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hello. i learned that byob does not have a bird thread. byob should have a bird thread, so here is my attempt. DO YOU LIKE HOT LOCAL CHICKS? looking for birds is a super fun activity. watching birds is also pretty fun, because they are very cool and interesting and often beautiful creatures! do you have a bird feeder in your back yard? do you have a bird feeder at your window? if not, what are you waiting for! get a bird feeder and attract some new friends TODAY!! it's a bit of an investment to get started since you need bird food and a place to put it that is safe for birds to visit, but boy is it worth it! identify your regional birds okay so this is a big first step! you don't have to figure out everything that's in your area, but i recommend taking a look at local maps and at least glancing at a species list because it'll help you figure out what kind of feeder to set up and what kind of food to offer. the Merlin app is great because it'll provide you with a concise but thorough list of birds in your area without you having to do a ton of research or googling around. the Merlin app also includes identification by song or sound recording, which has helped me to recognize a few mystery birds! allaboutbirds.org is another great website for easy look-ups of what's in your area. you can also go old-school and pick up a bird identification book! wow! where to put your feeder where you set up your feeder depends on your region and your yard/apartment/house/whatever. if you have trees, bushes, or any kind of shrubs or plants in your yard, set up the feeders close-ish to those so that the birds feel most comfortable. of course, you also want to set up the feeder in a place you can observe, because how else are you going to see and appreciate all those cool birds!!!! consider your regional species and what they might like. what to feed your birds i made some suggestions in the feeder list, but birds aren't super picky about what they eat. most seed blends you can pick up at the local hardware store are going to be just fine. you can also find specialized food blends for drawing in specific species, such as a blend heavy in sunflower seeds for your cardinal pals. the only thing i would avoid are blends heavy in filler seeds like wheat and milo. birds don't really like these when better-tasting food is available. if your least expensive option contains these ingredients, don't worry about it too much, especially if you're just starting out! once you start to attract birds, you can start to get better seed blends or even make your own with higher-quality ingredients. suet and peanut butter blocks are also easy to make on your own, though the peanut butter does hold up better in winter (and you want to choose something that isn't super high in added sugars). different feeders for different birds bird feeders come in all shapes and sizes for serving all of the different birds of the world. look up what kinds of birds are in your area, and consider what kind of feeder you'll need to attract the birds to your home! i've made a list below with some very inexpensive feeder suggestions, though hanging poles or sturdy branches are required for most. you can also just throw a bunch of mixed seeds on the ground, but then you'll also be feeding other things like squirrels, chipmunks, and maybe even mice and raccoons, so you have to consider what you want to have around your house before making any purchases. https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Bunny-GB-6895-Birdfeeder-Transparent/dp/B07JCBSJB1/ -- this small, inexpensive feeder can stick right to your window and attract smaller birds like finches, sparrows, chickadees, and your other regional little guys https://www.amazon.com/Hummingbird-Feeders-16-Ounce-Set-Bundled/dp/B07Q777DKY/ -- here's a couple of inexpensive hummingbird feeders! if you live where hummingbirds are common, these are very cheap and easy to set up, and the food for hummingbirds is also very cheap (just a 1:4 mix of sugar and water is fine, no food coloring needed). you usually want multiple hummingbird feeders because hummingbirds can be very combative/territorial, and multiple feeders will reduce the number of aerial battles. https://www.amazon.com/Thistle-Feeder-Nyjer-Wild-Birdfeeder/dp/B08GY9QQ13/ -- this type of tube feeder is great for dispensing thistle seed to warblers and goldfinches! it can also be used to dispense smaller seed mixes for a range of songbirds. https://www.amazon.com/Outside-Hanging-Decoration-Sun-Proof-Rainproof/dp/B093B8RMRC/ -- a larger feeder for larger seeds! great for dispensing corn, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and other similar food, these tend to attract your larger birds like blue jays, cardinals, grosbeaks, and even crows! https://www.amazon.com/WOSIBO-Platform-Decoration-Backyard-Attracting/dp/B082B6KZZ2/ -- platform or basket-style bird feeders are