Birding!

[Matth05]

They love Black Oil Sunflower sees, but so do many other birds that are larger and more aggressive and may hog the feeders. You can buy special feeders designed for use with Niger Seed, which is a tiny black seed, fairly expensive but very attractive to small birds. The feeders in question require the bird to cling to the side of the tube feeder while pulling the seeds out through the fine mesh. There are no perches provided. This keeps a lot of species from stealing the Niger seed because they aren't very adapt at clinging like that...which in turn keeps those feeders open for expert clingers like Chickadees, Goldfinches, Redpolls, Nuthatches, etc...and not much else.

Wow, I’ll be taking note of this and certainly plan on trying this out in the future.

 

[jjohnwm]

There's a chain of stores called Wild Birds Unlimited that carries just about any type of bird feeder and accessory imaginable. If there isn't one in a big city close by to you, I'm sure they do online sales as well.

As much as I love DIY projects...Niger seed feeders pretty much demand to be bought commercially to get all their benefits, i.e. excluding most species aside from Goldfinches and their allies.

I have several friends who all remarked the same thing when they saw my feeder stations equipped with Niger feeders: "Holy crap! Did you actually buy those feeders?"

 

[RD.]

IME #1 food for American Goldfinch is Niger seed. They prefer it over all other foods that I have tried. Just make to keep it dry and fresh. If it gets at all funky they will not eat it.

 

[tlindsey]

Whilst I'm at it I may as well post a few pics of other favourite birds of mine. I'd almost forgotten how blessed we are in the UK regarding birdlife.

Robin.
View attachment 1533663

Magpie.
View attachment 1533664

Goldfinch.
View attachment 1533665

Jay.
View attachment 1533666

Jackdaw.
View attachment 1533667

Pied Wagtail.
View attachment 1533668

Apart from the jay I can see these birds basically everyday. The jay is a little more secretive.

Nice looking wild birds.
This is the robin of my neck of the woods.
https://images.app.goo.gl/XckQoefGNoUSH95y7

 

[esoxlucius]

Nice looking wild birds.
This is the robin of my neck of the woods.
https://images.app.goo.gl/XckQoefGNoUSH95y7

That robin looks nothing like our UK robin. jjohnwm , are the UK and North American robins even remotely related, or are they just two different birds which have been given the same name?

 

[tlindsey]

That robin looks nothing like our UK robin. jjohnwm , are the UK and North American robins even remotely related, or are they just two different birds which have been given the same name?

Yes are different species.

 

[jjohnwm]

...are the UK and North American robins even remotely related, or are they just two different birds which have been given the same name?

Well...they're both birds...

North American robins are members of the thrush family; Euros are a different group...I believe flycatchers. Cichlids and tetras.

I've read that the name was applied to the NA birds by home-sick European immigrants, based strictly upon the rusty breast colour.

Ours is nicer...

Traditionally, in NA, it isn't really spring until the first Robin appears on your lawn. It's one of the bird species for which I usually keep some raisins and/or mealworms on hand in case a bad-weather straggler shows up.

 

[esoxlucius]

Ours is nicer..

I have a sneaky feeling here that being an avid and very proud Canuckistanian bird fancier, that every UK bird I mention, you are going to have a "nicer" one!

If I was as keen as you I'd probably take your claims as an all out act of war and a long bloody battle would commence, but for now I'll allow you to bask in victory, lol.

 

[Friller2009]

Not to brag but I can go for a walk and see some of the best birds in the world.

 

[esoxlucius]

Not to brag but I can go for a walk and see some of the best birds in the world.

Are we talking about the feathered variety or otherwise!!