Red Heads

These days I lead a calm life. I been there and done some things. I am a mostly happy guy.
Still, sometimes I see something that stops my heart.

I am on the porch playing Kitty Wells too loud and way off saw a ?
20 years back when I moved here had a Red-headed Wood Pecker guarding my porch. I had put suet in a cedar tree I had mounted on my deck. He believed that was his. Each Winter he returned until he did not. That was 15 years back.
They are in severe decline due to habitat loss.

Today as we near Summer, way out saw one near the top of a dead tree? That could not be. (My eyes are good). I got a quick photo to confirm.
Yes, I do have a good lens and sometimes can hold the camera steady if I am on my ass with beer.
I enlarged, and I was right. It aint a great photo, but anyone can ID from this.
Imagine, he/she might be here in "Summer"? for ???

I aint easily amused, but "Be still my heart" if he is not just passing by.
Yeah, things that amuse me these days are not what I would have paid any attention to at 30.

Attachment 7327

I have finally gotten mostly squirrel proof feeders all around the yard. I have a few that the squirrels can dig into a bit and they now concentrate on those. Oddly, the new feeders get emptied very quickly. One day last weekend my backyard looked like that movie THE BIRDS. I can't take good photos through the windows so I cannot send the pictures of all the different birds. Some days there are only a few types and other days it looks like 10 or 15 different types and maybe more. I changed the food to one with dried fruit and another that dried worms. I have a bag of black sunflower seeds and I am going to fill a few with jut that and see what it attracts. I am going through feed like crazy. If I keep the feeders full I use about 20 to 30 pounds a week and I don't keep them all full. If I did it would be more.

I was at a rock quarry yesterday and there were dozens of buzzards circling the whole time. I passed a fenced area on the way in and there must have been 25 to 30 just sitting on the fences.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Marty Gass

I have finally gotten mostly squirrel proof feeders all around the yard. I have a bag of black sunflower seeds and I am going to fill a few with jut that and see what it attracts. I am going through feed like crazy. If I keep the feeders full I use about 20 to 30 pounds a week and I don't keep them all full. If I did it would be more.

---

I have many feeders (call mine feeding stations).
I have zero squirrel proof ones. I have some, but they are now in the shed.

I never mix seeds in a feeder. I find that if so they will pick and toss to the ground what ever they are not eating that day to get to what they are.

My experience is Black Oil SFS is the best. Millet and other small seeds are not much in demand in Summer if they have choices.
Right now most in demand for me is peanuts, suet, and last shelled Sunflower seed. I also have out others like shelled BOSFS, millet, dried worms. Basically I keep all those out all year. In Winter the small seeds like millet are in big demand when migrants arrive.
I keep out water.

As to Black Oil SFS, I generally pick up about 200#s at a time from Tractor supply. I pick up 150# of millet every Fall from a feed store.

Birds eat way less at my feeders in Summer. I guess that makes the ones who do more welcome.

I made up a new batch of suet yesterday. I used 10# of corn meal, 4 pounds of lard, and 16# of Peanut Butter.
This is what they want all year, especially the song birds who are all insect eaters.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Marty Gass

I was at a rock quarry yesterday and there were dozens of buzzards circling the whole time. I passed a fenced area on the way in and there must have been 25 to 30 just sitting on the fences.

---

They do a great service. I see them daily.
Here is an old post to help all ID them:

http://yardcraphome.com/showthread.p...ll=1#post19854

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

I made up a new batch of suet yesterday. I used 10# of corn meal, 4 pounds of lard, and 16# of Peanut Butter.
This is what they want all year, especially the song birds who are all insect eaters.

---

Apparently my new batch of suet mix is a success. :applause::applause::applause::Know All
Here today are a Red-headed and a Red-bellied woodpecker.

Attachment 7358

Attachment 7359

Attachment 7360

I filled up 4 feeders with 2.5# of food each on Friday and most were empty by yesterday morning. The stuff that gets kicked to the ground is what the doves and chipmunks seem to like. I had not seen doves in my yard for a long time as the hawks love them. Now they are back. I keep the bird bath full of water and the little pond gets filled when it rains but I also add water. There is a slow little water fall at one end and occasionally some birds get a shower. I will put out all black sunflower seeds today and fill the feeders.