great for the same reasons. they can hold larger seeds and peanuts for your feathered friends who enjoy those treats. https://www.amazon.com/FORUP-Oriole-Feeder-Orange-Fruit/dp/B07S9QMZSK/ -- this type of feeder holds jelly and fruit for birds like orioles and catbirds who love a sugar rush! https://www.amazon.com/MEKKAPRO-Double-Hanging-Capacity-Recommended/dp/B07BDM6WTP/ -- suet feeders are made for holding suet cakes, which are essentially high-energy blocks of fat filled with berries, nuts, and sometimes bugs. woodpeckers and blue jays love these. okay i've done everything, now what?! watch that feeder! keep a log and take pictures! it's more fun than i'm making it out to be, i'm sure. i take the worst pics with my cell phone but if you have a fancy camera you can do that, too. anyway please share stories and pictures from your bird feeders! i want to see what you've got! |
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May 6, 2022 21:47
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| # ? May 2, 2024 03:36 |
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i live in the northeastern US and have several different feeders because i like to see lots of birds. wow! i also get lots of chipmunks and they're cute, too. goldfinches! these are males. they look very drab and brown in the winter, but in the spring their yellow feathers come alive.  bluejays are also very common here. their bellies are colored like very dramatic clouds. i love them for being handsome, but they can be bullies.    rose-breasted grosbeak, male! he has a wife in the area who he dines with on occasion.  i don't get to see grosbeaks very often so i was excited to take his picture a bunch.  my other favorite regulars are the baltimore orioles! this is a male. there are at least two breeding couples in my neighborhood. the females look more brown/yellow and are not nearly as striking.  catbird on the left, baltimore oriole on the right. norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 6, 2022 22:00
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Cool, I fully endorse bird thread! I’ve got a group of quail running around my neighborhood which is fun. Don’t have any decent pics yet. I like it when one of them will hop up on a roof for sentry duty.
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May 6, 2022 22:31
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it has been like 3 years and my squirrels have not defeated this feeder https://www.amazon.com/Woodlink-Absolute-Squirrel-Resistant-7533/dp/B001G17E7Y/ anyway here is my friend mrs. crow making an absolute fool of me and my puzzle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOSIW-1AKA poverty goat fucked around with this message at 03:01 on May 7, 2022 |
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May 7, 2022 02:52
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i love your missus crow so much!!! squirrel-proof feeders are a whole other category. people have tried for years and years to keep the squirrels out of their bird seed. baffles, awnings, greased poles, etc. -- there are still squirrels who can get through no matter what you throw at them. i've given up, but a product like the one poverty goat linked is really, really effective overall, so look into it for sure if you don't want to feed the rodents!! my big red barn feeder has a mechanism where a lid closes over the food ports if the weight on the perch bar is too heavy. in theory this is so squirrels get blocked, but in reality it just makes them eat upside down by dangling from the roof of the red barn like some sort of mission impossible poo poo. it's impressive! here is a mad-man who has challenged the squirrels to extreme levels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8 it's been raining steadily here since yesterday, and the birds are miserable. they are at the feeders a lot as a result. i think it's because it's a steady source of easy-to-find food and they don't have to waste a lot of time and energy searching for better things to eat. i threw a half bag of old trail mix out there (just fruit and nuts, no chocolate). we'll see if they appreciate it. right now it's the season of romance. my bluejays are flirting with each other and feeding each other. it's really cute. norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 7, 2022 13:16
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 mister goldfinch is seen here singing his goddamn heart out. he gets very round during his performances. norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 7, 2022 13:20
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the problem with having a squirrel proof bird feeder is that I feel bad and still feed the squirrels breakfast if they ask nicely
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May 7, 2022 13:41
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your mercy will be remembered during the squirrel uprising.
norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 7, 2022 13:49
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thank you for the sticky!! in appreciation, i share this morning's hungry crew: 
norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 7, 2022 14:00
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my rose-breasted grosbeak guy came back! and the orchard oriole male (left) -- nice comparison against the baltimore oriole male (right) 
norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 7, 2022 15:10
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I watched a heron attempt to eat a small flounder yesterday. It looked like a lot of work. |
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May 7, 2022 15:21
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my cat is norris posted:thank you for the sticky!! in appreciation, i share this morning's hungry crew: you have a fantastic avian crew, thanks for sharing it with us! maybe this summer I'll have some birbs to share. Finger Prince posted:I watched a heron attempt to eat a small flounder yesterday. It looked like a lot of work. if you think that's a lot of work, 
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May 7, 2022 15:31
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there's a couple of magpies hanging around in my neighborhood. also a lot of sparrows. thats my story about birds, thanks for reading! |
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May 7, 2022 18:02
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May 7, 2022 18:03
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i confirmed that a female red-bellied woodpecker is visiting my feeders along with a male! i don't have good pictures of either, so here are some internet pictures. here is a male red-bellied woodpecker. "wow," you may be saying, "he has a red head, not a red belly!" this is very true, but if you look closely, you can spot the reason for their name.  red-bellied male on the left, red-headed on the right. see the patch of reddish feathers on the tummy? this gets more notable in breeding seasons. now, female red-bellied woodpeckers have it kinda rough. i think they look goofy as heck. the male red-bellied woodpeckers have a red crown and nape. the females...have a bald spot situation.  the female has more of a gray crown than a red crown. it can blend very easily into the rest of her feathers, giving her that bald appearance. norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 7, 2022 21:17
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I've been hanging out with some grackles on my lunchbreak this week. They have super loud shrill calls that are really unique. The males have dark feathers and cool yellow eyes. 
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May 7, 2022 22:41
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poverty goat posted:it has been like 3 years and my squirrels have not defeated this feeder https://www.amazon.com/Woodlink-Absolute-Squirrel-Resistant-7533/dp/B001G17E7Y/
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May 8, 2022 00:25
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looking at birds is fun i was in the Everglades a couple months ago and saw a mated pair of osprey raising two little chicks in the nest. mom and dad took turns standing watch/hunting and feeding the chicks. one would jet off and bring back a fish and tear it into little chunks for the babies. i live in the southwest and see lots of cool desert birds. i see quail every day, gila woodpecker every week, and every now and again a roadrunner. my bird highlight was when i saw a gang of three Harris hawks hunting as a coordinated team like a little squad of velociraptors |
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May 8, 2022 03:07
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these are all really great stories (and pictures)! That grackle has such a big tail! |
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May 8, 2022 03:08
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drat I wanted to put up a bird feeder nearby for ages, I don't have a garden but I'm going to kidnap a city tree nearby and just claim it as mine to make this happen, we have some very lovely crows around here and a beautiful couple of mallards that live nearby and come over around my house every now and then and they sometimes talk to me and usually I just put on Donald duck noises on my phone and they stare at me, like, duh well I get what you're saying but there's like 38 grammar mistakes in there, learn duck for once
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May 8, 2022 07:02
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Goons Are Great posted:drat I wanted to put up a bird feeder nearby for ages, I don't have a garden but I'm going to kidnap a city tree nearby and just claim it as mine to make this happen, we have some very lovely crows around here and a beautiful couple of mallards that live nearby and come over around my house every now and then and they sometimes talk to me and usually I just put on Donald duck noises on my phone and they stare at me, like, duh well I get what you're saying but there's like 38 grammar mistakes in there, learn duck for once you can put peanuts out for crows on just about any surface close to home and they will find them and they will love you for it. did you know you can befriend crows? the missus crow seen a few posts back is the product of such efforts! if you put out food that they like and do so with a consistent greeting (you can whistle or call or talk to them or whatever), they'll start to associate you with good things, and will start to love you. they may even bring gifts to you. you should try it, crows are wonderful! in my morning's feeder developments, the male brown-headed cowbird has returned. here is an internet photo:  the female also showed up for the first time. they had a breakfast date together. a SECOND rose-breasted grosbeak male has arrived! missus grosbeak was also out with the boys this morning. she doesn't show up at all unless the guys do -- and as i type this, she just showed up solo. what the heck. well, strong independent woman doesn't need no man, i guess!  she's very shy so i have no pictures of her. enjoy the red blur that is a male cardinal losing his footing. norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 8, 2022 14:02
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i live in a basement so my birds are the ones that show up at this live birdfeeder cam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N609loYkFJo kira likes to yell at them and try to find them behind the tv sometimes 
