cardinals where you will see a male/female pair on the feeder and indeed the male passing a sunflower seed to the female.
Our hummingbird feeder is about a foot from the kitchen window and they will occasionally hover and peer into the window. That's cute.
Alex
"If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words." -- Philip K. Dick, US science fiction writer
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Post #171,178
8/27/04 12:46:29 AM
8/27/04 12:47:11 AM
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Re: Hummingbirds.
John can't stand hummingbirds, and has never told me why. Maybe they attacked him or scared him as a child? Who knows.
My cardinals seem to be less picky. They love to eat seeds off my patio and off the ground below the feeder. I can't put them on the patio for awhile, hmmmm unless, what if I put them in the shallow tray, and put them there, think they would eat them?
Then I could clean up the mess easier, and Health Dept wouldn't come complain.
Nightowl >8#
Edit: Oh, and DeSitter, my absolute faves are the Black-Capped Chickadees. They are so cute and so fast!
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
Edited by Nightowl
Aug. 27, 2004, 12:47:11 AM EDT
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Post #171,269
8/27/04 1:28:00 PM
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Re: Cardinals
The cardinals here eat right out of the feeder...I don't know what's wrong with yours (mebbe its the St. Louis water?)
But of course our cardinals would have better manners... they're [image|http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/mlb/images/team_logos/50x50/chc.gif||Cubs||] fans!
;-\ufffd
jb4
shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #171,276
8/27/04 1:41:53 PM
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Re: Cardinals (new thread)
Created as new thread #171275 titled [link|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=171275|Re: Cardinals]
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
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Post #171,179
8/27/04 12:48:12 AM
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Re: Hummingbirds.
The cardinals do show specie-al spirit. I saw six (!) on the porch the other day, happily taking turns knocking all the seed out of the big feeder. They land like a 747 on a bike path and take off at full throttle. The deck under the feeder is constantly covered with seeds. Their cousins the purple finches are not quite as clumsy, and are even more bound to each other.
The sparrows are very tame, unafraid of people or cats. The cats in turn seem to take no interest at all in them, even though the sparrows never show any stealth or wariness.
-drl
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Post #171,180
8/27/04 12:51:53 AM
8/27/04 7:12:14 PM
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It's all Bats, Currawongs and Magpies 'round my place.
Despite living in a street almost completely full of units/flats/apartments, there's a thriving population of flying things around, helped no doubt by a seldom-broken canopy of trees lining the footpaths, and no overhead wiring. Also, one positive about living in a street full of flats is there almost complete lack of cats/dogs wandering the neighbourhood - probably another reason for the flourishing birdlife.
My parents' place in the outer suburbs is close to the bush and has a great selection of birds. They have a bird feeder and a birdbath, though it would be more accurate to call it a bird/ [link|http://www.alkirna.com.au/images/brush-tailed%20possum.jpg|possum]/[link|http://www.geocities.com/liveattentively/antechinus.jpg|antechinus]/cat feeder.
They receive regular visits from [link|http://www.birds-nest.com/birds/cockatoo.gif|Sulphur-crested Cockatoos], [link|http://teachingtreasures.com.au/Photo%20Gallery/magpie.htm|Magpies], [link|http://www.geocities.com/liveattentively/currawong.jpg|Currawongs], [link|http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~don/images/Birds/Butcher%20Bird1,%20large.jpg|Butcher Birds], [link|http://www.micktravels.com/australia/great_barrier_reef/120-kookaburra.jpg|Kookaburras], and [link|http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/img/lorikeet.jpg|Rainbow Lorikeets]. The Lorikeets are the coolest as they're more than happy to sit and eat out of your hand.
Uninteresting fact: I've only ever seen 1 Cockatoo that didn't hold its food in its left foot whilst eating.
Edit: Linked to some pictures, fixed some typos.
Two out of three people wonder where the other one is.
Edited by Meerkat
Aug. 27, 2004, 07:12:14 PM EDT
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Post #171,403
8/27/04 7:17:10 PM
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Colorful birds!
Thanks for the pictures!
I also have a stuffed Butcher Bird, a Stuffed Sulfur Crested Cockatoo, 2 stuffed Lorikeets and 2 stuffed Kookaburras!
Hmmm need a stuffed magpie and a stuffed Currawong!
Nightowl >8#
"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop." -- Robert Hughes, Australian Art Critic, Writer
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Post #171,219
8/27/04 11:12:05 AM
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Hummingbirds hate mornings
Hummingbirds do not sleep. They hibernate.
Coming out of sleep is a dangerous proposition for them. If they did not store enough energy the day before, they can't bring their body temperature back up and they will die. And I'm very literal with that "the day before". They can't afford to carry around excess energy.
One day with insufficient food is enough to starve a hummingbird to death!
Cheers,
Ben
To deny the indirect purchaser, who in this case is the ultimate purchaser, the right to seek relief from unlawful conduct, would essentially remove the word consumer from the Consumer Protection Act
- [link|http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=1246&Page=1&pagePos=20|Nebraska Supreme Court]
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