Backyard bird watching

[Notfishinenuf]

Finally, After having a Purple Martin house up at the house in RI for over 20 years, we have a pair nesting in the house. They are cool to watch. they put on some awesome displays when feeding. They really put on a show. I will bring my camera with me the next time I am up there and post some pics.

Vic

[Raven]

less mosquito's at your place

[Notfishinenuf]

You are not kidding. The skeeters there are horrible! They bite all day and you can put saddles on some of them. That is why we put up the martin house. Now if we can keep them coming back with some friends next year I will be very happy

Originally Posted by Raven

less mosquito's at your place

[FishermanTim]

Originally Posted by Notfishinenuf

You are not kidding. The skeeters there are horrible! They bite all day and you can put saddles on some of them. That is why we put up the martin house. Now if we can keep them coming back with some friends next year I will be very happy

If I'm not mistaken, they like to live in colonies, which they sell martin houses with multiple nest boxes/chambers. I live in an area that isn't condusive to martins or swallows. What we do have is a wide variety of traditional backyard birds.
Our backyard bug zapper has to be the sparrows. They can/will eat bugs all day long, and since they will breed repeatedly during the year, they are always on the lookout for bugs to feed their young.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Notfishinenuf

You are not kidding. The skeeters there are horrible!
They bite all day and you can put saddles on some of them.

two enemies of Mosquitos are <<WIND>> and Garlic oil perls
so keep the wind avenues open by clearing

sometimes it's worth it to search and destroy the breeding grounds
by throwing into their water a dunk donut mosquito killer
that ya buy at home depot...kills them ALL!

oil sits on top of the water killing them
in the larvae stage .... also dragon flies eat them....
i call em buddy...
when they land on my rod.... waiting for a tap...(bite)

[Raven]

i had never seen this before....

but a red squirrel was sounding the alarm
as to my presense....

and it kept scolding and chippin away loudly
attracting the attention of my local HAWK

I watched with much amusement as that hawk
flew up and down the huge pine tree trunk
just inches away from the BARK
(even round and round ) trying to catch that
red squirrel without much sucess
but it sure came mighty close.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd:

On the way home yesterday i spied a hawk sitting on a
boundary post that was perhaps 3.5 to four feet tall
right on the side of the road
so camoflaged my wife never even saw it....

so i banged a U-ey and pulled right up to it
within four feet and totally stopped
so it turned (facing us) to look at us
but stayed there quite unafraid glaring at us....
I said: "what's up Dude...?"

it had just caught a nice fat field mouse and was
gonna sit there and just eat it up...
the heck with us....it was Hungry -lol

[striperman36]

My squirrels are drinking my hummingbird feeders!

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by striperman36

My squirrels are drinking my hummingbird feeders!

They seem to be desperate for this time of the year.

I had one yesterday climb up the GLASS on the window to get to
the feeder. He hung upside down off the chain of the lucite satelite feeder
and chewed a hole in the side of it.
Haven't been able to trap him, he'll go inside the trap and lick off only
the top layer of peanut butter then back out without setting off the
lightest setting of the trap.

I'll have to get a shelled peanut and lodge it deep in the trap hole
and then smear it with peanut butter. If he wants that nut the trap
WILL go off for sure. Have to see how smart he really is.