Category Archives: bird feeding

Birding signs of winter

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Photo by Chris Bosak A junco perches on a dried up plant at Weead Beach in Darien, Conn., in Jan. 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A junco perches on a dried up plant at Weed Beach in Darien, Conn., in Jan. 2015.

Sorry for that headline. I’m sure some of you out there are looking forward to winter, but for many it’s a dreaded time of year. Personally, I love winter because of all the different birds that show up just for that season. Plus, winter can be full of surprises (just like any season in New England.)

One sure sign of winter in the birding world is the arrival of Dark-eyed Juncos around feeding stations. Well, today was the day I saw my first one. A beautiful pitch-black and pure-white male hopped along my deck looking for seeds.

Winter’s coming and I’m not bummed at all.

Latest For the Birds column: Loving the ‘regulars’

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Photo by Chris Bosak White-breasted Nuthatch at backyard feeder, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
White-breasted Nuthatch at backyard feeder, Oct. 2014.

Here’s the latest For the Birds column, which runs weekly in The Hour (Norwalk, Conn.), The Keene (NH) Sentinel and several Connecticut weekly newspapers.

…

The feeders went back up a few weeks ago. Nothing extraordinary has shown up yet, but it sure is nice to see the “regular” birds back.

My constant companions are nuthatches, titmice and chickadees. There is usually a downy woodpecker or two there as well, but they are not as reliable as the aforementioned birds.

I love seeing the nuthatches. I love the titmice and chick Continue reading →

Little rascals — but still cute little buggers

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Photo by Chris Bosak An Eastern Chipmunk eats from a platform bird feeder in Danbury, Conn., summer 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Chipmunk eats from a platform bird feeder in Danbury, Conn., summer 2016.

People don’t feel the same way about chipmunks as they do gray squirrels.

Keeping squirrels away from birdfeeders is a multi-million dollar industry. People can’t stand the sight of a squirrel at their birdfeeder. If they don’t have a squirrel-proof feeder (half of which don’t work anyway) they bang on a window, yell at the offensive little rodent, and toss things at them to make them scram. (Of course, I’m talking in general here. Some people don’t mind squirrels and some people actually like them.)

But chipmunks. Everyone loves chipmunks. They are cute, handsomely colored and decorated, and fun to watch. And, as far as I can tell, eat just as much of my birdseed as the squirrels do. They are Continue reading →

New hummingbird video, better close-ups

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Here’s another iPhone video of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I posted one last fall, too, but this one is much closer. Wait until the end to see the close-up, slo-mo.

Apparently Red-bellied Woodpeckers like peanuts, too

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Red-bellied Woodpecker takes a peanut from a homemade birdfeeder in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Red-bellied Woodpecker takes a peanut from a homemade birdfeeder in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

I wrote a few weeks ago about Blue Jays and how they love whole peanuts. They literally wait on nearby branches waiting for me to put some down on the platform feeder.

Now the Blue Jays have competition. A male Red-bellied Woodpecker discovered the peanut station and visits daily to take as many peanuts as I’ll put out there.

Here’s a few more photos of the Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Red-bellied Woodpecker perches near a homemade birdfeeder in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Red-bellied Woodpecker perches near a homemade birdfeeder in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Red-bellied Woodpecker takes a peanut from a homemade birdfeeder in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Red-bellied Woodpecker takes a peanut from a homemade birdfeeder in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

 

Click here to see the post on Blue Jays.

And click here for the follow up post with more photos

Birding quiz: Name the bird pictured

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IMG_8845

Yes, my homemade backyard feeder did it again, drawing in another interesting bird.

So here’s a quick bird identification quiz. Seasoned birders will get it immediately. Intermediate birders may take a second, but will eventually get it. Beginning birders, if they haven’t seen one before, may be surprised at the answer (which is coming up tomorrow morning.)

Do you know it already? Awesome.

Need a hint? That’s fine, too. Here are a few hints:

It’s not a big sparrow.

It looks nothing likes its male counterpart.

Look at the bulky bill.

Send your guesses (or requests for more hints) to bozclark@earthlink.net, or just lock in your guess in your head and wait for the answer tomorrow.

Thanks for playing along.

 

Further proof that Blue Jays like peanuts

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A continuation of my previous post about Blue Jays eating peanuts.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue Jay considers whether to grab a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue Jay considers whether to grab a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Hmm, should I?

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue Jay grabs a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue Jay grabs a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Heck, yeah I should!

 

It’s true. Blue Jays like peanuts

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue Jay grabs a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue Jay grabs a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

I’ve always heard that Blue Jays like peanuts. “Put them out whole,” they would say.

So I did and nothing would happen. In fact, not only would the Blue Jays not eat the peanuts, I wouldn’t even see any Blue Jays. (Therein was the real problem.)

But at my new place Blue Jays abound. Do they like peanuts? I asked again. Well, I gave it another shot and, yes, Blue Jays do like peanuts. So much, in fact, that I can hardly keep up with demand.

The Blue Jay were very wary at first. I had to watch them take the bait from inside the house looking out a window. Now I can put a handful of peanuts on the feeder, take three steps to the lounge chair and plop myself down. Within minutes, or even seconds, the Blue Jays surround the area. One brave one dives in for a peanut and the others follow. There goes that handful. On and on it goes for as long as I’m willing to grab more handfuls. It’s been great fun.

 

Downy Woodpecker eating “Bark Butter”

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Downy Woodpecker eats some Bark Butter from a new bird feeder in Danbury, Conn., March 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Downy Woodpecker eats some Bark Butter from a new bird feeder in Danbury, Conn., March 2016.

Here’s one more shot of a bird on that homemade bird feeder. This time it’s a Downy Woodpecker eating Bark Butter. You can tell the Downy likes it from the large portion he is taking with him.

What is Bark Butter? It came recommended by Pat Warren at the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Darien. Jim’s Birdacious Bark Butter is a new product somewhat similar to suet, only you spread it on trees (or other surfaces.) Or you can get a feeder designed for Bark Butter.

Click here for more information about the product.

I spread it on the sides of the feeder and obviously it works. I’ve also seen Carolina Wrens eating it from the feeder. So far I’m impressed with the product.

To try it out, visit Joe or Pat at the Wild Birds Unlimited store at 365 Heights Road in Darien (across from the Noroton Heights train station.)

More photos of birds using the homemade feeder

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Photo by Chris Bosak A White-breasted Nuthatch checks out a new bird feeder in Danbury, Conn., March 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A White-breasted Nuthatch checks out a new bird feeder in Danbury, Conn., March 2016.

As promised, here are a few more photos of birds using the feeder that my 12-year-old Andrew and I made last week. Here’s the original story in case you missed it.

More photos by clicking below.

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