Every Thursday we like to post a picture of something we've found online that inspires us to do something similar at the farm.
Sort of our own blog bulletin board so that we can eventually look back and someday, hopefully anyway, recreate it...enjoy!
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| Bird Feeding Station, image courtesy of Better Homes and Garden, BHG.com |
We've been thinking of future fun projects and one thing we'd like to do is make sure we take care of the wildlife at the farm. What came up was thinking of a place to feed the birds. After some Googling, we found that "bird feeding stations" are a thing. This style intrigued us the most.
We're guessing the bottom is for overflow/spillage? Of course in this picture, the squirrels are loving that part of it. It's a fun idea, something that doesn't seem all that complicated to pull off and it helps the birds. We're OK with all of that.
Be inspired!
Very much like what we put up here years ago except for the bottom / ground section which is as you say; is for overflow/spillage as well it provides food for the ground feeding birds. Some birds also like eating out of platform feeders; some like eating grape jelly (special feeders if using jelly). Different food for different variety of birds.
ReplyDeleteAlso good idea to hang a small watering station from the post as well.
If plan on making something like this or even hanging a single feeder from a shepherd hook by gardening or flower bed, be sure to use baked bird seed or you can bake your own bird seed by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper, lay seed on top and bake in 300 deg. oven for 20-30 minutes, let cool and then store in critter-proof container.
Using baked birdseed you won't have any weeds coming up for the birdseed that drops on the ground.
What a great idea about baked birdseed and weeds. Thank you for that, never heard of it. And grape jelly? Wow. Cool! I just found a book about songbirds for our region and what to feed them and what plants they like. Thanks for the info!!
DeleteI fed birds, too, for a long time. It will be for your amusement. I also read that feeding birds makes them more dependent, that the best solution to help birds is to plant things that leave seedpods for birds to eat in the winter. I have bushes that have berries all winter and see many birds. Cardinals love my yard.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the seedpod plants. Berries too. Thanks for the reminder. And oh my, we have cardinals all the time at the farm. They are very prevalent too.
Deletei have so many birds here and i won't feed them. they make enough of a mess as it is. they eat all of my berries anyway so i guess i do feed them, just not seed. birds are pigs!
ReplyDeleteLOL! A bird hater!!!!! Ha, no I can imagine, especially your beautiful yard and gardens. We have so much wide open space I don't think it would matter if there were some coming around in the corner. I'd really love to have an owl house! But baby steps, ha.
DeleteIt's a lot of fun feeding the birds. We have wild parrots that have trained us very well. If there is no food out, they look for us in the house and tap on the closest window. The weeds that grow in the garden from the fallen seeds are a pain but the biggest issue is the constant food supply encourages vermin, rats and mice.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh that is TOO funny. They actually peck on the house windows? Wow, animals are so smart!! I'll have to remember that about vermin. We'd keep the food further away from the house in a new area we are clearing, maybe any mice will be swooped up by the owls that live around there, ha.
DeleteFeeding the birds has become an addiction here. They are messy, incontinent vandals - and we love them.
ReplyDelete"Messy, incontinent vandals..." I don't think I've ever heard a better description, LOL! But we still enjoy!!!
DeleteWe have several feeding stations here too, but for 27 years we've planted with wildlife in mind, so mostly we supplemental feed in winter and during nesting season. We feed Hummers too! We know we have at least fifty because we have 5 feeders hanging in one spot and each feeder has 10 ports, late in the evening before dark, all the ports are being fed at! We go thru about 2 gal of sugar water a week, but we've been at this for 27 years! If you want Hummers you might want to wait till you retire. Their a lot of work! We plant for the Hummers too, flame acanthus, salvias, 4 o'clocks and vitex, plus many more flowers. Btw, I have a new Instagram acc. If you want to see a little peek of our Hummers on video, go to Instagram dot com/ prairietallgrass
ReplyDeleteVonne
Hello!!! Wow, sounds like you have a great system going and the birds love it. Oh how we love Hummers, I have seen a few at the farm but need some more plants that they enjoy, until we are there more to have hummingbird feeders. Thanks for all this info, checking the flower list. and will DEFINITELY check out your Instagram!!!
DeleteOne of the things I love to do each morning is feed the birds on my patio and drink my morning tea. I also have natural food sources for them, such as yaupon and viburnum. My bird visitors are the usual doves, blue jays (they love peanuts), and cardinals. But sometimes I get a surprise - I had several rose-breasted grosbeaks earlier this spring and a few years ago, a Painted Bunting.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to think of them as part of a morning routine. I like that!! We definitely need to have more plants around. Working on that. we have lots of cardinals and some bluejays, haven't seen any doves out there yet. Some mockingbirds, and a few more we'll need to learn all about.
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