You know why I feed the birds every day?

[canetoad]

They don't take more than they need

They bring their young down and feed them. Then..

They remind them where the food is

They consume things that would otherwise go to waste

They don't ask for anything

They don't complain when they have less than other birds

In fact, they don't seem grateful at all

Lucky Bastards. Beholden to no-one

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Yeah, and Oz has the coolest birds on the planet, too.

What kind of birds come to the feeder?

[canetoad]

2. Feeder is my neighbours garage roof

My house slopes down to the back, Jen has a house in behind there, so her garage roof is about level with my back deck.

Magpies, Noisy Miners, many fat doves, the odd crested pigeon. Coupla little butcher birds, so neat and trim and cute. And they peck their victims eyes out.....

The odd shy crow. They're not spooky at all, just a bit dumb and put-upon. Bossy wattlebirds though they are better in the air. You can hear them snapping their beaks, chasing the crows...

And did I mention the Magpies? Ten years I've been feeding the same mob. They live in families and wage wars with other families. Mob.

I make a tut-tutting sound and the magpies associate it with food. When they bring the babies down they associate it with food too. Fucking lemming bastards.

Cockatoos all stay up on the treetops and antennas. All our street has wonky antennas from drunk cockies eating fermented berries.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

76. Drunk Cockatoos.

The mind reels at the fun that must be. ;-)

[BlooInBloo]

3. I've seen birds bicker with each other over a crumb, even when there's other crumbs.

[canetoad]

5. Oh yeah

and you can watch all this for FREE. (Dr Phil, u reading?)

[Canuckistanian]

30. At least they don't kill each other

Unlike some other species I could name.

[BlooInBloo]

31. Touche.

[NNN0LHI]

34. Sat what? I have a hawk living in one of the pine trees in my back yard

The ground under that tree has about a one inch deep coating of bird feathers beneath it from the birds it picks off and eats from my neighbors bird feeder on a daily basis.

Its a real horror show to watch.

Don

[MadHound]

36. Hey, your neighbor is still feeding the birds

Just not the ones he intended.

I live out in the country and the hawks and falcons around here have better food than songbirds available, like rabbits and squirrels and such. It's absolutely stunning to watch them stoop and hit their target.

[Arkansas Granny]

38. My bird book recommends that you consider the hawk just another

bird coming to the feeder for a meal. Such is nature.

[roguevalley]

75. we have all kinds of birds. I remember seeing bald eagles fighting

on the ground for moose carcases. I love birds. I feed them with food on my bay window roof and feeders.

[zanne]

39. Oh God--Is it a Sparrow Hawk?

I used to feed sparrows (hundreds of them), until one day a Sparrow Hawk appeared and I realized I wasns't doing the Sparrows any favors.

[IDemo]

45. The hawks in our area heard we had a bird feeder

We get numerous dove, quail, and finches and other songbirds. The hawks (Sharp Shinned, I think) show up daily
to try and grab a finch or sparrow.

We also get the occasional Blue Heron trying to grab a snack out of the goldfish pond.

[NNN0LHI]

48. I have another neighbor with a goldfish pond and that thing is really nice

He heats it all winter. It was 20 below zero and the water was still flowing this winter. He had a couple of big bullfrogs living in his last year.

Don

[chatnoir]

53. Awesome pics

I love the quail pic. Thx for sharing. :)

[Canuckistanian]

63. My point was that birds wouldn't kill each other over already plentiful food

Humans have a long history of doing exactly that.

[NNN0LHI]

67. I apologize for misunderstanding what you were actually saying. My fault

Take care and see you later.

:hi:

Don

[Lost in CT]

35. You do realise there are thousands of species that kill each other.

And some even have wars...

Humans are not that special.

We are animals too.

[BlooInBloo]

40. I knew there were birds that killed other species...

Did not know that some birds killed birds though.

