We moved into a house last year that has a water feature, and it is irresistible for birds. I've had 70 different bird species in the backyard in the last year, and I'm in the city.
Bird Migration and Misc Birding Thread
- Thread starter Kinch
- Start date
That is my understanding also. I've got one and the branch it was built on hanging in my man cave. I'm also of the understanding that bald faced hornets will attack unprovoked, so observe from a distance if they are still active
Yes, I'm in the Twin Cities (usually very cold winters) so they come inside and live in a large stock tank in my basement. I'm considering leaving them out next winter with a heater and aerator, but we'll see. Supposedly they would do just fine.
Yea it looked relatively shallow. If it's a deeper body of water can they just stay in there unheated?
It's about 3 feet deep. If it wouldn't freeze solid, it would just need to be aerated to leave a hole for outgassing and they would be able to stay in unheated. I'm trying to decide if I want to rely on a heater that could stop in a power outage, or just continue bringing them in each winter. One of my koi was a couple hundred bucks.
Mainly the nest picture. I believe you will find the base is actually moss. I love chickadees and they are actually vey friendly and can be trained to eat right out of your hand! My previous house backed up to woods not far from the Mississippi River so I had almost every type of bird imaginable that frequented my yard. I really miss that yard. We had to move for work and my wife insisted on a "new" house. A subdivision built in a former cornfield that will take decades to get mature trees. If you get blue birds, watch out for the sparrows. They will aggressively try and take over the bluebird nests, breaking the eggs and even killing the babies after they are hatched.
Our neighbor has a big bird feeding setup in their front yard. The only cool parts are the ducks and the owl that show up regularly. The downside is they don’t see backboard on our basketball hoop. I’m picking up dead birds every week or two.
Is there an app similar to Merlin for wildlife in general?
I was out late at night with the dog dragging me around and thought I heard a bobcat. Husband makes fun of this for several days. Then a neighbor who lives on his deck smoking came over to show us the cool picture he took of the bobcat on the bridge.
Maybe if there was a good app for weird noises in the dark, I can spare myself from Mr. Know it All.
I was out late at night with the dog dragging me around and thought I heard a bobcat. Husband makes fun of this for several days. Then a neighbor who lives on his deck smoking came over to show us the cool picture he took of the bobcat on the bridge.
Maybe if there was a good app for weird noises in the dark, I can spare myself from Mr. Know it All.
Does a bob cat meow?
I’m in West Des Moines and there’s kind of a dry creek bed behind me. We had a bob cat with babies a few years ago. It kept the rabbit population low. They must be gone because the rabbits are living their best life this year.
Sometimes. I think they meow and purr in addition to yowling and screaming.
We used to see rabbits scrambling out of peony bushes every time we pulled in. There was a mangy fox under neighbor’s deck who winnowed them out, and I think the bobcat has that duty now as the fox got hit by the highway.
What's not shown is a waterfall and 30 foot stream that circulates back to the pond. The whole setup is a lot of work, but we love it.
I’m in Minnesota as well let me know if you spot something rare
Anybody here use eBird notices? I signed up for Hennepin County, MN notices for rare bird sighting but emails stopped coming sometime this winter. Deleted the notices and signed up again and still nothing. Asked some other peeps while out birding owls last week and they have the same problem.
BTW, thread got me to refill my feeder. Stopped putting seed out when the ******* deer knocked over the feeder pole this winter. I hate those ******* deer. Bad enough they eat the landscape to the ground in my neighborhood but now they are just vandals.
BTW, thread got me to refill my feeder. Stopped putting seed out when the ******* deer knocked over the feeder pole this winter. I hate those ******* deer. Bad enough they eat the landscape to the ground in my neighborhood but now they are just vandals.
Thank you @Kinch For this thread. I screwed half an orange on my deck yesterday and I'll be damned if we didn't have a male and female oriole today. Only the 2nd time my wife has seen one live. They are, by far, my favorite bird and now I have proof they will come here. Now I can build a feeder or buy one. So happy tonight.
Also have our hummingbird feeder between our porch chairs out front. They fly in all the time while we are sitting there. But only a few will actually eat while we are sitting there. Sometimes they just come and hover in front of me like they are trying to tell me about Timmy in the old well.
Also have our hummingbird feeder between our porch chairs out front. They fly in all the time while we are sitting there. But only a few will actually eat while we are sitting there. Sometimes they just come and hover in front of me like they are trying to tell me about Timmy in the old well.
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There’s a Discord group for Minnesota birding if you are interested. I can send you an invite if you wish. Up to date rare birds get reported here. Just a couple of days ago an upland sandpiper was hanging out at a Bush Lake which is highly unusual for Hennepin
Bluebird family started. This has been a fun process.
