I'm not a fan of sparrows at my feeders.
They come in gangs, eat EVERYTHING in a hurry and then move on. The house finches, chickadees, titmice and other native birds at my feeders don't have a chance to get any food. So, I know to put black oil sunflower seeds out when I'm going to be near the kitchen window and monitor what is happening. If the sparrows start ganging up on the feeders and being territorial, I just gently tap on the window. I've done that for so long that all of the sparrows will immediately leave the feeders.
I've trained 'em!
(Of course, when I walk away from the window they take over again. So, they're getting to eat, too.)
I've trained 'em!
(Of course, when I walk away from the window they take over again. So, they're getting to eat, too.)
So, I was just looking out of the window and twice I gently tapped on it because a little chickadee had just landed on the branch above the feeder but couldn't get to it because it was covered with sparrows. Of course when I tapped on it, the sparrows scattered and it occurred to me that the tiny little chickadee might have a greatly inflated impression of himself. He appears and suddenly everybody scatters!
"ME big bird!"
Ha, I love the little chickadees!!
They're so feisty and brave.
I am battling the doves. They are such pigs- eat all of the food and prevent everyone else from getting to the feeder. I finally stopped at Lowes and bought a big feeder surrounded by a squirrel proof cage. It keeps the doves out! I also put the finch feeder back out. The doves aren't interested in those. I can't believe the yellow finches are back- I thought they were only here during the colder months! Love them!
ReplyDeleteYes, everything is hungry and will go where the food is. Glad you found that feeder. I leave my thistle out all year. A lot of the migrating lesser goldfinches will leave in the spring, but some live here, too. In June there only a few and I always think they're going to the country to nest and then they're all back with their babies, so I never take the thistle feeder down. I do try to keep the food fresh.
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