4 replies to this topic

[phiwang94]

Hi I am just beginning to become interested in the world of birds. I am a college bound senior living in Wisconsin who has a neighborhood/backyard filled with all kinds of birds, and what I think is a red-tailed hawk nest down the road (I located it on a run). There is also a different species of bird of prey that I have seen but not identified. I want basic help or relevant sites on:

1. Backyard feeders

2. Bird boxes-the how and what

3. Bird identifying

4. How to identify backyard birds in general

Is it too late to do anything like this in June?

[fisherman1313]

I'll answer your questions in reverse order. It's never too late to put out nest boxes. Many species use nest boxes for roosting during cold weather and if you put them up now the birds will know where to look next spring. And, if you are going to start feeding birds for the first time, this is an excellent time because the birds will benefit greatly from the extra food source during the winter and having the feeders out now will ensure that they know they can find it in your yard.

For questions 4-3, I would recommend you get a good field guide. The best, in my opinion, are (in order) Sibley, National Geographic, Stokes and Peterson. All have North American or eastern North American versions (and remember, a birder can NEVER have too many field guides). Another great book is Pete Dunne on Bird Watching. It covers subjects like identifying birds, backyard birding and how to buy binoculars. I highly recommend checking your local library or, better yet, buying a copy (I got a used copy online for 5 cents plus shipping!).

Questions 2-1, bird boxes come in many different sizes. Many are tailored to specific species (i.e, bluebird, wren, Wood Duck). There are many excellent books on attracting birds to your backyard, your local library should have a few of them, too. Whatever you do don't buy the decorative "bird houses" you see in every store's garden department, they are not very funtional, instead buy standard wooden bird boxes. The books mentioned previously will tell you what size to buy (or build) for the species you want to attract, where to hang them and how to maintain them. They will also tell you which types of feeders/foods will attract which species of birds and where to place the feeders.

Hope this helps. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

[dklucius]

a lot of birds are seasonal visiters. here i get the song birds such as orioles and tanagers and grosbeaks and the hummingbirds in spring and summer. they love necter and fruit and jelly and citrus such as oranges and grapefruit.. the winters bring lots of woodpeckers and juncos and house finches and the chickadees and nuthatches and tit mouse. and birds like the jays and magpies and the eurasian doves stay around all year. the winter birds like suet mixes and mixed seeds and nuts. and the doves and jays and blackbirds and some others prefer grains such as cracked corn or millet or milo. So i have a whole variety of feeders according to what season and which birds i am getting. i love to vist yard sales and thrift stores and flea markets anyway and have picked up a lot of feeders cheap that work for me, i also have built my own jelly feeders and platform feeders and cage feeders. check out some of the older posts on this forum and you will find lots of posts about feeders and what to feed and types of feeders.

[JimBob]

I'll start from the top.

Depending on what birds you want to see, you should get different feeders. I assume you want anything. The best all around feeder is a Hopper. . . but make sure you get a wooden one. Plastic ones fall apart easily. (at least when you have stupid Raccoons who like seed) I recommend going to a local feed store (where they sell farm animal feed) where they'll have quite a few choices. . . but I've found cheaper prices at Walmart. Hoppers will attract all sorts of birds. Tube Feeders are a great feeder too. But smaller birds use it, so some larger birds like Grackles and Blue Jays don't use it. Platform Feeders attract tons of birds too. . . really you can't pick a wrong feeder! But I've found that depending on what you want you have to make your own, which I've done. Suet feeders are great for Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, and Chickadees. You'll see starlings too, cause they love suet. Oh and seed I recommend getting at a feed store cause it's MUCH less expensive there.

Next nest boxes. Like Fisherman said, they make different kinds, for different birds. I would put up a Wren nest box, Wrens are really willing to nest in things like that. Heck I have one nesting in a straw hat in my garage!! I put up a blue bird box with no luck, so far cardboard boxes and hats are more pleasing. . .

IDing birds. Get one of the guides Fisherman recommended.

And I feed birds all year, and leave my nest box up all year. I do a check up on the box every winter.

Good luck at collage!

[fisherman1313]

Jimbob mentioned raccoons which reminded me to warn you about rats. If you have rats in your area DO NOT buy feeders with a string or twine to hang them, only buy ones with a wire or cable. I used to live in an area where we had a lot of rats and the first time I hung a feeder with a piece of twine as soon as it got dark I heard a tremendous crash from the backyard, when I went out to find out what the heck had happened I found the feeder on the ground in several pieces, the rats had chewed through the twine.