We ran out of bird food a few weeks ago, just as the birds were coming back from their 'winter break'. They were hungry from their travels and at that time there was still some snow on the ground. So hubby and I went shopping for seed. We have a wonderful nursery that also carries bulk food with different mixes of seed to appeal to different birdy tastes. We bought some there and then we stopped in a wild bird center and bought more. The owner of the center explained that although his food does cost more, the birds eat it all and it lasts longer. They don't scatter seed they don't care for, which is included in the less expensive mixes. He seems to be right. We have found the seed lasts more than twice as long.
Along with the seed, we decided to get a suet feeder.
It has been great fun to watch the birds with the suet.
The silliest birds are the magpies.
I wish I could have gotten a picture, but lacking that, you'll just have to use your imagination! For those of you who haven't seen magpies, they are about 15" long, and the feeder is about 6" square. These large birds awkwardly fly up to the feeder and grab it with their feet, then try to eat, while hanging upside down, madly flapping their wings. They usually fail, flap to the ground, hop around for a bit and try again.
Yesterday we had strong winds. That didn't stop this little flicker from trying to get a bite to eat. The feeder is in the center of the video. You can see that it was a wild ride for the little flicker!
I know some people who think Magpies are a pain, but I really like them! They are so smart and come right up to us in the yard - and fun to watch!
ReplyDeleteThe blogging brunch looks like it went great! How much fun!!!
I have a suet feeder just like that..the Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers love it! We feed mostly sunflower hearts, we buy them in 50 pound bags. 100 pounds lasts all winter. The little chickadees like the black sunflower seeds so I have a round ball feeder just for them. Birds are so much fun to watch:)
ReplyDeleteWe don't have magpies here, no crows either, just ravens. In Sweden there are plenty of magpies and I always enjoyed them. I have seen them in the Solvang area of California, but nowhere else.
ReplyDeleteIt is so wonderful to feed the birds and to watch their antics and their beauty!
ReplyDeleteLana
Good on you for still continuing to feed the bird beyond winter. I tend to only feed when we have snow storms and when it's cold, but I really do enjoy the birds that visit our feeders and sometimes think about feeding them year round. We have lots of ravens, but they don't visit typical bird feeders. Wish we have magpies here, but we do have pinon jays that visit our suet baskets. They can be pretty obnoxious, but also very entertaining..and beautiful, too. :)
ReplyDelete~Lisa
Can you believe we don't have magpies on the ranch? So near and yet so different.
ReplyDelete