I found this egg underneath a bush nest to my grandparents feeders. As many birds were feeding there, I can’t be sure which laid it. It is a bit larger than a penny—white with brown speckles. What species is the egg and HOW IN THE WORLD did it get there? Surely the mom wouldn’t have laid an egg on bare ground….
Ansel flew to my window AGAIN and attacked his reflection. FOR 30 MINUTES. AND HE’S STILL HERE!!!
He won’t stop even through I drew highlighter on the outside of my window to break up his reflection. This time I’m even more sure it’s territorial aggression because another Tufted Titmouse flew up and he didn’t attack it. I’m guessing she’s Ansel’s mate. While I was videoing, a male Northern Cardinal came to eat and a Carolina Wren entered my nest box! This is the first time a bird has entered that nest box.
Ansel still will not leave though. What will make him stop attacking his reflection in my window sill!?
4/7/2021— This Tufted Titmouse woke me up at 8:00 AM to loud chirping and banging outside my window.
Recently, I put out a nest box on my window sill. In case my presence would deter birds from nesting in it, I applied 1-way window-film. Unfortunately, it blocks sunshine from entering my room and it’s reflective on the outside.
I believe this Titmouse was attacking his reflection, thinking it was a rival bird. (I decided to name him “Ansel,” which means “protecter.”)
I drew highlighter on the window to get him to stop, but he hasn’t come back yet so I’m not sure whether it worked or not.
I do have a bird feeder on my windowsill as well, but, since Tufted Titmouse nesting season is beginning, I figured it was probably more likely he was attacking things to protect his nesting territory or claim a new one.
Will birds attack anywhere on their territory or only near their nest? Does he want my new birdhouse?
This bird has been coming to my feeder to eat suet for a few days now. I’ve tried to ID it with Merlin and my bird books, but I cannot identify it! Kentucky… the most unfortunate and wonderful place to bird. Last time I couldn’t ID a yellow bird eating at my feeders, it turned out to be a female Painted Bunting!!!!! (Which are extremely rare here, in case you didn’t know.) But this bird has too slender, pointy, and dark of a beak to be a Painted Bunting. Besides, I’m pretty sure the chances of that happening again are very slim. Can anyone identify this bird?!? I’ve been at a loss for days, so ANY ideas would be appreciated! Thanks!
I’ve been seeing a lot of juvenile and immature Northern Cardinals lately, and now there’s also a juvenile Red-Bellied Woodpecker! How exciting!!!
I’ve been searching far and wide for days now trying to figure out what this bird is. It’s yellow, with grayish patches on the tips of its wings, a little bigger than a sparrow, has a beak like a Cardinal, and is a frequent visitor at my feeder. (It’s been eating seeds.) Is it a female Summer Tanager?
This woodpecker was eating at my feeder. It is either one of the juvenile Downy Woodpeckers, or, possibly, a Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, which are VERY rarely, if not never, seen in Kentucky.
Micah, I figured it would be easier to show you by posting a whole new submission, so that I could get a photo of every angle of the DIY feeder as I am terrible at explaining things without a demonstration or two.
Needed materials:
Hot glue sticks, hot glue gun, string or desired hanging/mounting substrate, knife or scissors, tooth pick or thin screwdriver, recycled “heavy duty” plastic bottle, (by heavy duty, I mean stronger than your usual plastic bottle, which crinkles and crumples very easily.)
Optional materials:
pony beads, foam, other red, orange, or pink decorations. (I recommend not using yellow, as it attracts bees.)
Step 1: clean out your plastic bottle, and plug your hot glue gun in.
Step 2: Poke holes in your bottle, (5 millimeters in diameter), with your scissors or knife. (Holes should be placed near the lid of the bottle so that when your pour sugar water into it, it won’t leak out from the holes. Make sure that the holes are smooth, and no ridges or bits of plastic stick out from them. You can do this by poking a screwdriver or the tip of your hot glue gun into the pre-made holes and wriggling it around until the sides are smooth no plastic pieces stick out.)
Step 3: poke holes in the top ends of the bottle, measured so that it hangs/mounts without the nectar solution leaking. Then push your desired hanging or mounting substrate into the holes, making sure it hangs correctly.
Step 4: if you want to, you can add pony beads around the feeding hole. (Make sure they aren’t covering the feeding hole!) If you decide to do this, glue a piece of foam over the holes first, then poke holes through the foam where your first feeding holes line up, then glue the beads on. (The reason I recommend using foam underneath the beads is because plastic plus plastic hot glued together doesn’t hold up to the weather very well.)
