[Carl in Tampa]

Because of debilitating medical issues I have not put bird seed in two bird feeders in my yard for a couple of years. I'm improving now and this past week I reloaded one of the feeders. In just a few days I've attracted a recognizable Cardinal pair who visit my yard at about the same time every day.

Today I saw my first Blue Jay of the season.

There have been two or three squirrels foraging on the ground below the feeder. I expect that before too long one of the more enterprising among them will figure out how to beat the anti-squirrel feature and begin eating directly from the feeder. That's OK. It's entertainment.

I'm going to plant some Lantana and a Milkweed Butterfly Bush to try to bring in some butterflies and hummingbirds.

Bringing the yard to life with wildlife that I love to watch.

Tranquility.

[buggyone]

It is good you are physically improving so you can do these things you like.

We have tropical milkweed in our garden and it really draws in Monarch butterflies. The passion flower vine brings in Gulf Friterlaries. Lots of butterflies and caterpillars right now.

Best of luck on your recuperating.

[Carl in Tampa]

Originally Posted by buggyone

It is good you are physically improving so you can do these things you like.

We have tropical milkweed in our garden and it really draws in Monarch butterflies. The passion flower vine brings in Gulf Friterlaries. Lots of butterflies and caterpillars right now.

Best of luck on your recuperating.

Thank you.

You are doing well. Anyone who wants Monarchs must have milkweed in the garden and must not spray it with insecticide. The milkweed is imperative for a part of the lifecycle of the Monarch. The caterpillars eat the leaves, but they grow back, over and over.

Keep up the good work.

Being an Ohio gal I always looked forward to hearing the "chit, chit, chit" of the cardinals. I believe the male always came first to check things out. Loved seeing them in the winter, the red against the white snow. I was really surprised to see them down here. I guess I thought since they were there in the winter that they didn't like the South. Are you talking about your feeder here or in Tampa or both?

I mostly see mockingbirds and mourning doves around here.

Glad you are doing better.

[tippyclubb]

Glad your able to enjoy those birds again! I am an avid bird watcher and have been for many years. We bought our house in Collier based upon location, it backs up to woods. I'm out there every morning with my binoculars and a few days ago there were 4 Sandhill Cranes in the backyard. Very exciting to have them that close. I saw my first ever Brown Thrasher in the yard.

If you really want to keep the squirrels off your bird feeder rub vaseline on the pole. We did that up north and it works, and its also entertaining watching them slide down the pole.

squirrel on pole of vaseline - YouTube

Happy birding.

[kaydee]

I too enjoy my bird feeders but have to admit that I don't enjoy the squirrels. It was mentioned a while ago here on TOTV that a good seed to buy that the squirrels and grackles dislike is Safflower seed. I must say it is true. No squirrels and the grackles don't stick around.
Glad you are now able to enjoy the simple things in life.

[wendyquat]

Just be glad you only have problem with squirrels! When cardinals started pecking on my window I went out and bought a feeder and sunflower seeds. I enjoyed watching the cardinals for a couple of days but was dismayed to see 3 mice in my feeder one night. We decided to bring the feeder into the lanai at night and woke up the next morning to mice droppings all over the lanai floor and table and a 3" round hole eaten through the lanai screen. Needless to say, we got rid of the feeder and bird food!

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

Because of debilitating medical issues I have not put bird seed in two bird feeders in my yard for a couple of years. I'm improving now and this past week I reloaded one of the feeders. In just a few days I've attracted a recognizable Cardinal pair who visit my yard at about the same time every day.

Today I saw my first Blue Jay of the season.

There have been two or three squirrels foraging on the ground below the feeder. I expect that before too long one of the more enterprising among them will figure out how to beat the anti-squirrel feature and begin eating directly from the feeder. That's OK. It's entertainment.

I'm going to plant some Lantana and a Milkweed Butterfly Bush to try to bring in some butterflies and hummingbirds.

Bringing the yard to life with wildlife that I love to watch.

Tranquility.

Carl, that's a nice post. I'm glad to hear that your health is improving.

I put out some hummingbird feeders (in Canada). I was surprised to find that now I have a steady parade of Baltimore Orioles using the feeders, along with an occasional hummingbird. The Orioles are so colorful, I love watching them.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

Because of debilitating medical issues I have not put bird seed in two bird feeders in my yard for a couple of years. I'm improving now and this past week I reloaded one of the feeders. In just a few days I've attracted a recognizable Cardinal pair who visit my yard at about the same time every day.

Today I saw my first Blue Jay of the season.

There have been two or three squirrels foraging on the ground below the feeder. I expect that before too long one of the more enterprising among them will figure out how to beat the anti-squirrel feature and begin eating directly from the feeder. That's OK. It's entertainment.

I'm going to plant some Lantana and a Milkweed Butterfly Bush to try to bring in some butterflies and hummingbirds.

Bringing the yard to life with wildlife that I love to watch.

Tranquility.