[Lost in CT]

42. I'm not sure about our avian friends (though it wouldn't surprise me)

But mammals seem to have a penchant for war, cannibalism, and killing your stepchildren.

on edit killing THEIR stepchildren

and yes a dingo ate my baby is very funny indeed B-) :hi:

[BlooInBloo]

43. But the dingo ate my bay-bee!!!

:rofl:

[TheManInTheMac]

82. Peregrine falcons do...it's their main food source.

It's not an uncommon sight in Akron to see the occasional odd bird head or wing lying on the sidewalk.

[LanternWaste]

79. I don't think those species profit off of it

I don't think those species profit off of it, nor do I think they enjoy it. I also don't think they want to do it, or have special departments set up to propagandize us into wanting it. I don't think that animal fights, if they get out of hand could destroy life on this planets.

But I do think that humans are special...

[greenbird]

37. Yes they do

I've got a Merlin who lurks near my feeder and picks off the occasional small bird. Merlins have to eat too!

[Greyhound]

68. Cactus Wrens, barbaric little fuckers. n/t

[snowbear]

4. I fill up my bird feeder as soon as I get home everyday!

.
.

I feel guilty when all the little guys are out there digging around the empty bird feeders looking for seeds..


~

[canetoad]

6. Then I guess you and I are different

because I AM USING THE BASTARDS!

Costs me about .53c a week for hours of entertainment.

[a la izquierda]

77. We had a bird feeder until we got a...

hunting dog (rescue) and realized that no matter how hard we tried...he really wanted to hunt the birds and squirrels. And it drives us insane.

Plus the cats in our neighborhood have a penchant for birds. As cats tend to do. And my dog also hates the cats. The first few days with our dog were rather noisy, and since he was a stray, he banged his head many times on the window (which was sort of comical at the time).
Read: no more feeders. But he still sits on my bed and stares out the window, waiting for squirrels, cats or gracklers to get into the backyard. Then it's go time. Into the window.

[EFerrari]

7. We have the biggest ravens here. They nest a few blocks away

in the SW corner of Golden Gate Park. They'll steal your car, man.

The mayor wants to make it illegal to feed the birds but we all do it and he's going to hafta come and get us himself. :)

[canetoad]

10. So do you get what I mean about ravens?

we have no real crows here, just ravens...

I've never found them sinister, only a bit goofy, easily intimidated by smaller bird. And so fucking beautiful to look at.

[EFerrari]

12. Oh, yeah. They are goofy. Really loud and territorial UNTIL someone

gets within hailing distance and then, they're off.

They're beautiful, big as cats some of them. My favorites, though, are the little guys who nest under the curved roof tiles of the laundromat across the street. There's a certain week in early Spring when you can hear the hatchlings and then, a few weeks later, you can hear them calling out to their mom when she leaves to go get dinner. Call and response. They may be sparrows.

There are sandpipers here on the beach. They are so small and gadgety, they look like a design by Industrial Light and Magic. They look like bubbles with stick legs. lol

This is a great place if you like birds. :)

[canetoad]

13. The Taliban, err, the terrorists,,,,

sorry, the terriers have amazing hearing. If I sit still enough by the river they eventually stand still and just listen.

I know the stick-leg birds. We have urban magpie larks who live off crumbs and speed.

[depakid]

57. And Aussie ravens make calls like buggered sheep

Seriously- no self respecting North American raven would bleat like that.

There are also birds that resemble crows called currawongs (probably related to Magpies)



They can get pretty pesk once habituated.

As can Kookaburras- as patrons of this cafe have found out on more than one occasion.

[alittlelark]

15. A few years ago I took my kids to the SF Zoo.

I got them hot dogs, sat them down on the benches and went back for napkins. I heard screams. My 9 year old had her hot dog stolen by ravens and my 7 year old was fighting them off.

Holy Sh*t!

I have not been back since.

Very smart birds, waiting for the larger humans to leave their vulnerable kidlings open to attack.

