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I put up a birdfeeder yesterday – so far, no takers. a beautiful red cardinal even pitched on my deck railing looking for food, but ignore the feeder 20 feet away – how long before they discover the feeder?

In reply to birdseye

any food in it?




I think in the winter months ,there is more need for food!

In reply to camos

Great question.

And great segue into the following story...

While working in Pittsburgh (FedEx) a few years back, I shared a (double) cubicle with this gorgeous 6'2" blonde who kept plants all around her space. One day she asked me why the plant leaves kept turning yellow and falling even though she kept them watered daily.

In my quest to find out the NPK ratio of the plant food she was using, I asked her to show me the container. Her blank stare followed by her question "What plant food?" was priceless.

In reply to birdseye

be patient. When the come, they will come in large numbers. Also it depends on you geographic location, some birds come back from south later than others.

Simple stuff: keep the feeder stocked, away from dogs, cats and the birds will soon follow. In 7 - 14 days you will start to have repeat visitors. When I am in my house in Georgia, nothing starts my morning better (well, correction, it is the SECOND best) than coffee and a gander into the backyard.

Also, don't waste time if you bought a feeder that is not Squirrel proof. Not only do they eat all the food, they multiple like rats when they have a reliable source. So get a squirrel proof feeder or run it via a long wire.

In reply to camos

In reply to Drapsey

Lots of sweet bird watching and feeding I hope.

In reply to birdseye

I also tried the bird feeder thing and gave up on it. My mistake was to mount it on my fence.

I think a good solution would be to mount it on a long pole, away from everything else, the birds know instinctively what is a good location.

In reply to pelon

This is an understatement, but when she was moving in to share my cubicle, an associate made the remark, "The value of the real estate just went up".

I'm still in touch (and still living in hope).

i researched the feeder and its suppose to be a great squirel resistant feeder

In reply to Drapsey

Leaves turn yellow due to overwatering

In reply to Runs

No, due to nitrogen deficiency.

After lecturing her on the virture of feeding her plants, I recommended something with a 20:10:10 NPK ratio (or close). The plants recovered beautifully and flourished thereafter.

By the way, I'm here trying to impress camos by letting him know that I still remember that NPK stuff.

In reply to Runs

Plants die due to overwatering. In other words, they won't have any leaves.

In reply to Drapsey

I maintain that overwatering is also a cause

In reply to Runs

Certainly could've been, but in this case the woman never fed the plants because she just didn't know that she should.

In reply to Runs

You're correct; common sense v google sense etc etc


Bird feeder: takes a couple weeks depending on the species you're trying to attract due to shine, smell, caution of a new object

They will come don't worry

Since the spring has sprung, all sparrows, blue and great tits, gold and green finches not interested in the Niger seeds and peanuts in my feeders

In reply to Runs

Nitrogen shortage dude, not withering mind u, yellowing

In reply to Drapsey

Does she know this?

In reply to steveo

Does too

In reply to Runs

Geez no wonder its hard for Hindustan to agree with Pakistan on anything

In reply to steveo

I once worked in the field dude, what the fcuk is your problem again?
It is a cause, I never disputed the other reasons put forth also

In reply to Runs

yellowing is most likely lack of essential plant nutrients, excess watering tends to create rots.

In reply to camos

What happened wid di parrot?

Leave the feeder - they will come. Takes a while

In reply to Chrissy

turned it loose - was too noisy - i also figured that when i travel i would have to pay for his keep somewhere

Today, day 13 since I setup my birdfeeder, two cardinals came to dine – the sight of those 2 beautiful creatures made it all worth it------ couple other specie dropped by since ---- some here said it would take about 2 weeks – and they were spot –on.

In reply to birdseye

+++

Poetic that your sobriquet here was foretelling. An eye for birds has he!

Enjoy ~

In reply to pelon

Yep! thanks

In reply to birdseye

What state? If you put you are lucky the occasional blue jay will appear.

FYI: The red cardinals are always males. The female cardinals are either greyish or brown but with the distictive crown and redish beak.

In almost all species of birds, the male is the ornate "pretty" one and the female less so.

What I did was set up a feeder for specifc birds, so peanuts and sunflowers in one, milo and Nyjer or thistle in another...

Avoid Golden millet, red millet and flax seeds - these are fillers that retailers add and birds leave behind...


Cornell Universtiy created a WONDERFUL site for bird watchers... LINK

In reply to pelon

Thanks – the cardinals that come by are a pair – a couple ---- and you describe them to a tee