Orioles are not birds that one typically associate with being seed eaters but this Altimira oriole at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park certainly seemed to dig them. Most of us think of orioles as nectar, fruit and jelly feeder birds but I’ve seen them sample seed and suet when Baltimore orioles arrive up in Minnesota [ Read More ]
This gray catbird has taken to the suet plugs at the feeder in a big way. It’s one of two catbirds (presumably a pair) that have decided the peanut suet dough in the woodpecker log is the best thing ever. Hope they bring their fledglings too.
I’m in a quandary with my beehives and my love of birds. On my way out to the Horicon Marsh Bird Festival, I stopped at Mr. Neil’s for a quick check of our new beehives and some birding. The warblers have arrived and the cool weather has forced those who arrive early in migration to [ Read More ]
Male red-bellied woodpecker coming in for some suet dough.
I went out to Mr. Neil’s yesterday to deal with some of our beehives that died over the winter (it was a hard winter, lots of beekeepers lost hives, it’s part of the hobby). While walking around outside, I could hear titmice singing territory song and then I heard a golden-crowned kinglet. I looked out [ Read More ]
The Great Backyard Bird Count was over the weekend and normally for bird county things I like to do it at Mr. Neil’s because he gets better birds at his home than I do. But I never cease to be amazed at what I can attract with some sensible bird feeding choices out of my [ Read More ]
Here is a friendly neighborhood tree sparrow reminding you that today is the start of the Great Backyard Bird Count. This is YOUR chance to take 15 minutes day over the next four days to note what birds and how many of each you see. This is a joint project with Audubon and Cornell Lab. [ Read More ]
I found this suet at a Walmart last night. Periodically, people email or ask me, “Hey, I’ve had a suet feeder out, but no bird comes to it. Why won’t they come?” Most of the time, I picture a yard void of trees, but after finding this suet in a popular shopping destination, I wonder [ Read More ]
Oh, Rainbow Mealworms, why couldn’t you have had a birder to take a quick look at this ad before you submitted it for print? I feel for you, I bet you’ll get a few phone calls over this one. I was thumbing through one of the many bird magazines that find their way into my [ Read More ]
We got a wee bit of snow. We’re still trying to dig out of it. After watching the feeding frenzy at Neil’s on Friday, I felt certain that the weather folks were “for serious” when they reported one to two feet of snow was eminent the next day. Saturday morning I woke up to seven [ Read More ]
