tclarkwood

Baffles are the best... you could possibly place your trey feeder on a post with a baffle under it but you have to be careful that the squirrel couldn't leap directly up to trey jumping over or past the baffle. I also agree the BOSS is the best seed by far. It has almost doubled in price though. i uses to pay 18 bucks for 40 lbs and now I'm paying 32 bucks for 40 lbs at Tractor Supply. I'm not sure that it is cheaper anywhere else.

We can still get BOSS at Tractor Supply but a 40 lb bag is now $32 instead of $18 2 years ago. It is getting to the point where it is going to be too costly to feed the birds.

That is a good question. I am not sure but I would suspect they have fledged by now. They were babies in March so surely they have left the nest?

I have an observation and a question that some may find of interest? On my property and the surrounding area where I live, we have a pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks, a pair of Broad-winged Hawks and a plethora of Barred Owls ( I know some don't consider owls to be a raptor). I find it interesting on how there is enough food and good habitat to support all three of these living basically in the exact same domain. I realize that the owl will hunt at night so that makes some sense but since all three eat basically the same diet, how do you suppose they avoid the interference? The hawks are raising young. Is this unusual or not?

The second brood looks like it will be 4 eggs instead of 5 eggs. That is pretty common for the second and if there is a third brood for them to have 4 eggs. The male is pulling double duty right not because he has 5 full size babies chasing him around begging for food from the 1st brood. The female is not always on the eggs because we are getting closer to 90 degrees so she doesn't have to sit on them when it gets this warm.

It is probably best to use a spray nozzle and spray out the bird house between broods but my female was so eager to build a new nest that she didn't even give me time to drag the water hose down there and spray it out. She has already built a new nest so I am sure I will see more eggs soon.

All 5 babies fledged last week. Time to remove the nest and get ready for another round!

They showed up in North Alabama last week! https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2022-map.htm

She ended up laying 5 eggs so there is a good chance this is a different female than I have had the last few years. Hummingbirds have shown up!

Here we go... Started laying on Tuesday. May get one more egg today and/or tomorrow! Gonna be 35 degrees at daybreak Sunday morning. This kicks off the season for me!

We had a cold front come through last weekend with temperatures down in the 20s in North Alabama. The female must have decided that was the last 20 degree weather for the season because she started building the nest on Monday! I would expect that maybe we will see some eggs within the next week! I'll be interested to see if this is the same female that I have had the last 3 years. She normally only lays 4 eggs per clutch rather than the typical 5 or sometimes 6 that other females will produce.

Your hypothesis that the hummers would be more attracted to older (smelly) nectar makes perfect sense to me. In the wild, the hummers are going to get used to making the best of the nectar that is available to them so if they find nectar sources with a reliable consistency, they will probably utilize it until it is gone or so rancid that it becomes unusable. You see this in other animals too. Especially scavenger type animals like buzzards and catfish. They go for the smelly stuff! Ha ha!

I heard my group of Barred Owls for the first time since last Fall. I wonder if they left my property or just stayed quiet for 6 months? Anyway, the are hooting away again! Must be talking about renovations needed on the nest! Ha Ha!

Some new arrivals at the feeder this week. I got a hand full of Pine Warblers, Ruby-crownded Kinglets, Bluebirds, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers. A lot of insect eating birds like these have focused in on my C&S Suet Cakes. Saw some red-winged blackbirds two weeks ago so that was different. Most all the other birds are my resident birds that I see year round.

I finally got a small group of Juncos under the feeder yesterday morning. Also, saw my first Ruby-crowned Kinglet. He was flying around in a mixed flock with my chickadees and titmice. Also, I have a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker back on my property making his/her squeaking sounds. I am wondering if this is the same bird that showed up last Winter? If you know about their migration patterns, maybe you can tell me how likely it is that this is the same bird. Anyway, I'm glad to see some of my Winter visitors finally making an appearance. My prayers go out to everyone who was affected or knows someone that has been affected by the tornadoes from Friday night.

I have seen very little to remark about so far so I'm guessing I will have to wait until the temperature plummets below freezing for a few days or we get a snow or some icy weather. Cold temperature and cold precipitation usually triggers everything to visit my feeders and it has been so mild lately. Today we reached 75 degrees! Feels like Spring instead of December! Hopefully, I will see something special before the end of the year!

I still haven't seen a Junco yet but I imagine they have already been on my property if they are in South Carolina and Texas now. I checked on Ebird and looks like the juncos, white-throated sparrows and kinglets were all here on November 7th. I just haven't seen any yet! ?

I still haven't seen a Junco yet but I imagine they have already been on my property if they are in South Carolina and Texas now.

That means I will be seeing them within the week perhaps? You are around 350 miles from me. There are so many natural seeds and nuts on the ground right now that my feeder activity has been way down but I expect that to change as we get into Mid December.

Well it is November and I still have not seen any Juncos, Goldfinches, White-throated sparrows, Kinglets, etc. etc. in my area of Central Alabama. Has anyone noticed their fall / winter species being a little later this year. Normally by this time I have seen my first Junco. Just curious. I will post again when I start seeing my Fall/Winter species in the back yard.

I bet they found some other food sources. They are fairly resilient little birds. They should be back

I know it seems too early to start this topic for 2021 but I have seen two species that I normally do not see until late September or even late October. I had a male American Goldfinch here in Birmingham show up this weekend. There most southern point during the summer is usually the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama and the Appalachians over near Fort Payne. Also, I saw a female or juvenile male red-breasted grosbeak on my feeder yesterday. I usually do not see them flying back to South America until mid September at the earliest. Has anyone else seen early migrants this year?

Well I am glad that we all do not like living in the same place on the planet. It would be very uncomfortable to all pile in one place! ?

The outer dark band around its face is more pronounced that what I have seen on my family of owls in Alabama. Is this a regional difference or an indication of the age of the bird? Just curious. Great shot!

After I threw out the nest with the unviable eggs, two bluebirds started building again. They laid 4 eggs and now the chicks have hatched. Maybe they will make it now!