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May 8, 2022 14:21
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my crows are into dogfood & apples, and if I give them water they will make dogfood soup in it and bring food from all over the neighborhood to put into the soup before they eat it. here is mr crow yesterday waiting for the soup to cook: and some wet house finch bros: 
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May 8, 2022 14:31
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^^^ aww fluff Uh Sir  o-okay  rose-breasted grosbeak again because they're so striking  My first ever pileated woodpecker!! my cat is norris fucked around with this message at 00:35 on May 9, 2022 |
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May 9, 2022 00:29
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Goons Are Great posted:drat I wanted to put up a bird feeder nearby for ages, I don't have a garden but I'm going to kidnap a city tree nearby and just claim it as mine to make this happen, we have some very lovely crows around here and a beautiful couple of mallards that live nearby and come over around my house every now and then and they sometimes talk to me and usually I just put on Donald duck noises on my phone and they stare at me, like, duh well I get what you're saying but there's like 38 grammar mistakes in there, learn duck for once get the Cornell Labs Merlin app and talk back in authentic duck speech to confuse the birds. perhaps it's bad birdwatching etiquette but my phone and a hawk once got in a shouting match using that app |
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May 9, 2022 06:42
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Yeah you want to be really careful about using playback on birds. It's generally inappropriate or harmful, and you kind of need to understand the behaviour, environment, and specific situation of the bird you're mimicking before you can really judge whether it isn't inappropriate or harmful. Never do it with birds on breeding territory. Never do it if there's a risk of predation. Avoid it if it's going to interfere with the bird's natural behavior, like coaxing it out of a feeding group or something. Quacking at park ducks and shouting at parking lot gulls is probably fine though. |
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May 9, 2022 10:46
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wet crow  dry hawk  I have seen this hawk around 3x in the last couple of days, seems I am not under the crows' jurisdiction this year w/r/t hawk defense |
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May 9, 2022 20:41
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that's a beautiful hawk, i wonder what kind it is! maybe a cooper's? it was sunny and beautiful today -- and will be for the rest of the week -- so the feeder is a little less active than it was during the rainy days. that makes me sad, usually the brown feeder is empty by this time of the day but today it's almost completely full! i also suspect that the switch from blackberry to strawberry jelly came as a rude surprise to my oriole pals. since i have nothing really new to report, has anyone had any cool sightings today? one of my coworkers spotted an indigo bunting at her feeders! indigo buntings are incredibly beautiful little birds. so blue, so handsome!  i don't get them at my feeders as my area isn't wooded enough. norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 9, 2022 22:27
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poverty goat posted:wet crow lil fella must have mixed up the wet bar and the crowbar my cat is norris posted:one of my coworkers spotted an indigo bunting at her feeders! indigo buntings are incredibly beautiful little birds. so blue, so handsome! that is indeed a magnificent birb! I have never seen one but now I really want to.
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May 9, 2022 22:40
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that bird must be poisonous! |
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May 9, 2022 23:46
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BTW thanks for pointing out the Merlin app, OP! I may have spent 45 minutes last night listening to various bird calls
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May 10, 2022 04:13
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red winged blackbïrb doin a tweet in my yard https://i.imgur.com/6yOhbwd.mp4
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May 10, 2022 14:59
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Austin has a thing with Grackles, they can be sort of badasses. Someone even designed a shirt for them
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May 10, 2022 15:26
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Also someone did a report on why the grackles seem to congregate at our local grocery stores. https://www.kut.org/austin/2016-03-31/why-do-grackles-flock-to-grocery-store-parking-lots-at-dusk |
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May 10, 2022 15:30
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i've seen some incredible footage of the austin grackles!! i love them so much, they're such characters and when they mass up like that it's really impressive. aww, look at that red-winger go :3 norris, custodian of cat named |
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May 10, 2022 16:35
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yRdU9wspGw
https://i.imgur.com/9jTkSUL.mp4 |
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May 10, 2022 16:52
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there was either a cardinal or my a summer tanager on the birdfeeder earlier but it didnt stay too long
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May 10, 2022 17:44
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Dr. Honked posted:red winged blackbïrb doin a tweet in my yard before we learned the name of that bird we used to call em "shoulderpads" because of their snappy 80's power suit. |
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May 12, 2022 03:43
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before I started getting into IDing birds, I looked out the window one day and said, "hey, look, it's some kind of... red-winged... black bird, I dunno." When I actually looked it up I sorta just called it quits for the day |
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May 12, 2022 13:19
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| # ? May 2, 2024 03:36 |
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redblack wingbird
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May 12, 2022 13:44
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