Spring Birds
- Thread starter jroovers
- Start date
jroovers
New member
Kidneys are indeed good, you may want to hold onto those! 
Nina, we do have orioles up here, most reports indicate they started showing up about a week ago. My place backs onto a small forest, so I'm hopeful I'll see some (haven't seen any yet). I have some oranges out on the back deck to hopefully entice them to visit should they come through.
Nina, we do have orioles up here, most reports indicate they started showing up about a week ago. My place backs onto a small forest, so I'm hopeful I'll see some (haven't seen any yet). I have some oranges out on the back deck to hopefully entice them to visit should they come through.
orioles are very shy at first. we would see them in the tree tops for 2 or 3 years before they finally ventured into the yard. i used one of those oriole nectar feeders that is bright orange. that finally brought them in but then i switched right to grape jelly. they have been coming here for years now and i buy grape jelly by the case.
jroovers
New member
orioles are very shy at first. we would see them in the tree tops for 2 or 3 years before they finally ventured into the yard. i used one of those oriole nectar feeders that is bright orange. that finally brought them in but then i switched right to grape jelly. they have been coming here for years now and i buy grape jelly by the case.
Ok that is good to know. I'll have to be patient! I haven't seen or heard any, nor seen any signs of nibbling at the oranges I've put out. I've got hummingbird feeders out too, the hummingbirds are coming to those, and I've heard the orioles may try as well. If I see or hear signs of any activity, I'll probably put out some jelly too, but at the moment I'm leery of putting out too much more, and potentially attracting ants (I already have suet, hummingbird, mixed seed, and nyger feeders out lol).
i never had any luck with oranges. i don't recall ever seeing any birds go to them the few times i put them out. there are several other songbirds who will eat grape jelly...mockingbirds, catbirds, i have even seen hummingbirds sample it. and alas, my dozen or so red headed woodpeckers have discovered it so it doesn't last long and when the jelly feeders are empty, the orioles sit on top of the shepards rods and stare into my windows. LOL
as for ants, at least on your hummingbird feeders, put a gob of vaseline where the hanger meets the top of the feeder. ants won't cross the vaseline. if you have a problem with bees bothering your hummingbird feeders, spray all around and over the feeding ports with olive oil flavored vegetable spray. don't ask me why it works but it does and it doesn't faze the hummingbirds in the least!
the only seed i put is is black oil sunflower seed. i never use any of the mixed feeds or suet cakes (other than one made especially for woodpeckers) because i have bluebirds nesting in my back yard nest box and i do whatever i can to discourage house sparrows.
as for ants, at least on your hummingbird feeders, put a gob of vaseline where the hanger meets the top of the feeder. ants won't cross the vaseline. if you have a problem with bees bothering your hummingbird feeders, spray all around and over the feeding ports with olive oil flavored vegetable spray. don't ask me why it works but it does and it doesn't faze the hummingbirds in the least!
the only seed i put is is black oil sunflower seed. i never use any of the mixed feeds or suet cakes (other than one made especially for woodpeckers) because i have bluebirds nesting in my back yard nest box and i do whatever i can to discourage house sparrows.
jroovers
New member
I will try the jelly for sure. I had an oriole yesterday land in a tree in my yard, it stayed only for about 20 seconds, and then was gone. First one I've seen. Didn't know that catbirds would come to jelly, I've had one singing like crazy out back for a few days now. I haven't had any issues with ants on my hummingbird feeders, I've had a pair coming consistently now for a couple weeks to the main feeder I have out back. I agree the black oil sunflower is the best. I also have nyger out as I have plently of pine siskins and finches, which are nice. I do like having some millet in my food though as I don't get house sparrows, but do get American tree, white throated, and fox sparrow.
jroovers
New member
That is ridiculous! :spin2:
...and I thought I had some battles going on at my feeders at times...
I'm surprised that you have so many feeders together. I try and space mine out. Normally I find that one or two birds defend a feeder, and chase others off. Never would I have thought that a swarm like that could happen. I'm going to rethink my hummingbird feeding strategy as well!
...and I thought I had some battles going on at my feeders at times...
I'm surprised that you have so many feeders together. I try and space mine out. Normally I find that one or two birds defend a feeder, and chase others off. Never would I have thought that a swarm like that could happen. I'm going to rethink my hummingbird feeding strategy as well!
