birding intro

[devon]

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Username: devon
location: SE Michigan

my interests in birds: I come from a family of birders on my Dad's side. My first word was "bird," definitely coached! I know how to use a bird book, and I have my own binoculars. Actually, they're a hand-me-down from my grandmother, some very nice Leitz. I always notice birds, but I can only remember the very common or very unusual ones without looking them up.

my yard: quiet suburb with mostly 1/4 acre yards, lots of feeders around. I have a squirrel "resistant" feeder that doesn't do crap: they hang on it to eat and also just shake it to get seed to the ground. The rabbits eat what the squirrels leave behind. I have 1 suet cage and a nyjer net. neighborhood cats come around rarely because we have a big dog.

general habitat: Midwest/Northeast mixed hardwoods and conifers. Lots of maples and oaks, plus interesting shrubbery. we get snow and cold weather 4-5 months a year, so migrations matter. Canada geese spend their summers on the local golf courses!

some birds I see: cardinals, blue jays, house sparrows, red-headed woodpeckers, nuthatches, mourning doves, misc finches, sometimes goldfinches. in the sky we have great blue herons, turkey vultures (of course), red-wing hawks, and sometimes bald eagles. owls are often heard and rarely seen. I think we have a big one (great-horned?) in the local patch of woods!

my blog: has been dead for years, but I'm trying to revive it. I mostly do tumblr and discord these days for fannish pursuits, games, and conventions. tumblr has great birbs. <3 my blog will always be disorganized, but feel free to leave comments whether you follow or not. I posted a brief intro for the Snowflake challenge on Jan 1st.

Comments

Welcome!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> location: SE Michigan <<

That's cool. My partner is originally from Detroit (actual, not suburb).

>> my interests in birds: I come from a family of birders on my Dad's side. My first word was "bird," definitely coached! <<

LOL that is awesome.

>> I always notice birds, but I can only remember the very common or very unusual ones without looking them up.<<

I recognize the ones we have around here, a lot of other Midwest birds, and random sample of birds from other places. If something unusual flies in, then I often have to look it up.

>>my yard: quiet suburb with mostly 1/4 acre yards, lots of feeders around.<<

That's a nice setup.

>> I have a squirrel "resistant" feeder that doesn't do crap: they hang on it to eat and also just shake it to get seed to the ground. <<

Oh dear. Maybe try a different type of deterrent feature? At least it might take them time to learn how to defeat a new one.

https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-birds/feeding-birds/squirrel-proof-bird-feeders/

Another approach is to put out a squirrel feeder, like a corn twirler, to distract them from the birdseed.

https://birdertown.com/collections/squirrel-feeders

>>general habitat: Midwest/Northeast mixed hardwoods and conifers. Lots of maples and oaks, plus interesting shrubbery. we get snow and cold weather 4-5 months a year, so migrations matter. Canada geese spend their summers on the local golf courses!<<

That sounds beautiful. Oak trees are great because they support the most other species.

>>and sometimes bald eagles.<<

We are starting to see more in our area. I think it is because Grand Prairie Friends has 1000+ acres of reserve near the lake.

>> owls are often heard and rarely seen. I think we have a big one (great-horned?) in the local patch of woods!<<

That seems likely, they enjoy big old trees, so you've got the right habitat.

https://avibirds.com/owls-of-michigan/

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/sounds

>>my blog: has been dead for years, but I'm trying to revive it. <<

Go you!

>>I mostly do tumblr and discord these days for fannish pursuits, games, and conventions. tumblr has great birbs. <3 my blog will always be disorganized, but feel free to leave comments whether you follow or not.<<

Dreamwidth has a lot of fannish activity. If you want to explore that here, I recommend fandomcalendar.

[narya_flame]

Hello!

[meowmensteen]

Squirrel-proofing for me has been an ongoing challenge. They keep figuring out how to get around them. They're not that smart, but VERY determined. They don't give up.

[devon]

I honestly don't mind feeding them. We have one that is fat and slow and missing one eye. It sometimes chews on an old bone we left outside after my dog got bored with it. (hollow pig leg bone, I think.) I switched to cheaper seed because they go through so much of it, though. I rarely put out peanuts anymore because of the cost, but the bird feeder get some nice black sunflower seeds mixed in.

If we get a second feeder, it will have better squirrel-proofing, but it's not a high priority right now.

Tag

[ysabetwordsmith]

I created a location: Michigan tag if you want to use that.