[EFerrari]

19. Omg! Thank goodness they were too big to be carried away themselves!

I think that even our roof raccoons stay clear of them. And betcha the guys that hang out at the zoo have all the tricks down. :wow:

[chatnoir]

58. Gavin wants to make it illegal

to feed the birds?? Wtf! Talk about Pottersville... :(

Hadn't heard that before but now there's *really* no way I'd vote for that man.

[EFerrari]

73. I don't think he and his people understand how much San Franciscans

love birds and animals. He can be really tone deaf. The last time he ran a foot race that ended out here at Ocean Beach, there was a pile of limousines clogging up the whole district for hours and that did nothing to support the green theme of the event. lol

[Skittles]

8. they are fun to watch

I disagree about them not complaining when they have less than the other birds though - I see a lot of fighting and nit-picking going on out there :D

[canetoad]

14. but no guns eh?

they have the attention span of ....birds.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. As a "mom" of three parrots I'd say..no waste?

plenty of waste.

Just to insert some reality

[canetoad]

11. My cousin has chooks

I bring back the poo and straw and give it to my neighbour.

She grows veggies, gives me some. I bribe my other neighbours with veggies to water my cannabis.

That's not a waste.

[jgraz]

23. ooh -- what kind of parrots?

[nadinbrzezinski]

83. a tiel, a nanday and a sun conure

they had turkey for lunch, with brocoli and some bread

[starroute]

16. I finally got a working bird feeder this year

The last one, which was designed to keep squirrels out, was far to clever for its own good. The birds didn't use it either, and the seeds just sprouted inside.

Now I've got a nice, cheap little gazebo-shaped feeder, and the birds have been coming round all winter. Mostly the little guys -- tufted titmice, chickadees, juncos, purple thrushes. The cardinals come through too, but they have to stand sideways and peck over their shoulders, so they don't stay long. And the jays can't perch on the rim at all, but every once in a while one will grab it with its feet, flapping its wings furiously to keep upright, and dash off with a seed or two.

Mainly they take turns -- at most, two of the smaller ones might perch on opposite sides, but usually they'll stand on the branches waiting their chance to swoop in for a minute or two. One day, though, I got a mob of half a dozen starlings, all trying to crowd in at once and elbow each other out of the way, but happily they haven't come back.

The squirrels are curious, but they haven't figured out any way to get at it. Occasionally one will go out along the branch and put a paw on its roof, but it starts to swing and they jump back again. I think they eat some of the seeds that spill on the ground, but I don't begrudge them that at all. Far better than having a thicket of millet growing there next spring.

Each bag of feed costs less than a movie ticket and provides a couple of weeks of entertainment. Best damn investment I've made in years.

[canetoad]

17. Last year, my neighbour's husband

bought her a wooden bird feeder for Xmas. She is 71 and says it's the best value she's ever had.

[appleannie1]

18. and they make you smile when they sing? Bring beauty to your life?

[appleannie1]

20. I render my own suet. They seem to like it better and it is cheaper than the cakes you buy.

Three different kinds of woodpeckers come to eat daily. I have two feeders just for seeds.

[canetoad]

21. I'm less sophisticated than that

Just seems that whatever the food scraps are, some kind of bird will eat them.

(Tho I do cube up the odd bit of cheese when the protein pickings are small)

[Old and In the Way]

22. Up here in Maine, we feed the neighborhood.

I think we've put out about 50 lbs. of sunflower seeds and suet this winter. I've got mainly chickadees and Blue Jays (greedy blue divebombing Nazi's), a flock of Canadian Jays and some small sparrow/finch type bird I can't ID. Also a couple of woodpeckers and a pair of Cardinals (new this year...a beautiful bird. Morning Doves. We also get a bunch of turkeys and partridge that will come in to feed off the seed we throw out on the driveway.

[Arkansas Granny]

85. I could probably go through 50 lbs. a week if I tried to keep up with the appetites

of the flocks of blackbirds that hang around all winter. I finally decided that I would fill up my feeders once a day and when it was gone, it was gone until the next morning. The little birds learned to come in early and many would be waiting on me to fill the feeders before I left for work. I could hear the cardinals chirping before it got fully light. They would get their fill before the blackbirds came by later.

