Hummers

On Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:29:46 -0700 (PDT), Giles
wrote:

*Snipped*


More.....later.....or not.....who cares?

giles
i mean, jeeez, you people should get a hobby or something.


Interesting post. In Winter our bird feeders are strangely ignored. We
get chickadees and nuthatches but the neighborhood blue jays avoid it
like the plague, as do the juncos and cardinals.

We have a hanging plant out front now that supposedly attracts hummers
but so far, no luck. Somewhere in our pile of randomly accumulated
stuff is a hummingbird feeder. I really should set it up and see what
it brings in. I'm guessing yellow jackets.


GeoC

On Jul 17, 10:51*pm, georgecleveland wrote:
On Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:29:46 -0700 (PDT), Giles
wrote:

*Snipped* *



More.....later.....or not.....who cares?

giles
i mean, jeeez, you people should get a hobby or something.

Interesting post. In Winter our bird feeders are strangely ignored. We
get chickadees and nuthatches but the neighborhood blue jays avoid it
like the plague, as do the juncos and cardinals. *

We have a hanging plant out front now that supposedly attracts hummers
but so far, no luck. Somewhere in our pile of randomly accumulated
stuff is a hummingbird feeder. I really should set it up and see what
it brings in. I'm guessing yellow jackets.

GeoC

....just guessing here...

1. Your feeders may be too small for the larger birds -- jays and
cardinals -- comfortably to perch and eat from.

2. Juncos don't frequent hanging feeders; they are ground scratchers.

3. Larger birds don't care for super market bird food. Get a bag of
black oil sunflower seed (BOSS) and put it up or out in almost any
container that won't result in rotting seed, and......"they will
come".

4. Yes, yellow jackets will come to hummingbird feeders. No problem.
It's fun anyway. Just be sure to use plain old sugar in 4 to 1 mix,
and don't waste time and money on coloring agents. When it gets
cloudy, dump it, clean the feeders, and refill.

Have a great time and check out rec.birds.

cheers

oz

On 2010-07-18 09:52:17 -0400, MajorOz said:

On Jul 17, 10:51*pm, georgecleveland wrote:
On Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:29:46 -0700 (PDT), Giles
wrote:

*Snipped* *



More.....later.....or not.....who cares?

giles
i mean, jeeez, you people should get a hobby or something.

Interesting post. In Winter our bird feeders are strangely ignored. We
get chickadees and nuthatches but the neighborhood blue jays avoid it
like the plague, as do the juncos and cardinals. *

We have a hanging plant out front now that supposedly attracts hummers
but so far, no luck. Somewhere in our pile of randomly accumulated
stuff is a hummingbird feeder. I really should set it up and see what
it brings in. I'm guessing yellow jackets.

GeoC

...just guessing here...

1. Your feeders may be too small for the larger birds -- jays and
cardinals -- comfortably to perch and eat from.

True. We have a variety of feeders - tube type and perch type that
attract just about any bird you can mention.


2. Juncos don't frequent hanging feeders; they are ground scratchers.

Juncos and thrushes are both ground scratchers.


3. Larger birds don't care for super market bird food. Get a bag of
black oil sunflower seed (BOSS) and put it up or out in almost any
container that won't result in rotting seed, and......"they will
come".

Yes. Avoid the supermarket stuff. Use boss or sunflower hearts sans
shells. The shells tend to make a mess below the feeder, and the
hearts will attract more birds, both in variety and numbers. The
hearts (actually pieces of hearts) are more expensive, however, but I
feel the extra expense is worth it.

4. Yes, yellow jackets will come to hummingbird feeders. No problem.
It's fun anyway. Just be sure to use plain old sugar in 4 to 1 mix,
and don't waste time and money on coloring agents. When it gets
cloudy, dump it, clean the feeders, and refill.

No problem with yellow jackets or ants if you avoid the color yellow in
the feeder, and get a feeder that has a moat

Have a great time and check out rec.birds.

cheers

oz

Dave