Half-an-Hour in the Life of a Feeding Station
By Corey • April 5, 2008 • 4 commentsAfter my exhausting birding adventures with Mike, Charlie, Jean, and Patrick, which will soon be described in great detail, I’m sure, I had Mike drop me off at, no, not my apartment, but Forest Park! The sun was out and the afternoon was still young. My energy level was at a pretty low ebb though, so I decided to just sit and watch rather than actively seek out the birds. So I put my plastic bag on the still somewhat wet ground, put my back against a thick tree trunk, sat on the bag and watched the birds come to the mini-feeding station in Forest Park.
There are four basic elements to the feeding station. First, and seemingly most popular, is the suet feeder.
It is almost never without a bird. There is a definite pecking order to the suet feeder line-up too, with Brown Creepers being chased off by anything, followed by Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, and the ruler of the roost, the Red-bellied Woodpecker.
On occasion I’ve seen a Hairy Woodpecker come to the suet feeder but I’ve never seen them go toe-to-toe with a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I wonder which would get to feed first?
The second element of the feeder system is the nyjer sock. This is extremely popular with the American Goldfinches, though I have seen both Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice take seeds from it as well.
Feeder number three has already been pictured on this blog with a Pine Warbler on it. It is a simple platform feeder. Everything from Mourning Doves to Dark-eyed Juncos feed there.
The final element of the feeding station is the element in common at every feeding station everywhere: the ground. Seed is scattered and can’t be let go to waste. Though many birds help with the clean up process I doubt any are as diligent as the vacuum cleaner of the forest floor, the Eastern Gray Squirrel.
After a hectic day all over the borough of Queens and into the wilds of Nassau County it sure felt good to just sit back and let the birds (and squirrels) come to me. But even better than the feeder birds was my first Black-and-white Warbler of the year! I bet Charlie, Mike, and Patrick wished they birded a bit more now…
Tags: feeder birds, feeders, Forest Park, Queens, Trips
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As soon as my kitchen is finished, I am going to upgrade my feeding station — some important features will include — you know — food! I am going to add a suet feeder to one of my backyard redwoods and see if I get some brown creepers and woodpeckers coming into the yard again. All the other birds are totally willing to come right up to my kitchen window and be stared at — even when we are using huge, loud power tools, the chickadees hardly even flinch.
Wonder how the squirrels are kept from the suet feeders.
No matter how much “squirrel” food I put out, my suet feeders are monopolized by the gray tailed rats. Thus
preventing usage by the woodpeckers and nuthatches.
I have a squirrel proof feeder for seeds that works pretty well and the squirrels leave the nyjer feeder alone so any suggestions on proofing the suet feeders (short of eliminating the rodents).
@Liza Lee: As you most certainly know, the more types of food and feeders the more birds. And the term “backyard redwoods” makes me extremely jealous!
@Wes: No idea, but I imagine when people are not around the squirrels go straight for the good stuff.
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