[jgraz]

24. I feed our local scrub and stellar's jays. They're much more "human" in their behavior.

They take as much as they can hold, fight over the best bits even when there's plenty for everyone, and bitch like crazy when their breakfast is late. I love 'em. :D

[EFerrari]

25. I used to really enjoy the red winged black birds that sat out in the tall grass

at our place in the SJ foothills in the spring. They were pretending to be blooms and trying to blend in. Flower drag. lol

[madrchsod]

26. i feed my "kids" everyday

they are getting used to me and usually do not fly away. i have two squirrels that clean up after the birds and a couple of rabbits that feed at night.

[sazemisery]

27. I live in bird paradise

Not the tropical kind of paradise but paradise all the same. We live in a rural area and have a large pond out our front door. In addition to all the types of wrens, chickadees, and other song birds, we have an abundance of cardinals, goldfinch, painted bunting, indigo bunting, bluebirds etc. The pond lures in ducks such as the mallard, wood duck, blue winged teal and green wing teal. The Canadian geese have hatched broods here for 5 or 6 years now.

One of my favorite birds is the killdeer. This small bird makes it's nest in the gray gravel of our driveway. Not with twigs and grass but by arranging the gravel into a saucer shaped nest. Her gray and white mottled eggs are well camouflaged. We have to mark her nest every spring to avoid running over it with the car or our feet. They put on a great distraction display when humans get too close to the nest. They act as if their wing is broken and try to lure you away from the eggs. But if a cow, horse or other animal comes too close, they puff up, turn up their tail and run head on towards the offending beast. Quite entertaining.



edited for bad grammer

[zanne]

41. Your home does sound like paradise.

I try to lure all kinds of birds to my back yard, but all I get is the occasional cardinal, chickadee and titmouse. The rest are sparrows and those huge crows. (I kind of enjoy watching the crows. They can be real clowns).

[bvar22]

28. !

We're especially fond of these birds:

[chatnoir]

60. Aww, love the chickens!

Great shots -- looks like you live in an avian paradise. :)

Would love to have chickens myself but unless we move it ain't happenin'.

[bvar22]

65. We started keeping chickens last Spring.

My wife & I are amazed at how intelligent, individual (personalities), entertaining, and social these birds are.
They are also great fun.
The Rooster (Elvis) is a little cranky and pugnacious.
The fresh Free Range eggs are to die for.
We will never be able to go back to the pale, anemic eggs sold in the stores.

Who could resist this:



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x7979

[Mugu]

That certainly is a cute little guy.

And your Cardinal photo up-thread is wonderful.

[chatnoir]

69. Ok, I think I'll be coming to live with you guys :)

Look at that little guy - they must be so much fun!
And chickens are really fantastic birds. Entertaining, intelligent, social, and with distinct personalities, like you said. And they can follow you are like little feathered dogs if you raise them from chick. :D

Wow, and is that a goat yard? That must mean you have... goats!? Ok, now I'm seriously envious/jealous. Goats and chickens have a special place in my heart for some reason.

I've bookmarked your thread to go back and pour over it. I need to visit the garden forum more often!

[cobalt1999]

29. I've been feeding these birds unintentionally

Lost a couple of cats to them.

It's probably not right for me to keep feeding them though.

[Tracer]

32. I feed my bird pals every day too.

I've got several feeders. One a squirrel proof (and it works), but the seed tends to fall out of it, leaving plenty on the ground for the tree rats, chipmunks, and Juncos.

Have Goldfinches (very feisty little guys), Cardinals (several pairs), Chickadees, Titmice, Doves, Pine Siskins, Downy Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and even saw a Coopers Hawk sitting on my back fence.

It's very entertaining!

[datasuspect]

33. you don't feed city pigeons do you?

they go after smaller birds trying to get some food.

