Who feeds the birds in winter?

Humppa

Humppa

Joined
Jul 25, 2010
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Hi guys & gals!

Here in Germany it´s a tradition almost for some decades/centuries to feed birds during the winter months. How is that in other parts of the world?

We use birdfeeders which are built like little houses to put in seed (sunflower, hemp, Rolled oats, etc etc) and fatfood to safe the local songbirds in during winter. It´s great watching them all around this little house.

I´d like to see some pics of these little houses, when you use them.

And I´d like a discussion about the pros and cons of feeding birds during winter.

(I hope the whole thread is not completelly OT, if it is - move it to the correct section or delete it.)

Here´s my little feeder :)

IMG_2280.jpg
 
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I have feeders out all year round,and wool for nest material,plus two bird nest boxes,
 
I picked up a cooler of soybeans from a spill. I guess birds and squirrels dont like soybeans very well.I havent noticed anything munching on them.
 
My father usually feeds the birds all winter long. I made a few bird houses, and want to get back into it. A natural knot hole on a board, just your basic birdhouse. When I worked at Walmart, I was the pet dept manager, and we sold a ton of bird seed/suet in the winter, and all manner of houses. From elaborate to your basic scrap wood project that I was making for my godfather. My favorite birdhouse is a huge, almost 5ft long and 2ft high house, about a mile down the road from my hosue. It is on a high post, and looks like a hotel. I don't know how many species live in that hotel. There is a three mile loop in my neighborhood, and this birdhouse is on the opposite side of the loop from me. I used to walk all over when I was a kid, and would watch the birds coming in and out of this bird house on my walks. It has been maintained, repainted etc, over the years.
 
I try to if I can get the f%&$kin squirrels to leave them some food. I cant even feed our feral cats outside without the squirrels hogging it.--KV
 
We do. We keep a feeder out and re-fill it regularly. In fact, i'm needing to add a larger feeder to accommodate the the larger birds we get here (Stellar and Scrub Jays).
 
We do also. It gives our 3 cats something to watch out the living room window. OK, I like watching the birds too.
Must be getting old. :)
 
I would like to place bird feeders but do not for all the vermin that comes around; the nasty destructive squirrels and nuisance bears.
 
My wife has 3 feeders in our back yard. We feed year round, but the the quantities of feed go up a bunch in the winter. And yes, the squirrels hit it up often but I like to watch them also..
 
My Dad used to feed the birds in the winter. He liked cardinals, especially, and he hated sparrows and of course starlings. And obviously squirrels.
I started using a plastic tube feeder that takes only thistle seed and accommodates only birds that can eat hanging upside-down: finches, chickadees, nuthatches, titmouses. Other people have to take care of the cardinals.

I've seen a few sparrows try to hold themselves up with one wing while reaching down for the seed, and I've got at least one that's learned to loosen its grip on the perch, grab a seed, and beat its wings till it's upright again. They mostly don't bother though- probably using more energy than they're getting.

I feed the little guys year-round, and demand actually slackens over winter. A lot of them must migrate.

The only good squirrel is a fried squirrel, by the way.

Chickadee on upper left perch:
mUC9FKFM
 
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I never thought about a bear eating bird seed. Makes sense though... A guy could go through a lot of bird houses that way.
 
I feed year round. I use Black oil sunflower seeds in the summer,some nyger. These two seeds attract the most birds and discourage the house sparrows. The BOSS make a mess,but the nyger disappears. My favourite year round feeder is a metal nut feeder. The squirrels cannot get into it,they will knock it down and pry the lid off,but that only gets the top part that their little squirrelly arms can reach. It also leaves no mess.
 
Bears LOVE seeds and can be a big problem .There is a video somewhere on youtube that shows a fellow wanting to feed the birds in bear country. He ran a steel cable between two trees and suspended a feeder from the cable .He soon saw and filmed a bear going hand over hand on the cable to get the birdseed !!
I don't feed the creatures but try to have things growing that they eat .Rose hips may be eaten in February when food is very scarce so be patient.
 
About the squirrels ... the squirrels in Germany (and whole Europe are smaller than the ones in the US), so they don´t bother me. They can take what they want... I´ve realized that the american version of them is more grey in color. The european ones are brown just look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_squirrel

We don´t have any bears here...

But what bothers me a little - I live near a stream and inside a town, so rats or mice can become a problem. This animals I don´t want to feed at all, really not. I´ll see what will come up... ;)
 
We keep a couple of feeders going all year, but especially in the winter. Squirrels can be a problem, especially for the suet containers. They love the stuff and will hang on taking handfuls of it until you scare them off. I don't bother scaring them off anymore. A .22 standard velocity short out of a 20 inch barrel Marlin from a few feet back from an open window makes no more noise than an air rifle, and my better half is blissfully unaware why we have Brunswick stew once a week in the fall and winter. But the birds get fed.
 
That's why it is nice to not have any mess below the feeder,it doesn't attract stuff then.
 
jackknife said:
A .22 standard velocity short out of a 20 inch barrel Marlin from a few feet back from an open window makes no more noise than an air rifle, and my better half is blissfully unaware why we have Brunswick stew once a week in the fall and winter.
Click to expand...

Benjamin Sheridan, Crosman and Beeman have been keeping the rodent population down in north western Harford county for about the past ten years (and that includes some of the feathered variety). Before that, it was Daisy when I was a kid. Andi, I'm guessing an air rifle would be okay where you are? I've heard of some denizens of Baltimore keeping the cat sized rodents (not cats, but RATS that big) under control in B-more with some air rifles...

Still like the songbirds. My little brother has two cockatiels, and he sits them on the deck to get some sun or did during the summer and early fall, in their cage. Even with the patio doors open, they could hear the birds outside. They've got the different bird calls down to a t, pretty good for young ones, and can mimic most birds (they were terrified when they heard a hawk for the first time). In addition to whistling, that's all they can do at the moment. Oh yeah, they love R2D2 from Star Wars, I almost choked on my drink when I was watching Empire Strikes Back while laid up, and they went nuts everytime R2D2 made a sound.
 
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