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Carolyn, you are getting excellent advise here, especially what Gin mentioned about the earth worms not being good for nestlings & never seen an adult even eat any. Also to not overfeed the worms to them, more like a treat. A second to the idea if your blues are eating the dried worms, stick with them. The live are not anything to handle (I just use a plastic spoon or fork) but they are more expenses (I think??) but they must be refrigerated. Unfortunately, since I have had the same generations of blues since I began 9 seasons ago, they don’t know anything but live worms, which is what they like best.
Thanks, Cher, that’s what I mean. However, I notice when we go to page 2, it redirects to your thread “Are you having trouble signing up” – is it supposed to do that? I just missed this since it was in a different spot.
We want to thank you for the hard work you have done on this new site to make it more add free and keep it free in price. You have done a great job – like everything, when we have something new thrown at us, it takes time to get “acquainted”, especially for us Sr. citizens!!
See, I even got an emotion inserted!!
Thanks, Tammy – you must have been on a long vacation – missed you.Lexi, fun video and nice picture. I feed live mealworms from about mid-March through early/mid November & then switch to peanut butter suet (homemade & cheap) at that time. The blues will pout for a while because they aren’t getting worms, but once they understand they aren’t getting the live worms, they begin to LOVE the suet, especially in our cold Mid-Missouri weather. I do think it is important to remember that human intervention in the feeding of wild birds is basically for our own enjoyment, and then secondly to help them out when nesting season comes & get through the winter. Our feeding is just like giving candy to a child, in other words, a treat – not as a main diet. They need to find food on their own. P.S. I do have a seed (BOSS) feeder in my back yard, apart from my caged suet feeder. We have lots of cardinals, juncos, white-crowned sparrows, finches, doves, and of course, those pesky HOSP at this feeder. I have NEVER seen my blues at this seeder. Good luck this season.
Hi, and welcome to this great forum! Yes, the blues (& other birds) are really scouting. I had my pair of blues (which overwinter with me here in Mid-Missouri) scouting two different boxes this past weekend. Of course, the HOSP were right there also. But for sure it would be unusual for you to see them this early there where you are. Good luck.
Pami, I am SO glad you are here on the new forum, as it is nice to have someone in the same state/weather. This past 3 days were so warm, (actually in the 70’s the past two days at least) that ALL the birds are beginning to think about nesting. My blues pair were checking out their favorite house, and so were the HOSP. I am keeping a close watch today (Sunday) to see if I need to set the Van-Ert trap for those HOSP, as the blues are also investigating a different box. Let the fun begin!!
Welcome, Amy! Although the starlings are a pretty bird, they are non-native (brought in from Europe in the 1800’s) and a real threat to our native birds like Gin said. They come in groups of hundreds to our rural areas and look like black water in our fields. They are very nasty after their “visit” but mainly will try to take over our beloved birds and others housing. We don’t want to make them feel welcome here. Look forward to some good photos from you!
I got my first HOSP of 2016 with my VanErt in-box trap. This pair was scouting out my BB box – I had her (unfortunately not HIM) within 5 minutes after setting the trap. But I know he will be back with a new gal. We are having a warm-up spell with temps today in the low 60’s, so I guess he thought spring was here!
Well, just slightly before dark, she did fly to a close tree – stayed there for quite some time and I thought she would not leave for the night, but I believe she did (it was getting pretty dark & I could not see well). Good thing……….
Renee – I have found several patterns on the web but have not purchased any yet. I prefer to get just a pattern, as I have TONS of different thread to use up. Yes, linen is very difficult to work on but is very beautiful.
Thanks everyone for your input – I will be returning my ground trap to location in the next day or two – we were gone a few days & got busy after the 1st of the year – it’s next on my agenda!!
Very nice, Renee! I used to do a lot of cross stitching, then as does happen, my eyes didn’t want to adjust as well, so I quit. Is this done on regular cross stitch weave, or on linen, which is VERY difficult (this was my last project when I quit). Do you have a pattern for this still? I would love to give it one more try, as I actually have one wall in my family room dedicated to birds & flower pictures, and this would really finish up the arrangement. If you do, send me a personal message or something.
Chris, AMEN to what Tammy said about buying a VanErt in-box trap. They are the best thing invented I think. I don’t do a lot of ground trapping in the winter, due to my age and severe weather. But I have done some, usually only to catch everything except HOSP!! But come spring & nesting season a Van-Ert in-box trap is essential – I even have two and use them on different boxes at the same time. Welcome to the forum!