So glad to hear that you are doing better. We are avid bird watchers and have a feeder hanging under a big white crape myrtle which overhangs our patio. Go out there first thing every morning to put out the feeder and anything else I have for the birds and I can actually hear them waking up and start to make little chirping noises. I like to think they are nudging each other and saying "wonder what she has for us today?" One year we had a mouse, but a trap and a little cheese took care of that!

We also have a bird bath, but they dip their bits of bread of other stuff in the bird bath and it gets awful, we have to clean it every day - which is fine, rather do that than have no birds.

Just recently something really interesting happened - I have a couple of empty decorative flower pots sitting on the wall of my patio and the rain has filled them to the top. I was in my kitchen one morning and saw something bobbing up and down in one of the pots - a mocking bird was using it as a swimming pool and bathing itself. The other pot they drink from! So now every morning they get fresh water for a bath and to drink.

Yesterday was a really special day. Again I was at the kitchen sink and something made me look up right into the long beak of a Sandhill Crane looking in my kitchen window. Very slowly I moved into the sun room to see what was going on and he had his family with him - a wife and a chick. They slowly made their way around the patio picking up bits and pieces off the ground, and then equally slowly made their way over to the pots and drank from them, and then just wandered out into the yard and onto the golf course.

If you want birds don't forget to put out fresh water, they get hot too!

[Bonnevie]

just yesterday I was reading the paper on my lanai admiring the wildlife in my yard. I have brown thrashers that come regularly as well as mourning doves and a couple of small cardinals. every now and then I get a blue jay. I have my yard landscaped with Florida friendly plants and butterflies were also flying here and there. It was so peaceful. I get the occasional squirrel but he seems to just take his share and then leave so I don't mind him too much. I used to have to work weekends a lot though out my working life, and this is so much better.

[juneroses]

I know it's thrilling to have the sandhills peeking in your window but be careful. Neighbors who live behind us put out feed daily and the sandhills were regulars. We had a great view of the activity. Then the neighbors stopped feeding for some reason.

I sat on my lanai as the big birds squawked at the empty bowl. The larger stepped onto the stoop of the glassed in lanai. Then it flapped its wings and jumped, kicking the window with both feet several times. I could hear the hits. Nothing broke (glass nor bird) but it made me wary of having sandhills see our home as a food source.

We do feed the smaller birds, but offer only a small amount of sunflower seeds in the dark of early morning. Mr. and Mrs. Red (cardinals) are always the first daily visitors. We replenish with another small amount in the afternoon, only if there are no sandhills present. So far, so good.

[Carl in Tampa]

Originally Posted by KittyKat

Being an Ohio gal I always looked forward to hearing the "chit, chit, chit" of the cardinals. I believe the male always came first to check things out. Loved seeing them in the winter, the red against the white snow. I was really surprised to see them down here. I guess I thought since they were there in the winter that they didn't like the South. Are you talking about your feeder here or in Tampa or both?

I mostly see mockingbirds and mourning doves around here.

Glad you are doing better.

In this case I'm referring to my bird feeders in Tampa. As it says in my profile, I split my time between TV and Tampa.

The TV house is an Amarillo, with a nice recessed front porch. There is a table on the porch with a potted plant in which two mourning doves have been seen roosting during stormy weather. They haven't actually established a nest, but they come and go.

In front of the porch is a flower plot and we are seeing a few butterflies. Perhaps a bird feeder in the flower patch is the next thing to add. The house is on a hillside so a feeder out back is impractical because it would be below eye level from the lanai.

In Tampa when I am sitting on my pool deck in the evening I hear the chirping of the Cardinals before they emerge and come to the feeder. I've learned to love the sound.

[Carl in Tampa]

Originally Posted by wendyquat

Just be glad you only have problem with squirrels! When cardinals started pecking on my window I went out and bought a feeder and sunflower seeds. I enjoyed watching the cardinals for a couple of days but was dismayed to see 3 mice in my feeder one night. We decided to bring the feeder into the lanai at night and woke up the next morning to mice droppings all over the lanai floor and table and a 3" round hole eaten through the lanai screen. Needless to say, we got rid of the feeder and bird food!

When I bought my Tampa house, the pool screen already had holes in it where rodents had chewed through to get to the previous owner's storage bags of additional feeder.

I now have two large capacity feeders and I only buy enough seed to fill them with nothing left over to store.

My house is near a lake and for a brief time some rats were coming up from the lake to go to the feeders. I set rat traps for a few days and killed them off. I've had no more rat problems.

This is Florida. Varmints wander through your yard regardless of whether or not you have a feeder set up. For me the benefits outweigh the negatives.

[Bonnevie]

I use to store seed in a deck box back at my old house and the rodents chewed thru the plastic. I bought small, steel garbage pails and now store my seed in those inside a deck box.

[Carl in Tampa]

Things are picking up at the bird feeder. The Cardinals are coming earlier in the day and returning more often.

This morning I had Cardinals, Blue Jays and a Red Headed Woodpecker on the feeder. It might be time to put a suet block feeder on a nearby tree. The only problem I've had with these feeders is that the squirrels can reach inside with their small paws and extract the suet.

All in all, a very nice morning.