LOL, it's like this from mid-summer until they migrate in the fall. i go through a gallon of nectar a day.
the closer you group the feeders, the more birds you'll see. while there are always a few who will defend each feeder, they all still get to drink. i used to have a feeder that hung right outside my back door. i had to move it because too often, a hummingbird would zoom into the house when i opened the door.
here's a video of what happens when i take all of the feeders down to clean/refill them. turn up your speakers.
they're fearless little things!!
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/nina4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/nina4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo nina4.jpg"/></a>
the closer you group the feeders, the more birds you'll see. while there are always a few who will defend each feeder, they all still get to drink. i used to have a feeder that hung right outside my back door. i had to move it because too often, a hummingbird would zoom into the house when i opened the door.
here's a video of what happens when i take all of the feeders down to clean/refill them. turn up your speakers.
they're fearless little things!!
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/nina4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/nina4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo nina4.jpg"/></a>
i'm not sure if they're angry or just frantic that their food source has disappeared. i used to plant flowers to attract them but i found they would go to the nectar feeders and ignore the flowers so i quit!
my son was sitting on the deck railing once, almost fell off because he was ducking away from the hummingbirds. another time, one of my great danes was napping in the sun, wearing a red collar. she had hummingbirds buzzing her neck.
i do get a break from them around the first part of july. they all but disappear for about a week when the trumpet vines bloom out in the woods. once they've exhausted them, they come back in full force. believe me, by the time they are ready to migrate, i'm almost glad to see them leave!
my son was sitting on the deck railing once, almost fell off because he was ducking away from the hummingbirds. another time, one of my great danes was napping in the sun, wearing a red collar. she had hummingbirds buzzing her neck.
i do get a break from them around the first part of july. they all but disappear for about a week when the trumpet vines bloom out in the woods. once they've exhausted them, they come back in full force. believe me, by the time they are ready to migrate, i'm almost glad to see them leave!
jroovers
New member
That is crazy! I would definitely like to see more hummingbirds, but that is almost too many lol. I've always found that I've had the most hummingbirds actually sticking around from mid to later summer through fall (mid-July to the beginning of October). In the spring I've always had hummers that seem to stay for a few days, then move on, presumably continuing their migration north.
tell me about it! on the days i take them all down and soak them in bleach water, it takes me at least an hour to clean/refill all of them. takes me about 30 minutes 2 times a day just to fill them when i'm not bleaching them.
it's fascinating to watch them "claim" a feeder. they NEVER sit still, they are constantly on guard, chasing away the competition. i'm sure many of them require therapy over the winter for their aggression. LOL
those videos were from a year or two ago. so far this spring, i am only seeing a couple of male scouts. the rest will soon follow. let the games begin!
also, i mix nectar 3:1 (3 sugar/1 water) during the first few weeks they are here and the last couple of weeks before they migrate in the fall. it gets them an extra energy boost.
it's fascinating to watch them "claim" a feeder. they NEVER sit still, they are constantly on guard, chasing away the competition. i'm sure many of them require therapy over the winter for their aggression. LOL
those videos were from a year or two ago. so far this spring, i am only seeing a couple of male scouts. the rest will soon follow. let the games begin!
also, i mix nectar 3:1 (3 sugar/1 water) during the first few weeks they are here and the last couple of weeks before they migrate in the fall. it gets them an extra energy boost.
jroovers
New member
I have three feeders up right now, and have a couple of different hummingbirds coming to them, but nothing in swarms or droves. Maybe sometime soon though as we move into July. I've also put up and oriole feeder, and have seen a couple more orioles, but no feeder action.
My current excitement is a family of screech owls in our backyard trees nightly for about a week. There are two parents,and four fledglings. Noisy but cute little things. The adults start their trilling as dusk approaches. Difficult to get quality pics as they come out of their perches to begin hunting right at dusk, but entertaining to hear them and see the silhouettes of their parents swooping around catching insects and then feeding the young.
My current excitement is a family of screech owls in our backyard trees nightly for about a week. There are two parents,and four fledglings. Noisy but cute little things. The adults start their trilling as dusk approaches. Difficult to get quality pics as they come out of their perches to begin hunting right at dusk, but entertaining to hear them and see the silhouettes of their parents swooping around catching insects and then feeding the young.
