YardCrap BIRDS

Northern Cardinal

Why are they named that?  If you live east of the Rocky Mountains, you have a Cardinal in your area.  It is the official state bird of seven states.  I only have 'Southern' Cardinals.  They don't migrate.

They are mostly veggie eaters, but like most birds, love a good bug.  Here in my yard, generations have been raised also eating my "suet" mix.
I have a lot of them.  They are constant entertainment.  The males will peck at their reflection in the window which drives my cats crazy!
If there is a better looking bird, it escapes me.   Many birds this brightly colored are shy at feeders, but not the Cardinal.

Here is a new one just 2 months old.  They start off kinda motley, and the young females can be hard to look at. No problem as the male and female will be breathtakingly beautiful by Fall.   (I checked and 'breathtakingly' is a real word)

They love SunFlower and Salfour at my place.  They also eat a lot of millet, and start each day as the first bird to show in my bedroom window feeder for a bite of suet.  I would guess around here they are the first to rise and the last to turn in each day.
My cat 'Crazy' often is sitting at the window and waiting as the Sun rises as he knows Cardinals are coming.  Here is 'Crazy' with 'Percy'.

Here is Crazy "day sleeping" near the 'heated' window perch in another room.  He is the youngest cat but will be the biggest as he is tall.  At night he sleeps near my feet on the waterbed in "his" corner.

One day the Bride came home and told me she had seen a kitten up the road, stopped her car, but could catch it.
 (Whew! I was glad as that girl tends to bring home more critters than we can feed.

That night was near record cold, and after an unusually cold day, got to 14 that night.  Long after dark, my critters were excited at the door looking out.  Coons, possums, and etc are common here.  I looked out, and there was the kitten - freezing and starving.  (I hope whoever would dump a kitten on a day like that rots in hell.)
I snatched him up, and he went crazy to be caught.  He saw the food bowl and stopped squriming --> "FOOD"!

The Bride promised she would find him a home, that her Pop wanted a cat.  'Crazy' is still here and growing into a giant.

TOAD

My friend TOAD posted this over on YardCrap Forum where lots of critters are discussed.  He knows a lot about birds.

Wow! Great photos.
Your bird sanctuary is looking good.
I am amazed by sharpness of your photographs.
I would be ashamed to post the ones I take with my shaky hands.
I look forward to seeing more photos.
You should post your recipe for suet on the site.

TOAD, thanks for your post. Actually, I just "hope" for a good photo, but mostly seek an interesting one. I don't use a tripod, just my old hands. I know for a fact that your photos are as interesting as mine. If we are having "fun" that is the goal.

As to my "suet" recipe --

Suet can be bought at the supermarket if you ask. Basically, it is raw fat. Mine is a peanut butter mix and the web is full of recipes. Mine is the best as I been at this for decades of trial and error. At my house the birds will not eat the store bought cakes as they prefer my mix. I put them out side by side and ??

Basically the parts are peanut butter, lard, corn meal, flour and that is all.
People add in all kinds of crap, but I no longer do. Seeds are already slippery, why add that and make them impossible for the birds? The same is true of all other crap. Put those out separately, no need to add them to the "suet" station.

I use 'crunchy' peanut butter as it tends to be better than processed. I adjust the mixture depending on the heat. I mix about twice a year as this stuff will keep in the closet for months.

Basically I go 'one to one' with lard, peanut butter, corn meal, and flour. Less flour for Winter due to temps not requiring it. In Winter, softer is better, so experiment and adjust. The goal is "soft as possible" for it not to melt from the feeders.
There is zero need to add anything else. The goal is to attract the birds.

Start small. I have a ten gallon pot and mix enough for months.
Put the lard in the micro wave and it will liquify. Pour that in the pot on the stove. Put the jar of peanut butter in the microwave and it will liquify. Pour that into the pot.
Raise the temp to around 150 and stir in corn meal and flour. All corn meal is OK for Winter.

Put this into clean containers and it will keep for a year.
Be warned, your birds will demand it once fed.

I have a bedroom feeder mounted in a window that is never ending attraction for my 3 cats. For years, Red-bellied Woodpeckers show all day. They haul it off to the nest in Spring, and soon the young are led there to eat. They show evey hour, for years. Other birds do too, especially Cardinals who have been raised on it. The window is a special place.

On the porch is where the others show for "suet". It is strange how different birds prefer different situations, but that is my experience.

"Suet" is the feeder replacement for insects. Birds who don't eat seed will eagerly eat this. Most all birds will eat it with exceptions like Gold Finch and Doves. In Winter after cold kills off the bugs, the demand rises.
If you want to attract interesting birds, "suet" is essential.

Bath Day

Birds like water.  In Summer when the Forest is full of fresh food, feeder activity is down.  The birds all still come in to drink and wash.

One of their favorite places is my "Branch":

This thing draws birds all year round.
Even my big cat 'Percy' drinks there (birds hate that):

Here is a guy who already looks pretty good at my Branch today:

Jumps in:

Swirls around:

Comes out cool and clean:

Got in an email on 7/28/16 that asked to be added to this post. Normally would prefer a new post, but WTF?

*******************************

"Yardcrap bird page is purrrrfect. Looking forward to reading and seeing more. I wouldn't mind having a big drink of water with "Percy" at the "Branch".

