# What's exciting at your birdfeeders? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 11, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587 "2020-05-11T16:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/41 "2020-05-13T12:41:17Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > We had bird feeders for some years until we finally realized that the scientific name for these is “rat feeders”. > [@Ruken](#): > > Which is why my condo board nixed them. Weekly we go through 50 pounds of sunflower seed, 50 pounds of shelled corn, a few pounds of nyjer, and now a dozen oranges. No rat problem. The snakes are eating well.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/42 "2020-05-13T12:49:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > > On reflection, this really isn’t about art. Moving to MPSIMS. Sorry, I did a search for “bird feeder” and found threads, [like this one](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=408273&highlight=Bird), in Cafe. > [@](#): > > Cafe Society > Our salon for art, drama, literature, movies, music, comics, cuisine – all the artistic disciplines – if it’s about creativity, entertainment, or leisure, it goes here. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/43 "2020-05-13T13:09:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Weekly we go through 50 pounds of sunflower seed, 50 pounds of shelled corn, a few pounds of nyjer, and now a dozen oranges. > > No rat problem. The snakes are eating well.🙂 Not a lot of snakes here, at least not ones that show themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/44 "2020-05-13T13:41:54Z")
The only feeders I have are for hummingbirds. A few ruby-throated have been hanging around since sometime in March. Some years they will stay all summer, and sometimes they keep migrating north. The rufous and black-chinned all left in March and April after spending the winter here. We saw three or four(mostly black-chins) every day. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/45 "2020-05-13T14:48:51Z")
They weren’t at the feeders but there was a small flock of Western Tanagers flitting around my yard for about half an hour yesterday. Bright, adult males in breeding plumage, females, juveniles, all looking for bugs and chirping away. It was absolutely delightful! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/46 "2020-05-13T18:21:41Z")
My parents get Cooper’s hawks flying around as part of their territory. Watching all the little birds freeze or scatter can be darkly funny. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/47 "2020-05-13T18:35:18Z")
We have robins fledging now, so on the way home from work I stopped at a little bait shop and bought two dozen night crawlers. (He probably shouldn’t be open, but it’s a little open-air booth, and he is masked) I put a piece of plywood on the ground, and dumped the worms. Then I set up a lawn chair, lit a bowl, and watched a frnezy of robins devour my offering. Twenty four night crawlers gone in twelve minutes. Picked up another bag of oranges also. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/48 "2020-05-13T18:43:54Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > We had bird feeders for some years until we finally realized that the scientific name for these is “rat feeders”. Rats dont like to come out at day. Feed just enuf so that the seed is all gone by afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/49 "2020-05-13T18:49:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > No rat problem. The snakes are eating well.🙂 Our ravens eat the mice. They and the squirrel have a stand off. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/50 "2020-05-13T19:09:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Our ravens eat the mice. They and the squirrel have a stand off. During her lunch break, my gf saw a crow attack something. She ran outside and saved a toad. I pointed out that crows gotta eat, so she put a plate with canned cat food in the yard (we don’t have a cat, but have canned cat food for raccoon Havahart bait). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/51 "2020-05-13T20:27:53Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > During her lunch break, my gf saw a crow attack something. She ran outside and saved a toad. I pointed out that crows gotta eat, so she put a plate with canned cat food in the yard (we don’t have a cat, but have canned cat food for raccoon Havahart bait). If you trap and relocate raccoons, you are condemning them to a nasty and drawn out death. It is also illegal here in CA. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/52 "2020-05-13T20:33:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > During her lunch break, my gf saw a crow attack something. She ran outside and saved a toad. I pointed out that crows gotta eat, so she put a plate with canned cat food in the yard (we don’t have a cat, but have canned cat food for raccoon Havahart bait). If you trap and relocate raccoons, you are condemning them to a nasty and drawn out death. It is also illegal here in CA. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/53 "2020-05-14T11:44:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If you trap and relocate raccoons, you are condemning them to a nasty and drawn out death. > > It is also illegal here in CA. I’ve purchased and used extension cords that were illegal in California. We cannot have raccoons living in our barn. I’ve previously contacted the state and have permission to kill them out of season, as they are rabies vectors and I’ve killed a couple of rabid raccoons. The property I drive them to is owned and inhabited by a friend who is fine with it. We are talking about two or three raccoons every few years. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/54 "2020-05-14T12:06:12Z")
Thirteen finches on the finch feeders yesterday. I think that may be a record for us. I’ve tried to get pictures, but to get close enough to the window to get a decent shot, I wind up scaring them all off. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/55 "2020-05-15T20:07:49Z")
We don’t know all of their names. Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal (one evening she was perched on our plumeria and it looked like he was flying back and forth from the feeder to feed her!), Mr. and Mrs. BlueJay (we didn’t know how much bigger they are from cardinals) and a couple of cute little finches we realized were [painted buntings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_bunting). We haven’t seen them lately, but we’re in Orlando(ish) so they probably went back north. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/56 "2020-05-15T21:04:34Z")
Well, now I have squirrels stealing pizza and eating it in the back yard. Not sure that counts, as I did not actually put the pizza in the bird feeder, but… ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/57 "2020-05-16T01:48:38Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > My parents get Cooper’s hawks flying around as part of their territory. Watching all the little birds freeze or scatter can be darkly funny. We have a red-shouldered hawk hanging around. I saw him (her?) being chased off by a mockingbird yesterday. Mockingbirds are the badasses of the songbird world. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/58 "2020-05-16T01:54:12Z")
Not at my feeder, but today I started hearing a wood thrush a couple of yards away. Such a beautiful song. He’s been here all day - hope he sticks around! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/59 "2020-05-16T02:05:47Z")
I have “seen” every bird mentioned so far. Thank you to all participants. Bird on! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587/60 "2020-05-16T02:52:59Z")
I can’t identify a bird I saw at my mother’s feeder. It looks like a very large sparrow. I don’t think it’s a Harris sparrow, about the largest, but in shape and pattering that’s what it reminds me of. The top of the head is black, with a faint white stripe bisecting the skull. Above the eyes two very distinct white stripes run horizontally along the face, above the eye, not around it. The cheeks below the stripes are grayish bown, and the rest of the body is flecked in various browns and grays, like many sparrows. It was the size that first caught my eye, bigger that your average sparrow but not say as big as a robin. Perhaps the size of a cardinal? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-exciting-at-your-birdfeeders/853587.md?page=4)