© DeadlyTeaParty Property Please join my nature page: www.facebook.com You’ll never guess what I came across today?? I CAME ACROSS A GOLDFINCH’S NEST; EVEN BETTER THE ACTUAL PAIR WERE MAKING IT!! I love these little birds; they are so bright and colourful; to be truthful I find it real had to get great videos of them!! Latin name Carduelis carduelis Family Finches (Fringillidae) Overview A highly coloured finch with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Sociable, often breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. Their long fine beaks allow them to extract otherwise inaccessible seeds from thistles and teasels. Increasingly they are visiting birdtables and feeders. In winter many UK goldfinches migrate as far south as Spain. Where to see them Anywhere there are scattered bushes and trees, rough ground with thistles and other seeding plants. Likes orchards, parks, gardens, heathland and commons. Less common in upland areas and most numerous in southern England. When to see them All year round. What they eat Seeds and insects in summer.

Goldfinch lovers and mourning dove admirers should supply a feeder that contains thistle, also known as niger seed. This highly nutritious seed is rich in both protein and fat. House finches, redpolls, siskins, juncos and purple finches also love these seeds. The best way to serve the seeds to the birds is in a tube feeder. Cardinals, by the way, hate to eat from a tube feeder.

If you want a seed that is the favorite of most seed eating birds, try black oil sunflower seeds. The outer shells are soft enough so smaller seed eating birds can crack them, but the inside is the primary reason for the popularity. This meaty seed provides not only a high amount of fat but quality protein for the feathered friends. Bluejays prefer the black stripe sunflower for their bird feeder seed and goldfinches like a smaller black oil sunflower seed. Many times the smaller seeds are more inexpensive and last longer because there are more to the pound.

You can keep gackles and starlings away and attract cardinals, chickadees, downey woodpeckers, nuthatches and titmice with safflower seed. Most squirrels don’t bother with this fare either so it leaves the feeder full for your feather friends.

Millet, often used as a filler in mixed wild bird feed, find praise from cardinals, juncos, doves, house finches and sparrows. Most of them prefer the white variety of millet and kick the red millet bird feeder seed to the ground. However, if you put out corn you’ll get the blackbirds, bluejays, and the friendly squirrel back at the feeder.

If you love cardinals then try some shelled unsalted peanuts. They love it. Watch out though, you’ll have a lot of squirrels competing for those nuts. Squirrel like peanuts almost more than sunflower seeds.

When you feed the birds, make certain that you keep the feeder clean. Clean it out once a month and dry it thoroughly. Seeds that get damp, mold. Bacteria grows on the feeder and spreads to the diners. Leaving your feeder dirty can cause a great deal of harm to the birds.

Keep a separate feeder for suet. You can use suet cakes or make your own treat for the birds. Melt down animal fat from the butcher and mix it with bird feeder seed. Another taste treat for birds that goes well at a suet feeder is a ball of peanut butter mixed with seeds. Birds love it and it’s far more appropriate in the summer months than the heavy animal fat.

Regardless of the time of year, all birds need water. Water attracts as many birds as feed in winter months and hot dry summer weather. If you live in the Frozen North, get a heater for your birdbath to prevent the water from freezing.

So, chose the birds that you want and find the feed that brings them to you. Avoid inexpensive feed that contains a lot of fillers when you buy bird feeder seed. You’ll find that it’s cheaper in the long run to buy good seed that the birds eat, rather than inexpensive food that doesn’t get eaten.

You can find more information about bird feeder seed at our site. While you’re there browse through our selection of squirrel proof bird feeders and other seed feeders.

]]> http://birdhousefeeder.net/select-the-correct-bird-feeder-seeds-and-see-your-favorite-birds.html/feed/ 0 http://birdhousefeeder.net/do-quail-fly-and-make-nests-in-birdhouses.html/ http://birdhousefeeder.net/do-quail-fly-and-make-nests-in-birdhouses.html/#comments Fri, 13 May 2011 16:53:46 +0000 admin http://birdhousefeeder.net/do-quail-fly-and-make-nests-in-birdhouses.html Also, do birds eat seeds in feeders or off the ground.

I hung a suet feeder up over the summer and no birds seem to find it. Now that it’s winter I am trying again and this video is the first time I have seen the little birds at the feeder. These little birds always travel in groups and once one of them found the feeder it was only a matter of a minute before the feeder had ten birds on it. They all ate for about a minute and then were all gone. Birds may consume a quarter to a third of their body weight of food each day. You may be wondering what suet is . . . suet is animal fat. Suet cakes for birds are suet mixed with different combinations of things birds like to eat such as seeds, grains, nuts, fruits, or insects and provides a source of energy to wild birds. Inexpensive and durable wire cages that can be hung from branches, tree trunks, or hooks hold the suet for clinging birds—that is, birds that use their feet to cling onto objects such as the trunk of a tree. Not all birds can cling to a hanging object. One common clinging bird is the woodpecker. Jays are a type of bird that does not cling. The best price I have found the suet feeder shown here and the Suet cakes are at Wal-Mart for about .25 each.

I was walking through the kitchen when I noticed this tiny bird at one of the window feeders. These window bird feeders are perfect for any time but they are especially nice during bad weather. You can still enjoy the company of birds right at your windows!

Thank you Pat for building the bird feeders.

Find out what birds come to visit my bird feeder on a typical snowy day in central Ohio. Transcript: “It was a cold, overcast day in central Ohio. I set up a camera for a day to capture the typical birds that visit my feeder. The birds were ready for breakfast bright and early when the sun came up. On this particular day we captured Juncos, Starlings, House Sparrows, House Finches, Goldfinches & Mourning Doves. Activity in the afternoon slowed down a little bit. There aren’t many trees in the area so we don’t have any squirrels and we don’t get some of the more popular birds of the region that require more cover like chickadees & blue jays. Other birds that I’ve seen at this feeder include Northern Cardinals, grackles & red-winged blackbirds.”

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