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Jim Williams has been watching birds and writing about their antics since before "Gilligan's Island" went into reruns. Join him for his unique insights, his everyday adventures and an open conversation about the birds in your back yard and beyond.
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Posts about Bird feeding
A redpoll winter
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: December 28, 2012 - 9:04 PM
Common Redpolls, one of the northern finch species making major appearance in Minnesota this winter, are being seen throughout the metro area. They've been seen north of us since late fall, but not this far south in the numbers people have been reporting in the past two or three days. They arrived in our yard Monday, and continued to flock to our feeders Tuesday. We probably had two dozen redpolls on and off from dawn to late afternoon. They were eating black oil sunflower seeds, sunflower chips, and niger thistle seed. Keep an eye on your feeders. Redpolls are cool little birds, emphasis on little. They're a bit smaller than American Goldfinches. The redpoll below was perched on our deck railing, waiting its turn at our new feeder.
We've setup a new feeder on our deck, a three-tube squirrel-proof (so they say) rig we bought at Ace Hardware in Maple Plain. Once the animal is in eating position, the squirrel's weight slides feeder ports closed. Stout wire mesh hopefully will prevent gnawing damage. We've not had a squirrel-proof feeder before because, frankly, I didn't want to pay as much as they cost. This one, however, was $19.95, a price that would be very good without the squirrel feature. In fact, it was a ridiculously low price. We bought two, one as a gift. We bought 50 pounds of black oil seed while we were there, also for $19.95, the lowest price we've paid in years. So, we bought two of those as well, one as a gift.
Early birds
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: December 11, 2012 - 7:50 PMYesterday, cardinals appeared at our feeders at the exact time the sun set, making me wonder just how precise these birds can be, favoring twilight for afternoon feeding and hitting it perfect. Today the sun set at 4:32 p.m. The first cardinals arrived at 4:09. Precision isn't everything.
Water!
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: December 5, 2012 - 12:37 PMAs long as the temp offered some above-freezing respite each day, birds could find melt water to drink. Not so today, with colder weather. Consequently, the bird bath on our deck has been busy all morning. It's as well-used today as I've ever seen it. Six and seven birds at a time are coming to drink. Water is an issue for birds as much as for all else touched by the drought. If you have water for the birds, keep the container filled, keep the water fresh and clean. If you want more birds in your yard, water is a good idea. The photo shows a Red-bellied Woodpecker drinking about noon today. The water is in a pan held by the wooden frame. There is a heating coil embedded in the pan bottom. Ours it set on a patio table on our deck. The photo was taken through a patio door.
No special bird, just special place
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: November 3, 2012 - 9:06 PMWednesday I spent a couple of hours in a yard near Hudson, Wis., just across the river. An unidentified hummingbird had/has been coming to a feeder there. It's possible the bird was a stray from the west, possibly a Wisconsin first record for the species. Photos were wanted for study. I'm lousy when it comes to ID on female and juvenile hummers, which this bird probably was. That’s a science of its own. But, I do enjoy taking photos. So, I drove over, a simple 40-mile drive, simple considering the clotted traffic we have come to regard as normal.
I found a beautiful yard setup for birds, one of the best, maybe THE best I've seen. Many feeders of different types offering a variety of seeds, peanuts, and suet. Best and most important was the water feature -- a self-circulating stream of about 20 feet, with a five-foot drop, the water gurgling done the rocky streambed, flashing in the sun. The contours of the yard made this possible. It's not something all of us could do, although with a few yards of dirt dumped in the middle of our backyard I could give it a try. Unlikely.
There was a constant steam of birds coming to streamside. I was to watch the hummingbird feeder for what I was told were very short visits by the mystery bird. Hard to do, though, with the constant activity of the other birds as seen from the corner of my eye. There was a flock of Cedar Waxwings, two Tufted Titmice, a dozen robins, Purple and House finches, chickadees, nuthatches, three woodpecker species, Blue Jays, and a Mourning Dove. This was ample evidence of the impact water can have on bird attraction. Moving water is best, but any source of water is good, particularly in a dry season.
My hostess provided a very comfortable cushioned patio chair for me to sit in while keeping vigil. For the last hour of my visit I had the company of a pretty and charming fellow-birder. She also was looking for the hummer. We visited quietly in the afternoon sun, pillows behind our backs, birds everywhere, all the while doing something of substance, with a goal. You even could call it an important goal, first-state record on the line. I recommend birding, acknowledging that my lack of an honest job (retired) makes much of my inactive activity possible. Fishing comes close to birding if you want quiet contemplative pleasure. Bobber fishing only, though, no casting or trolling. Sitting and watching, I'm very good at that.
We never did see the hummingbird. It moved on, most likely, doomed to death very soon because it needs a constant source of food. Plus, it doesn't know where it is pertaining to where it should be at this time of year. If it did know it will/would not find enough food between here and there to survive the trip. It came here because of faulty wiring, so will be removed from the gene pool, a positive for its species. Bad wiring should not be passed along to following generations.
The titmice were interesting. Here they were, two miles from Minnesota, a place where they are rarely reported. Perhaps there are feeders east of St. Paul graced with these charming birds but not mentioned in birding-circle communications. Whatever, I wish titmice would spread widely at least in the metro area, as far west as our yard. They’re a treat to see. Here is my non-hummer photo of the day -- a titmouse.
And the drive home, west on 94 and 394 around 5 p.m.? My sympathy to all who do it daily.
Sunflower seeds -- the real thing
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: October 24, 2012 - 11:31 AMWhile in North Dakota last week I scavenged a half dozen sunflower heads, complete with seeds, from a harvested field. These were heads missed by the picker. I wish I had taken more. The finches at our feeders choose the heads first, at least this morning. We saw thousands of acres of sunflowers, about half harvested, in western North and South Dakota and eastern Montana. North Dakota had more by far. There were no birds to be seen in the unpicked fields, although flocks of thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds were seen in many places. Blackbirds are said by some growers to take up to 10 percent of black oil seeds before harvest. Horned Larks and unidentified sparrows were foraging in the debris of harvested fields.
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recent posts
- Our Christmas star
- Adding insult to injury
- Eagle attacks child -- not!
- A redpoll winter
- On becoming a better birder
- Bird Watcher's Bible -- a complete treasure
- Pelicans on the Gulf
- Early birds
- Birds look better in snow
- Water!
- Nesting habits, neat and messy
- Greenland's melting ice
- Finally, Bohemian Waxwings
- Pelicans arriving at Gulf
- Grosbeaks and redpolls
- Tufted Titmouse and winter finches
- Watch the wind
- Winter birds
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