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  1. L

    Nesting Spots and Bird box set up

    Agreed. House sparrows will nest anywhere. I once saw one nesting in a traffic light- no kidding.
  2. L

    Advice for an Eastern Bluebird newbie in CT...

    You're welcome. If you like BB's, you'd probably love martins. They are the largest member of the swallow family, and are colonial nesters. They bring joy to the lives of martin landlords. If you ever take up the habit, you will become addicted.|;| I recently finished and put up a martin...
  3. L

    Need Help Discouraging House Sparrows

    Can you not place traps in the martin houses to catch them, then carry them off far away and release them?
  4. L

    A virtually indestructable Bluebid house

    What do you give the BB's to climb up inside the houses? I've considered making some similar, but haven't figured out how to make a climbable surface.
  5. L

    Advice for an Eastern Bluebird newbie in CT...

    Beautiful nestboxes Jason!:) I have a couple of pairs of BB's here- one pair seems to have claimed one of my nestboxes, and the other keeps hanging out on the martin house, so I need to go plug the martin house poles and try to encourage the BB's to the other BB house.
  6. L

    Feeder build plans

    SDB777, what type of feeder are you wanting to build? The only feeders I have built so far are suet feeders, but I plan to build a couple of hopper-style feeders this winter. I don't have plans, but feeders are pretty simple, and I would be glad to try and draw up a plan if I know what type and...
  7. L

    Feeder build plans

    Birdbrain, that is so cool! I love it. :) Mine doesn't have a "natural setting" look, but it's functional. I have two cats, so I have to keep my feeders elevated to prevent bird demise. Here's a pic of my set-up. The background stand has two garden pot plates that I use for birdbaths.
  8. L

    new nestbox

    Just as a curiosity, and since I know nothing about Blue Tits, I wonder if it is related to a bird in this area that we call a titmouse? The titmouse is a cavity nester (I think) and is in the chickadee family. Anyone know?
  9. L

    new nestbox

    That's great! Between sparrows and blue tits, which one seems to be most agressive with nesting sites?
  10. L

    new nestbox

    Here, sparrows don't seem to mind being close to people. I know nothing about blue tits, so I can't be of any help with that one.
  11. L

    Dead Greenfinches

    You're welcome. I hope you can find out what is causing your loss of birds. I never really gave it much thought, but I guess your climate makes frequent cleaning of bird feeding areas a must. It gets so hot in summer, and tends to stay so dry in this area, that it is rarely a concern. What is...
  12. L

    Dead Greenfinches

    After reading your post, I remembered that House Finches here in the States have had a conjunctivitis associated with a mycoplasma organism of some kind since the mid-90's, and we lost a large number of birds, not directly from the conjunctivitis, but from secondary problems associated with it...
  13. L

    Dead Greenfinches

    Could they be feeding on seeds in a nearby field that have been sprayed with pesticides maybe? Just a thought.
  14. L

    Talk about bathing in tight spaces

    Hah! That's great! I love it!
  15. L

    Interfering with Nature

    I place predator guards on my martin houses and bluebird houses, and owl guards on my martin houses. I place my birdfeeders high enough that my two cats can't jump up and grab them. I control house sparrows and starlings because they are non-native and have displaced many of our native...
  16. L

    Juvenile Scissor-tail Flycatcher

    Tero- I have to see a male and female sitting side by side to know which is which. |:D| I've never seen another variety in which the sexes were so similar in appearance.
  17. L

    Juvenile Scissor-tail Flycatcher

    THanks Lisa. They are difficult to get good shots of, especially in movement, because they are so agile and my camera and its user are so slow. I managed to get a fair shot of one of the adults yesterday afternoon.
  18. L

    Juvenile Scissor-tail Flycatcher

    We had one pair of Scissor-tail Flycatchers nesting this year, and this is one of their nestlings.
  19. L

    My terrace

    That's beautiful! Thanks for posting it :). Which varieties of hummers do you have in your area?
  20. L

    What direction to face boxes

    My East-facing nestboxes are usually chosen first here.
  21. L

    House Sparrows Avoiding Feeder

    House sparrows here seem to love millet, both the large red millet and the small white.
  22. L

    Blackbird nest in back garden.

    If they have eggs that are close to hatching, they won't abandon unless something is actively predatory. What birds do you guys call black birds? We have several varieties that are commonly called "black birds", starlings, grackles, and crows primarily. I'm just curious as to what variety of...
  23. L

    How do you get a gazillion Hummers?

    I'm not sure there's anything that one can do in a specific location to get high numbers. I think it depends on the natural fluctuations in numbers and mortality rates, in which there are multiple factors. 10 years ago, we had lots of hummers visiting our location. Those numbers were suddenly...
  24. L

    Wasps

    Are they "paper" wasps that build their nest suspended from the ceiling? That's the most common type here. I think I remember reading that you can paint mineral oil on the ceiling surface of the nestbox to deter wasps from nest-building.
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