Bad news: William Pitt doesn't bird

[XemaSab]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x4470422

What's the best birding related purchase you've made? (Either a thing or a trip.)

[semillama]

1. my nikon spotting scope

what a difference a good piece of optics makes.

[Theres-a]

2. A hanging box feeder

Originally,I put mealworms in it to attract bluebirds.That got expensive,and the bluebirds weren't coming,so I started putting seed and craked corn in it.I get so many different birdies to the feeder,I love it!

[baby_bear]

3. I just installed a hanging bird feeder for finches

I bought pure thistle seed and filled the hanging feeder with about 4 pounds of it and hung it on my deck, where the house finches nested in my fake plant last year. But no one is making use of it. Is that because there is abundant food in the summer?

I'm a new birder!

thanks
b_b

[semillama]

4. Just wait

it takes a while for them to notice it, and to incorporate it into their habitual rounds. I put up a thistle feeder and the level of seed didn't go down for a couple weeks, but now the goldfinches know about it. I haven't seen any House Finches at it yet, but I have seen them in the yard. I also switched from "no-waste" seed mix to pure black oil sunflower seed for my other feeder, and now I get cardinals and mourning doves instead of solely house sparrows (in fact, i get less house sparrows-bonus!). I'm hoping this winter I get more interesting birds!

[sazemisery]

5. Mine wasn't really a purchase...

Planting purple coneflower(Echinacea) in my backyard. The goldfinches have started flocking to them as they go to seed. I had 7 at once but couldn't get to my camera. Will spend some time this week trying to get that shot.