We have 3 bird feeders on the same pole at the back line of our CYV. We use Safflower seeds, it's disliked by black birds and squirrels.
We have one mockingbird that has been with us about a year. He'll sit in the top of our holly tree that is about 20' high and watches over the yard. He'll normally sing while in the tree after eating. He loves grapes, he'll come and sit on our patio table about 6 or 7 times a day so we can see him through the sliders and my wife will take him grapes. Recently he has found a mate, but he gets a grape first and then the mate second. He no longer sings when he's finished eating. He doesn't like the birdseed. He will chase away bluejays and any other mockingbirds. There was a third mockingbird that has attempted to get a grape a few times this week and he'll dive right at them.
We also have a pair of cardinals, a brown and red one. They eat the bird seed and sometimes they eat a grape. The mockingbirds come every morning at 7:30 to the table. The cardinals live in the back hedge and never leave. We also have a squirrel that will show up every morning around that time. We have to hide the grapes from him by putting them on the grill, the mockingbird knows to look there. We have peanuts we throw to the squirrel, he'll get several every morning.
We also have a brown rabbit for about the last 6 months, he also likes grapes and we'll put out small carrots. He usually comes around 6pm, but lately he has shown up early in the morning and even in the afternoon. He also eats the birdseed that is on that ground that falls from the feeders.
Last year about this time we had 2 brown thrashers that lived in the back hedge, but then they disappeared when summer came. They just showed up yesterday and they eat the bird seed as well. We have two small finches, one with a red head. They eat the bird seed and also eat the grapes. They usually eat the grapes scraps left by the mockingbird.
We have lots of doves, at any time of the day I can look out there and see 2 to 5 doves. Late in the evening they congregate, anywhere from 6 to 10 doves. They're the biggest eaters of the bird seed, I go through about a pound a day, mostly because of them. Since we're in a CYV we have a wall at the back behind the hedge. The doves will try and get on the 3 feeders, but they like the one at the very top the best because it doesn't rock since it sits on the top of the pole. Maybe 3 can get on there, and 1 each on the other two, and then with the wall, they'll be lined up on top of the wall waiting for their turn. We also have a bird bath and they'll get around the edge, sometimes 4 or 5 just sitting. We also have a dog bowl with water on the ground so the rabbit and the birds eating off the ground can get a drink.
The safflower seed is available at Wild Bird Center for $35 for a 16 pound bag and $10 for a 6 pound bag at Lowes or $12.98 for a 6 pound bag at Petsmart. If you buy a feeder from Wild Bird Center they'll give you about ten coupons that are $5 off a bag of seed.
I put out a mail box post mounted in a barrel that has 3 birdhouses on top, I got the idea from a photo online and came out looking nice. I put plants in the bottom of the barrel, but so far no birds have used the birdhouses. This is the image I used to model mine after except I spray painted it all brown instead of letting it turn silver. They say birds don't like white, so pick a color that is subdued or leave unpainted.
