Possibly Silly Bird Question
Hey all. This might be a silly question, but I’m going to ask it… How do you all feel about birds and birders in your Brooklyn gardens? I got my garden all done and its obviously going to be even more filled out in years to come. I’m a birder (not the super obsessive kind)…
Hey all. This might be a silly question, but I’m going to ask it…
How do you all feel about birds and birders in your Brooklyn gardens?
I got my garden all done and its obviously going to be even more filled out in years to come. I’m a birder (not the super obsessive kind) so I like the yard birds. I put in some goldfinch habitat and have a mature dogwood there already. I also have some berry bushes for them too. (Got a northern flicker out there the other day!)
But I’m thinking this fall of putting in a nice feeder with the suet and the nyjer, and eventually a bath next spring (obviously in a spot where the various neighborhood cats can’t lurk and terrorize.) Do people do this, or does this fall under the rubric of un-neighborly behavior? I’d like to bring in some nice non migrants like the jays and the cardinals that stay around. But I know that when attracting all the awesome yard birds, you get the obnoxious doves, pigeons and house sparrows as well. Am I going to grump out my neighbors, most of whom have very nice decks and gardens themselves if I start attracting all these feathered friends? If I was your neighbor would you growl at me due to perceived avian mess? I also have concern over pre-existing condition phenomenon…like right now a flock of sparrows already lives in my neighbors drainpipes…and I’m worried that if I implement my bird attraction plan I will be falsely and illogically accused of causing this. Similarly with the poop problem…even though the poop may be everywhere already, I’m afraid people will only “notice” it after noticing my bird feeder.
Or would you just enjoy the awesome view of blue jays, cardinals and northern flickers? I’m never done the “urban” bird thing before so I have no idea about brownstone garden bird habitat annoyances.
It just entered my mind yesterday as I was bird watching in the garden and got bird bombed twice. I want to be all considerate and stuff and I don’t want any of the neighbors mad at me over wild birdies.
I know, it seems a pretty silly question. But honestly, I’ve had neighbors have temper tantrums over sillier things in this city. Which is why I’m asking.
On my thistle feeder I get doves & sparrows as well as finches – even though the doves have to do some wild gymnastics to perch on it.
It depends on the feeder and what you’ve put in it. Not all birds eat the same thing; for instance, finches are the only birds that eat thistle seeds, cardinals never eat suet, sparrows don’t really like sunflower seeds. Some big birds, like blue jays, find it impossible to perch on some kinds of feeders. Finally, it always takes a while–sometimes a long while–before birds start using feeders. They’re cautious, I guess.
I was actually going to post a bird question myself. i recently hung a bird feeder in my front yard-hanging off a tree where a bunch of birds often chill out and I haven’t seen a bird even look at the feeder much less make use of it. No shells on the ground either. What gives?
Pigeons do not like enclosed spaces like backyards. They prefer open and wide spaces like piazzas
I’m not a bird lover, but wouldn’t mind living next to one. I would only have an issue if the food was attracting rats.
my next door neighbors have a feeder in the winter and I haven’t seen any pigeons or doves. We have some cardinals, jays, and smaller brown birds (sparrows?), and mockingbirds. There’s also a thicket formed by an overgrown pyracantha and some vines which is very popular with the birds for the berries and shelter. There are a ton of squirrels though.
I feed the birds too, and my neighbors say how much they enjoy watching them. We get cardinals, jays, juncos, sparrows, mourning doves, two kinds of woodpeckers, and we were thrilled this past fall and winter to have a beautiful Cooper’s hawk stop by to visit every morning! (it never caught any of the birds, just hung out and cried). My neighbors don’t use their backyards at all (?) so perhaps yours might be more sensitive.
Your concern for your neighbors and your courtesy are commendable. I wish you were my neighbor.
The solar fountain is the way to go. You’ll enjoy the sound, and as stated mosquitoes can’t lay eggs, etc in moving water.
Your concern for your neighbors and your courtesy are commendable. I wish you were my neighbor.
The solar fountain is the way to go. You’ll enjoy the sound, and as stated mosquitoes can’t lay eggs, etc in moving water.