Birds and squirrels

[mafdet]

I moved into this house in 2011, after my mom died. Before that I was living in a condo in an adjoining small city/suburb. There, I was feeding birds (and squirrels!) on my deck, and here I feed them in my backyard

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[in_the_blue]

We have three bird baths in our tiny yard and they all get used. When the raccoons see fit to leave it alone, our suet attracts some mighty fine warblers, kinglets, and woodpeckers in addition to the usual suspects. We have scrub and Steller's jays, both, and a sharp-shinned hawk that likes to sit on our fence and eye the house finches at one of the feeders. When he's not there, the mourning doves like to hang out and wait their turn.

The Anna's hummingbirds are nonstop menaces. It took them about three minutes to find my feeders, so now I'm dedicated to feeding them fresh nectar every three days or so. My cats watch from the kitchen window, and every now and again I see a neighbor cat in the yard, but he doesn't stay too long.

[mafdet]

I cannot remember where I read this, but supposedly Anna's hummingbirds are increasing in numbers because of all the hummingbird feeders. Whenever I've had hummingbird feeders, I notice that the Anna's do tend to bully everyone else away! The males are so pretty, though.

Back in PH I had a Cooper's who would hang around and eye the delicious birdies on my deck. I once found her cornering a terrified squirrel behind a flower pot! (This is how I figured out she was a Cooper's and a female; sharpies usually aren't big enough to go after squirrels, nor are Cooper's males, but the female Cooper's can get pretty big and they DO go after small rodents during nesting season.)

You have so many awesome birdies! And yes, the raccoons will move in. So will skunks and possums. One story here made the rounds - some man called the cops complaining that "someone" kept digging up his lawn at night. The culprits were raccoons and skunks looking for grubs.

P.S. Let me know which works best for you - February 9, 15 or 16 for crepes and kitty pics!

[in_the_blue]

I'm used to the aggressive Anna's, we had them (and rufous) up north. The ones here are hungry enough to perch on the feeder when the thing is still in my hand on the way out the door. I've had that happen more than once. In my yard the females tend to rule, they're kind of ruthless (and adorable). Supposedly we have black-chinned here too. If they'd sit still long enough, I'd be able to tell.

There's a Townsend's warbler frequenting my suet. I just switched to a different brand (because I ran out of the stuff I brought with me from Oregon) so we'll see who that attracts. I know we have skunks and raccoons, and a lot of deer (the former owner apparently said raccoons and deer were the bane of her existence). I don't mind either.

You want to do February 9? I'm okay with any of those dates, but why not the soonest date? We'll finally get to meet!

[mafdet]

February 9 it is! Would 8:45 or 9 AM be too early? I'm a morning person and I want to at least TRY to avoid the crowds (though Crepevine is always pretty crowded...).

[in_the_blue]

How about 9:00 on the 9th. We're talking the one on College, right?

[mafdet]

Yup, the one on College! See you there at 9 on the 9th!