My neighbor Carol gave me her homemade suet recipe back in February, swore it was what attracted goldfinches and woodpeckers to her yard. I swapped out my usual store-bought suet for her mix of bacon grease and peanut butter. For four weeks straight, my feeder sat empty except for a single starling. I finally switched back to my old suet block last Tuesday and within two days the chickadees and a downy woodpecker came back. Has anyone else had homemade suet recipes totally flop on them like this?
Was reading this random Audubon article while my shift was slow and learned that blue jays will do a perfect red-shouldered hawk imitation to scare other birds away from the feeder. I've seen them clean out my sunflower seeds before but never put two and two together. Has anyone else actually heard them do this in their yard or am I just gullible?
Last week I woke up to find my tube feeder snapped clean off the hook, seed everywhere on the ground. I've tried bringing it in at dusk for 3 days straight but forgot one night and the same thing happened again. This is the third feeder I've lost in the last month, it's getting expensive. Anyone got a cheap trick to keep these critters off?
I always used dish soap to clean my tube feeder, figuring it was better than nothing. Then last spring I noticed less birds visiting, and a friend from the Audubon Society told me soap residue can actually harm birds and deter them from feeding. Now I just use a 1:9 bleach to water rinse and let it dry completely in the sun before refilling. Has anyone else made this mistake and found a better cleaning method?
I bought a squirrel-proof tube feeder that claimed it was easy to install. It took me three hours to figure out the twist-lock mechanism and get it hanging straight. Did I just get a dud, or did anyone else struggle way longer than expected?
I woke up to find the whole feeder on the ground and about 40 thistle seeds scattered across my deck, so I ended up patching it with some scrap wire from my shed but now the squirrels are just climbing the nearby tree and jumping straight onto the top, has anyone else had this kind of issue with those metal cable feeders?
Last summer my cousin came over for a barbecue and said my feeder setup was all wrong. Said the platform was too big and the seed mix was too cheap lol. She pointed out I was just feeding the pigeons and squirrels not the finches I wanted. So I swapped to a tube feeder with small perches and got that nyjer seed instead of the cheap mix from the dollar store. The finches showed up in like 3 days. Has anyone else had a relative roast their bird setup and turn out to be right?
My neighbor Bill kept saying I needed a water source cause the birds were probably thirsty in this heat. I figured they get enough from puddles and dew so I ignored him for like a month. Finally gave in and put a $10 shallow birdbath near my feeder. Next morning I had 4 robins splashing around and a mourning dove just sitting on the edge drinking. Turns out he was totally right. The little things I never even thought about. Now I'm wondering what else I'm missing out on. Has anyone else had a tip from someone that totally changed your backyard setup?
I bought this nice tube feeder with metal perches thinking it would keep the big birds away, but the squirrels chewed right through the plastic base in under a week. Just switched to a metal cage feeder for $30 and the finches finally came back. Has anyone else had luck with a certain feeder material that actually works?
She said the warmth makes birds preen wrong and lose waterproofing but every source I find says minus 20 is way worse for them who do I listen to here?
I was always a cheap plastic tube feeder guy for my sunflower seeds. But after one winter where a squirrel literally chewed through the bottom of two of them and spilled 20 bucks worth of seed, I caved and got a metal mesh one from the hardware store. Been 3 months now and that thing is solid, plus the finches seem to like clinging to the mesh more than the perches. Only downside is cleaning the mesh is a pain compared to just wiping down plastic. Anyone else made the switch and stuck with it or went back?
Last week was absolutely wild at my bird feeder in Portland. I counted 12 different species in one day, including a pair of grosbeaks I'd never seen before. But then the same week a squirrel figured out my baffle and emptied the whole tube feeder in about 4 hours. I was thrilled and frustrated at the same time! Do you think it's worth upgrading to a more expensive squirrel-proof feeder, or should I just accept that squirrels are part of the fun? I'm leaning toward a new baffle design, but curious what has worked for you all. Has anyone else had a week that was both amazing and awful like that?
