Missing blackbirds? (1 Viewer)

[DonnaK]

Missing blackbirds in South Carolina?

I've had feeders out for a couple of months, now. I have a mixed seed feeder, a thistle feeder, a suet feeder, a suet nut and raisin tube feeder, a platform feeder and two bird baths. I also put out a corn/sunflower mix block for the squirrels, which the birds seem to enjoy, too. Our regular visitors include -

Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, Brown Headed Nuthatches, Northern Cardinals, Juncos, House Finches, American Goldfinches, Tufted Titmice, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, Pine Warblers, Sparrows x oodles varieties, Downy Woodpeckers, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Great Horned Owls and at least two others that we have heard, but have yet to identify.

Our back yard leads into some woods but, whilst we have a lot of trees in our yard, it isn't completely enclosed. We have lots of pine trees, a few oak trees and a dead tree, which we are leaving for the woodpeckers. Our front yard is open, but has lots of small bushes and a couple of big pine trees.

Taking all this into account, I am surprised and disappointed that we have yet to see or hear a single blackbird! Are blackbirds not too common in South Carolina, or is it just not the time of year for them?

 

[tikey1949]

blackbirds

If you mean red-winged blackbirds and grackles, you should have plenty. Suggestion: take a loaf of white bread and stuff it in a suet feeder. The grackles will show up and for some reason the redwinged blackirds seem to follow. I am in Charleston.

 

[KC Foggin]

Hi Donna.

My Cedar Waxwings arrived Wednesday of last week and the Blackbirds the day after. Just as they have done the last two years. The Blackbirds haven't hit the feeders yet but they are perched in all the trees on the border of my yard. What part of SC are you in?

 

[justin_k]

We commonly don't get blackbirds where I live. Which is way up in Greenville, South Carolina. I mean, we are at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains. But occasionally we'll get a variety of blackbirds. Mainly the grackles though.

About 6 miles from us is a lake. And during the summer, it is filled with blackbirds. Red-wings and many others. From what I've heard, the conservation of Rusty Blackbirds is a big deal now. And we saw about 40 to 50 of them on the day of the christmas bird count.

 

[DonnaK]

If you mean red-winged blackbirds and grackles, you should have plenty. Suggestion: take a loaf of white bread and stuff it in a suet feeder. The grackles will show up and for some reason the redwinged blackirds seem to follow. I am in Charleston.

I am so sorry! I didn't get any notification that I had replies to this thread so I hadn't been checking back!

Since I wrote this post, we've gained robins, mockingbirds, yellow-rumped warblers, towhees, crows, grackles, cowbirds, flying squirrels, wood thrushes, and even had a massive flock of cedar waxwings pass through, but still not a single red-winged blackbird! I did actually put some bread out the other day, so I'll keep doing that as I have scraps. I'm sure they'll show up eventually.

 

[DonnaK]

Hi Donna.

My Cedar Waxwings arrived Wednesday of last week and the Blackbirds the day after. Just as they have done the last two years. The Blackbirds haven't hit the feeders yet but they are perched in all the trees on the border of my yard. What part of SC are you in?

I'm really sorry, I didn't know I had any replies so I didn't check back here until today.

I'm in Irmo. We also had the cedar waxwings pass through on 8 March, but still no red-winged blackbirds. hehe

 

[DonnaK]

We commonly don't get blackbirds where I live. Which is way up in Greenville, South Carolina. I mean, we are at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains. But occasionally we'll get a variety of blackbirds. Mainly the grackles though.

About 6 miles from us is a lake. And during the summer, it is filled with blackbirds. Red-wings and many others. From what I've heard, the conservation of Rusty Blackbirds is a big deal now. And we saw about 40 to 50 of them on the day of the christmas bird count.

I'm really sorry I didn't reply before - I didn't get notification of posts, so I didn't know I had replies.

We have now started getting the grackles, too, but still not a single red-winged blackbird. I'm sure we will, eventually. If I don't see them here, I might catch sight of one at Congaree National Park at some point.