I keep two bird feeders full of sunflower seeds during the winter but cut it down to just one in the summer.
This summer has really been super for colorful birds around that one feeder, more than normal. This feeder hangs on a pole, with a predator guard on it, about 20 feet from a window next to my recliner. Just a little farther out from the feeder, there is a bird bath with running water (a big attraction for the birds). I sleep in this recliner and so when I wake in the morning, just a slight turn of the head and I have a close view of what’s at the feeder and the bird bath. I also have a hummingbird feeder right next to that window, with an oriole feeder full of grape jelly right above it. Straight to my front is a series of windows above the TV and there is a hummingbird feeder hanging there with another grape jelly feeder next to it. I don’t stop there, though, as I have another hummer feeder next to the kitchen sink window and another next to the bathroom window. Thus I’m entertained by birds no matter where I’m at in the house! In the backyard, I have three red cardinal flower plots that total about 300 plants, which are also a big attraction for the hummers.
Back to that sunflower feeder — normally there is not a whole lot of activity around it during the summer, but this year sure has been different! Apparently, a pair of cardinals nested near me, and a number of this year’s young are now grabbing sunflower from the feeder along with their parents. At first, they came with the parents but just perched around the feeder, begging from Ma and Dad but soon learned to “find” those treats for themselves. Rose-breasted grosbeaks have also been plentiful this summer and they too must have nested nearby as there are quite a few youngsters using the feeder. Nuthatches, chickadees, attraction woodpeckers, blue jays, house finches, titmouses, mourning doves and catbirds have been showing up more than usual with several red-bellied woodpeckers who grab a mouthful of those sunflower seeds and “haul” them off to some crack or hole in a tree to cache for future use.
The homemade grape jelly feeders that hang inside my roof’s three-and-a-half-foot overhang are pretty much protected from the rain and give the birds some protection from the sharp-shinned hawk that shows up periodically. The roof overhang also gives the hummer food some protection from the sun and thus does not spoil as soon. Both these types of feeders are placed up tight to that roof overhang by cords that run through hook eyes screwed under the overhang. The feeders can thus be raised and lowered by this cord. Both types of feeders are protected from ant invasion by homemade water “moats” above each feeder.
The two grape feeders have been a huge attraction this year with the orioles, with sometimes four or five birds active around them. I believe that there have been several pairs nesting nearby, as most of them are the young “dull” birds. I enjoy their “visits” but really marvel at the brilliant orange and black plumage beauty of the adult males when they show up. A few catbirds and some of the rose-breasted grosbeaks have also discovered the grape feeders and even a woodpecker or two has been seen on them. All this activity at the grape feeders has kept me busy filling them almost every day, with my grocery runs always including 4 or 5 jars of jelly.
Hummingbirds are of course plentiful again this year, but there seem to be fewer males than normal. The males have nothing to do with nest building or the raising of the young ones but just perch near a feeder and dominate it by chasing the other hummers away. This causes a problem for the females who are busy with raising the young and have to expend more energy and time feeding. By hanging more feeders around the house, it makes it harder for males to control a feeder and thus allows the females a little easier approach to the feeders. Of course, once the young leave the nest and follow Ma to the feeders, the males get overwhelmed and it is harder for them to dominate a feeder. It also gives me a great view of sometimes three to five birds at a feeder at a time as the young and Ma tolerate each other better.
So maintaining all these feeders is a pain but the enjoyment I receive from watching all the activity around them is worth it, especially from the comfort of my home.