Step 5: Decorate the feeder however you like. Hummers prefer red for some reason, but they are also attracted to pink, orange and yellow. (I would not recommend using yellow though, because bees are also attracted to yellow, and bees and ants can prevent hummers.)
Thanks, and enjoy the hummers!!!
I made 4 hummingbird feeders out of recycled containers and decorated them red. I was hoping but unsure that the hummingbirds would actually use them, but they do!!!!! I don’t know it was the same one or not, but Ive seen a female hummingbird at it three different times today!!!
Coco Quin, I think this would be a good question for you, since you’ve tried so many hummingbird feeders, 😉 but any answers will be appreciated. I made these hummingbird feeders myself, but do you think they can/will use them? I know they drink with their tongues, but I don’t know how long their tongues are, meaning I can’t be sure that they will be able to reach the sugar water once it gets low. With these dimensions, (#3 & #4 have the same dimensions, and #1 & #2 have the same dimensions), do you think they will be able to reach the bottom?
I was watching the female Downy Woodpecker as she ate from the suet feeder. Suddenly, a male flew up and scared her away. Then a female Baltimore Oriole flew up and scared him away. I happened to look out my window at the oak, and I saw both Downy Woodpeckers sitting on the dead limb. I glimpsed a blur of feathers, and it took me a second to comprehend that they were mating! I’m so excited that I caught that out in the wild!!! Ive seen Barn Owls and Bald Eagles mating on camera, but I’ve never seen it with my own eyes out in nature! It was so cool! I have seen the Downy Woodpeckers pecking at it, but they were moving up and down the branch, so I thought they were only searching for bugs. I’m thinking about climbing that tree in search of a nest cavity, but I don’t want to have to go to all that work to drag a heavy ladder up to it if there’s no nest, so do birds typically only mate at or near the nest site, or do they mate wherever?
About a week ago, I was watching the birds flock to my feeder. I was distracted by all the other birds, so for ONCE I was not thinking about hummingbirds. Then, all of the sudden, a tiny blur of green darts into the chaos. I was startled, so it took me a second to comprehend what it was. Then it stopped for a few short seconds, and hovered. I saw it’s red throat. Oh my gosh! I thought. It’s a hummingbird! He dipped his bill into the feeder for about 2 seconds, then quickly flew away. I haven’t seen any since. Hummers are my favorite bird, so knowing they’re in the area and then not seeing anymore is frustrating! Has anyone else seen any in Kentucky or have any tips on attracting them? Please help me! I’m dying here! 🙏🏼😩
Believe it or not, this is only the second time I’ve gotten a Chipping Sparrow. It came for the first time a few weeks ago. I’m glad it finally came back! Now I just have to wait for the hummingbirds… no matter how much I try, I cannot stop thinking about hummingbirds lately!
On www.feederwatch.org it says that suet cages are not a Common Grackles’ favorite type of feeder, so I’m guessing they only come to this one because it does not hang vertically.
Yesterday, I got my first hummingbird. (A male Ruby-Throat.) it hovered above the feeder, stuck his bill inside for about 2 seconds, and then quickly flew away. (Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera with me so I couldn’t get a photo.) I haven’t seen any hummers since. I cleaned and refilled the feeder, but still none came. I’m wondering if they were afraid of the other birds. Since they’re so small, maybe bigger birds over by their food made them feel unsafe? I had another feeder out in the front yard (with no other bird feeders, just a nectar) and they didn’t come to that either. But our dogs do love chasing birds and rabbits, and they bark at everything! (Even sometimes birdsong!) I have been trying to keep them in as much as possible, but I moved the feeder a few hours ago, so I hope the hummers will start coming soon. Does anyone else have ANY ideas on how to get them to come? Hummingbirds are my favorite bird, so I’d really enjoy some info, no matter how simple or complicated. Thx!
The female robin I’ve been monitoring, nicknamed Serene, now has a full brood, and, boy, are they HUNGRY! I am delighted to present such a lovely series of photographs which, without the trusting presence of the birds, and a nice zoom lens, would not otherwise enable me to show off this growing family.
The little ones are quickly growing their feathers. Today is the first day I’ve dared to peek at them since I noticed they hatched. To see that one of them has a tiny foot with the beginnings of “fingernails” (talons, heh!) made my day. Before I know it, they will fly away. I am anxious to report someday that this nesting attempt will be successful.
My whole neighborhood is excited about these birds!