Judi Posted August 4, 2010 Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 I didn't think of the predators!! Yeicks!! I was just thinking they would enjoy the pretty purples and such like I do. Some nice silver and gold to add a little "bling" to their nests.... hmmm. Have to admit that does make sense though, oh well - Live and Learn!:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njquiltergirl Posted August 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 Preditors...snakes... One morning we noticed a snake hanging out under a tree. It was still cool and it was not moving much. Later on we discovered the Blue Jay nest up above in that tree with eggs. Luckily my daughter bothered the snake enough he left and the bied eggs survived. Luckily, the eggs went on to be the little Jays we photographed. Fun! Lisa NJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted August 4, 2010 Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 With horses trained and boarded on the property behind us, our swallows nests are hanging with horse tail hairs--and we have rescued more than one baby tangled and hanging from the nests. The pairs are on their second batch of babies for the year. Love those skeeter-eaters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennan100 Posted August 5, 2010 Report Share Posted August 5, 2010 Anyone put out dryer lint for their nests? I've been doing it for years. I have a small fenced patio, and I put the lint up on the top board of the fence. I pull it apart into small peices and just lay them along teh fence. I do the same thing with little broken up bits of bread of biscuit or corn bread. I don't get the bigger birds, just small ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marycontrary Posted August 5, 2010 Report Share Posted August 5, 2010 I was feeling soooo guilty because, with the exception of thistle for the goldfinches, I stopped feeding the birds this summer. Too many blackbirds, house sparrows, doves (2 or 3 swinging on a feeder can spill a lot of seed), too much noise, and they scare off many of the "nicer" birds. Not to mention all the little critters (mice) who gather to scarf up the fallen seed. At least we don't have snakes coming to eat the mice like we did in Texas! Anyway, glad to hear I'm not the only one who has found it necessary to stop feeding until fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodyrose Posted August 5, 2010 Report Share Posted August 5, 2010 I live near a woods but dont have to worry about bears! However I do have to have baffles to keep the squirrels out. I have predator guards on all my poles and I also use mechanics grease (its nasty, put it on with an old paint stick) below that for the snakes. The wooden dowel rod is called a "spooker" and when the bluebirds lay their first egg, I put that on the house. It discourages English sparrows and house wrens. They will both destroy eggs. Only the sparrow will peck a mature bluebird to death. I also will trap sparrows (just the English kind, not the native sparrows, which are fine). If you use tube feeders with out large trays under them, it will discourage the bigger pest birds like the grackles, crows and starlings because they cant hang on to those tiny posts for long! I also use a feeder that has a "fence" surrounding it, so the little birds can get in, but the big birds are too large. I put meal worms in it for the bluebirds this year. The robins love mealworms too and they were scaring the bluebirds away from the open cup I had on the house last year. As you can tell, I am as crazy about my birds as I am about quilting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njquiltergirl Posted August 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2010 Jody...pictures, please! Sounds like you have the bad critters well under control! Congrats...mechanics' grease is very clever. Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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