For years I just threw sunflower seed straight onto the grass and watched the squirrels and doves clean up. Last month I finally got a metal tray feeder and a baffle after a raccoon literally climbed my fence at 1 AM and scared my dog. Has anyone else had a animal totally change how they feed birds?
I bought this little plastic tube feeder at the hardware store last month for $12 thinking it would be great for finches. First week it worked fine but then the perches got loose and seed started spilling everywhere. Then the squirrels figured out they could just chew through the plastic bottom. After three weeks the whole thing cracked when I tried to refill it. I ended up just tossing it and spending $35 on a metal mesh feeder from the feed store. That metal one has been through rain and squirrel attacks and still looks brand new. Anybody else had bad luck with those cheap plastic tube feeders?
I was tired of scrubbing algae out of my bird bath every 3 days in this Texas heat. So I finally tried one of those cheap overhead misters from Amazon for $12 attached to a tree branch. Now I see twice as many goldfinches and chickadees hitting it at once compared to the old bath setup. The water evaporates way faster so I refill every morning, but zero algae so far. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed more birds showing up?
Spent an extra $8 on the shell-free blend figuring less cleanup, more birds. Put it out three days ago. The cardinals and finches that normally swarm my feeder are gone. Only a couple of doves pick at the ground scraps. Tempted to dump the bag and go back to the basic seeds. Has anyone else had birds snub the fancy mixes?
So my neighbor Dave insisted that grape jelly would bring orioles to my yard here in Ohio. I thought he was messing with me because it sounded too simple. But I tried it anyway last weekend, put a little dish of it near my feeder. Sure enough, two male orioles showed up within three hours and kept coming back all afternoon. Has anyone else had this work or did I just get lucky?
I spent two years trying to get cardinals to come closer with a $30 app on my phone, but they'd always fly off when I hit play. Last week I started whistling a simple tune while filling my feeder, and now a male cardinal perches on the fence every morning waiting for me. Has anyone else had better luck with just their own voice over those high-tech gadgets?
The plastic turned cloudy and brittle after two heat waves in July and the whole thing split at the seam dripping sugar water all over my deck, anyone else had those fancy UV feeders fail that fast?
I bought this fancy feeder from a local shop in Portland back in March, one with those spring-loaded perches that are supposed to close when a squirrel hops on. Cost me 60 bucks, which felt steep but I was tired of refilling every two days. First week was great, squirrels looked confused. Then I came home last Tuesday and found the whole thing on the ground with the top popped off and all the seed scattered. Turns out the locking mechanism is plastic and one good tug from a determined squirrel snapped it clean. I'm back to using my old metal tube feeder with a baffle, cost me 15 bucks total and it's held up for two years now. Anybody had better luck with those weight-activated perches or is it all just marketing hype?
I spent 2 years using one of those little tube feeders for finches and got maybe 3 visitors a day. Then my neighbor loaned me his old tray feeder while he was on vacation and suddenly I had 15 sparrows, a dozen starlings, and a squirrel trying to do gymnastics on it. The noise is insane but I actually get to see the birds instead of just hearing them. Has anyone else had a crazy jump in activity after switching feeder styles?
I've just been keeping a simple list on my phone since January and I counted 40 different birds coming through my backyard in Portland. Never imagined I'd get that many, I thought maybe 20 tops. The one that surprised me most was a varied thrush, just showed up one morning after a storm. Anyone else keeping a running tally and hit a number that caught them off guard?
I see it all the time on people's social media posts and it drives me crazy. Last winter I had three finches hit a bay window before I moved the feeder 15 feet away. How many birds have to get concussed before we learn this?
For about 3 years I'd just rinse my tube feeders with dish soap and call it good. Then last spring I noticed some finches acting sluggish around my nyjer feeder. A lady at Wild Birds Unlimited in Decatur told me I needed to soak everything in a 9 to 1 bleach solution for 10 minutes every single month. I thought she was being extra until I actually tried it and the water came out BROWN the first time. Now I do that soak on the first Saturday of every month and my goldfinch numbers doubled. Has anyone else gotten sick birds from slacking on deep cleaning?