Just a few simple reasons why we love

[Dona]

Now that's what I call being smack dab in the middle of Mother Nature!

You certainly DO have your own little slice of heaven there....the photos are breathtaking!!!!

 

[Charlene]

i just knew once you settled in you'd know you made the right move. it'll be PERFECT when you get the horses home!! gotta love those northern cardinals. how much sunflower seed are you going through? sprinkle some on top of the snow and you'll have a dozen out there in no time.

great pictures!

HEY, I WANT THAT WOODPECKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

How wonderful. I sure wished we had deer in our area. Well maybe not, I would try to keep one as a pet!!! LOL

 

[CyndiM]

Beautiful pictures.

Have you seen any Juncos, Blue Jays or Downy Woodpeckers yet? We have them at our feeders all winter long along with the Cardinals, Red Headed Woodpeckers and Gold Finches.

Living out in the country is Heaven on earth.

 

[Soggy Bottom Ranch]

Have you seen any Juncos, Blue Jays or Downy Woodpeckers yet?

Hi CyndiM,

We have a ton of Juncos and finches (yellow and a couple of the purple), chickadees of course, just one breeding pair of cardinal that I can tell, quite a few nuthatch, and just about every size woodpecker you can imagine! We've got the black and whites with the red caps, the grays with black stripes and red caps, and then the pair of the pileated. I'm ordering a pileated suet feeder today to see if I can get them to come feed too.

The blue jays I have to honestly say, are not my favorite, and I won't feed them. They scare off the song birds that we like, and they can be real pigs, cleaning out a feeder in a hurry. They started with just a couple showing up, and then brought their whole family plus distant relatives I think! They were just circling like thieves, with about 10 of them coming at once, and all my songbirds scattered. I was reading that they are also killers of baby birds, and I don't want anything harming the baby song birds and bluebirds in spring, so I won't feed them. I'm switching all my feeders to caged feeders to keep the squirrel and large birds away, and also trying a couple weight sensative feeders that will allow me to still feed the cardinals, but keep the jays and morning doves off the feeders. I've also found a suet that the sellers claim is not enjoyed by squirrels or birds other than the clinging birds (nuthatches, chickadees, and woodpeckers), so they won't touch the suet feeders. I'm ordering that today when I order my pileated suet feeder.

I also read that you should put a little sand on your patios in the winter time, or where ever you feed the birds. The article I read said that birds, like chickens, need a little bit of grit in their diets. Which makes sense to me now, this week one morning, I was headed to feed the horses, and the snow plows had just gone through and sanded. I saw 3 cardinals, some jays, morning doves, and two pheasants on the road that morning. I'm sure they were after that fresh sand.

Charlene...........oh fellow bird buddy!

Guess what I put on my christmas list for my family! A little hint..........it has to do with bluebirds and winter feeding! Know what it is? We'll have to plan visits to one anothers "bird sanctuaries!"