Bird Food

I adjust my feeders as the seasons change.  They go in and out of use.  I am always on the look out for an interesting one.  Some of my best are home made to fit my needs.  They distribute the food.  Different birds prefer food in different ways.  
Most of the year I keep out:-

• Water
  - Black-oil Sunflower
  - White Millet
  - Peanutbutter "suet" mix
  - Salflour
  - Peanuts
  - crushed peanuts
  - shelled Sunflower
  - Sugar water
  Other things come and go, but those are almost always out here.
   
  I do keep at least one feeder with sugar water out all year.  A few times after the Rubies have left, a Rufous has shown up for most of Winter.  One year a Calliope showed up and spent the Winter.  Experts wanted to come catch and band it, but I would not allow the tiny guy to under go that stress.  I had to have fresh feeders out at day break everday as they would freeze.  There is no need to take down all your HB feeders in Fall; how much does a little sugar water cost?
  If your HB feeders are not freshly full, feed these tiny birds.  They will soon embark on an incredible journey.  Being 'fit and fat' when they begin can make the difference in their survival. The same bird will return next year all the way back from SA and come back to where your feeder was -> incredible!!

       Small point and shoot camera:

GoldFinch

It is only up to 96 in the shade on the porch today, so thought I would come out and play a couple tunes.  Madeline Peyroux is sounding quite nice.  I have my Dyson fan on as it has no blades to chop up Humming Birds as they buzz me.

I have Goldfinch year round, lots of them.  They eat all seeds. Starting in Spring, they color up to be quite striking.  They breed a little later than most around here - August.  There are no days here on the porch without these guys.

Here is a photo just snapped of one.  It is not the typical photo showing off their incredible plumage, but some personality.  I like it.  Too often when we have a lot of one type bird, we over look them as individuals.  I find birds to be individually different just like all critters.  This old boy looks like he has lived a good life and been in charge of it, sorta like a tiny Eagle.

Mourning Dove

The Sun is setting, and on que, my Doves are arriving.  I have a few.  They are some of my favorite yard birds.  They eat many things, but here, just seed.  The one below is here for SunFlower, but they love millet.  I buy white millet from the feed store in 50# bags.  Don't buy that crap sold in the markets that is a "mix" and a waste of money.  Go to a feed store and buy 100% White Millet.  In Winter I go through a lot of it with migrants.  In Summer the Doves, Cardinals, Buntings, and a couple left over Chipping Sparrows eat it.  In Summer, Millet is not in demand.  SunFlower always is.  I keep out several types of food and adjust with the seasons.  You should too as things are always changing.

Light is fading and this shot is about 50ft off.  It is not the best photo, but still shows what a beautiful bird the Dove is.

Downy WoodPecker

Years back with the help of my Beagle -> 'Rosey', built a bird stand off my porch.  It is second story and up in the trees with the birds.  It looks down on my "Turtle Pond", my Frog Pond", and my "Branch".  Rosey helped me build those.  No feeders are better than water for attracting critters.
This place is small, but big enough for my chair, my gear, and a friend.  It is cozy.  I spare no expense as to making it a fun place.  I enjoy it all seasons, and especially like to be here when it is very cold, very hot, or in a storm.  It is a fun place.  I do all my computer work here.  I built one for the porch whos main tasks are to update my weather station eevery two minutes, and be capable of playing music at the highest quality level.

The gear out here is top notch.  I am an audio-nut (as are my Birds), and my music system here is extremely good after trial and error over years. I have everything here I can think of, even a tiny fridge set at 30 degrees.  In all the World, this is my favorite place.  When I hit the lotto, not moving.

Lake Hartwell is a couple hundred feet away.  I can sit here and see water birds (how cool is that?).

Right now this cute female Downy WoodPecker is ten foot away eating my home made "suet" from a cedar log I driiled 2" holes in.  Homemade is often better than store bought.

I enjoy different types of WoodPeckers.  The Downeys are a constant at my feeders. They are nearly tame and like Jazz, as do I, but will show up for Beach Tunes. 

Summer Feeding

Here in the South, in mid-Summer, there are fewer birds at my many feeders.  That is due to the nearby fields and forest being abundant with seeds, berries, and insects.  Nesting birds require not the seeds I put out, but insects for their young.
Of course they are about, and many drop by for a snack or to my water stations.

The young Humminbirds have fledged.  They keep the porch alive with constant activity.  I have out about a dozen feeders, and from now until they migrate, lots of my sugar water will flow through them.
They constantly attempt to guard and scare each other from the feeders.  My belief is that all this "fake war" helps strenghten the young for the incredible migration they will soon undertake.  The tiny birds wiil be just 3 months old when they start the long trip.

YardCrap BIRDS

Having been a backyard bird watcher for decades, decided I might add to my fun by posting about eperiences as I sit on my porch.
I find it to be never ending excitment! From my chair I have ID on over 100 birds. I have photos.

I actually know some "real" expert birders who can answer questions here.   Just post in comments or email.
I have thousands of photos, but will mostly post fresh ones regardless if they are 'magazine' quality.  
Join in. Email your posts/photos to add to the interest here.

Most photos will be at about 50ft from my 'Catbird' chair. The goal is "good enough" to ID the bird. My camera is a used Olympus OM-D E-M1 from ebay.