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.
As McEnroe would’ve said You cannot be serious!…you’re worried about your neighbors objecting to birds? That’s being terminally over-sensitive and wimpish. It’s not like you’re planning to attract ferrets and raccoons.
I’ve been feeding birds for years and get lots of morning doves, but virtually no pigeons (also blue jays, cardinals, juncos, white throated sparrows, and the inevitable house sparrows–I used to get many house finches, but not lately). I eliminate the seed hulls by buying hulled sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and peanut bits and mixing them (in a large galvanized metal garbage can, where I store my seed outdoors). I use 100 lbs each of the first two and 20 lbs of peanut pieces/year, bought at the twice a year birdseed sale at Alley Pond Environmental Center in Queens. I used to buy it all at once, but now make two trips (Fall and Winter) to save my back and eliminate the need for two storage cans in my back yard.
be aware that you could be attracting mice and rats too.
I love feeding birds, but sparrows do get to be a problem. To discourage them from eating everything in sight, you should google “sparrow halo.” This is basically a wire circle with dangling strings of fishing line which, if placed over a feeder, definitely keeps the sparrows away. I made my own out of a cheap small Christmas wreath and put it over the suet feeder, cause the sparrows would eat a whole block of the stuff in a day if I didn’t. I don’t use dangling strings; just the wire circle overhead deters most of the sparrows. To squirrel-proof your feeder, get one of those spring-loaded tube things that fit around the base of a feeder pole. I’ve had one of those for three years now, and not a single squirrel has gone past it.
I hang 4 feeders during the winter – each w/ a different kind of configuration/seed. I get maybe one pigeon a year even though there are hordes of them out front. I do get a great many doves (up to 24) & sparrows but also woodpeckers, jays, cardinals, juncos, tits, finches (droves of 3 different kinds) & other birds. They don’t generate a lot of guano – just scattered seed hulls.
I wouldn’t do oil in the birdbath – either get those mosquito dunks or put in a little solar fountain – they can’t breed in moving water.
My neighbors enjoy all the activity – haven’t had a complaint in all the years I’ve done it.
dibs- It is strange, no? I think pigeons are originally rocky cliff-dwellers, perhaps its a question of environment; tree-lined streets and your nice backyard isn’t their cuppa tea?
Birds eat a lot of pest bugs.
For that reason, I wouldn’t put a bird feeder with suet out and would focus instead on creating a very bird-friendly environment with berries and shelter and such instead. The rest of your garden, and those of your neighbors, is going to love you for it.
I’ve got a cardinal living in my yard this year and it’s a real treat!
I feed the birds. Not all year round, just in the winter. Your post made me realize that I’ve never seen a pigeon in the back yard. Come to think of it, we don’t hardly see any pigeons in my neighborhood. Not sure why.
I can’t believe you saw a flicker! Those things are HUGE!
A bit of oil in the water makes it mosquito proof.