[jmg257]

44. nevermind

[madmom]

46. Hubby got into feeding the birds this year when we had the bad ice storm and

noticed the poor buggers didn't has anything they could get to. Very entertaining and good subjects for my new camera. We are seriously thinking of making a backyard "habitat" for them. We're reading up on the hows and whys and will probably dedicate an unused corner of our backyard for them.

[L0oniX]

47. My 4 parrots are much more lazy than that. They get steak, chicken, spinach, mashed potatos...

hell ...they almost eat better than me.

[AwakeAtLast]

49. Because the food is "tuppence a bag"?

:hide:

Sorry, couldn't resist!

:D

[Mugu]

50. I have enjoyed my feeder very much.

[chatnoir]

52. Those photos are AMAZING

Did you take these? Seeing such fine detail in their feathers.... wow. Gorgeous pics.

Def inspired to get a bird feeder now and put it up outside our apt!

[Mugu]

56. Thank you very much.

They were all taken by me. The feeder brings them so close that I don't even need a very long lens.

[chatnoir]

62. Sounds corny but

these really are a wonder to behold. I don't think I've ever seen such detail in bird pics before barring National Geographic!

And those fine fine feathers under the cardinal's beak -- wow, these photos are awe inspiring.

[Mugu]

64. Just get them close enough and the rest is easy.

Most all of these photos were taken with a Canon Rebel and my 180mm "bug" lens.

I'm very pleased that you enjoyed them.

[chatnoir]

70. Just beautiful - I do think you have a talent for it

Thank you so much for sharing! :hi:

[aikoaiko]

51. For some fun, throw very small batches of feed in different directions.

2 very small hand hand bunches of feed to the left and 1 to the right.

Do that until you run out of feed. You'll probably see the flock distribute in a nearly 2:1 ratio.

Then do it 1:4 ratio and watch them adjust.

I do this as foraging research.

[ogneopasno]

54. I feed them because I like to have birds around. But they are certainly piggy, and they do waste

quite a bit. They don't complain or ask for anything or act grateful because, you know, they're birds.

[azmouse]

55. Have you ever watched hummingbirds at a feeder?

Talk about territorial. They think they own everything!
I just love watching them fight over who gets the feeder. :)

[Blue_Tires]

59. you have *never* fed a seagull, have you?

they are the complete opposite of what you have written

[Bluerthanblue]

61. I love the

message in this post- regardless of all the posts attempting to find fault.

humans may be the most 'highly evolved' creatures on earth, but we might also be the cruelest and least content.


:grouphug:

Thanks for this~

[sofa king]

66. Eddie Rickenbacker used to feed the seagulls every day.

The reason why is because during World War II the greatest American flying ace of the previous war was forced to ditch at sea. He and the plane's crew ran out of food within days, but after about a week a seagull landed on Rickenbacker's head. He captured it, and the gull along with a few fish and some rainwater kept them going for a total of 24 days adrift at sea before they were rescued.

One more reason to feed the birds.

[Booster]

71. I feed them because they get really pissed when I don't.

[dysfunctional press]

72. "they don't ask for anything"...???

apparently you've never fed pigeons or seagulls.

[Arugula Latte]

74. I feed the squirrels. Sometimes the birds get in there.

I like the squirrels better. Yeah, I know people say they're rats with bushy tails, take too much food, etc. I don't care. I like 'em better than the birds. My affinity is with the mammals, moreso than with the winged mini dinosaurs. I mean, I wish the birds well and all, but my heart is with the squirrels. :)

[Mugu]

78. They're not mutually exclusive.

I feed both.



I must confess that I get some enjoyment from making the squirrels work a bit for their food.

[Arugula Latte]

80. Aww! So cute.

I love the way they hold their little hands.

[Mugu]

81. They don't have an opposing thumb

but, they have long toes and make the best of it.

[doc03]

84. I can't feed the birds in the winter

it attracts the f-----g deer.