My Favorite Things: Bird Feeders

Bird Watching 

The Droll Yankee Dipper (link above) is an excellent bird feeder that keeps squirrels from raiding your feeder. The bird perches collapse with the weight of the squirrel and they drop to the ground. This version of squirrel-proof feeders does not require a battery because it is entirely mechanical. I've had my Yankee Dipper feeder for 2 years.

I also own the Yankee Whipper (link below) with the circular bird perch. The weight of the squirrel causes the perch to spin and throw the squirrel off. I prefer the Dipper model that does not require recharging a battery. I have owned this model for 10 years.




A new purchase for me is the Droll Yankee brush for cleaning these long, tubular bird feeders. It really makes a difference to have the right tool for the job! This 24 inch brush is high quality and Made in the USA. It reaches all the way to the bottom of the feeder insides and leaves the plexiglass sparkling! (The link is below.)



If you would like to see my bird photography, I post on Twitter @gopamnc. My tweets are optimized for social media and include retweets of good Twitter bird photography. My portfolio-quality photography can be found on iStock/ Getty Images at: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/pam-schodt .



Affiliate Disclaimer: The links to my favorite things are items that I have purchased and am recommending. If you use the links on this blog post, I may receive a few cents for directing traffic to Amazon webpages.

Characters at my Bird Feeder Part II (Videos)

 This is a continuation of Characters at my Bird Feeder. I offer photos and videos of birds that frequent my North Carolina bird feeder. Part 1 can be found at this link.

Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, and a pair of Brown-headed Nuthatch are featured in the above video. A White-throated Sparrow also perches on the feeder. I believe White-throats prefer to feed from the ground, but snow and ice prompted this behavior.

Male Northern Cardinal

Female Northern Cardinal

Cardinal

The perches on my Droll Yankee birdfeeder seem awkward for the larger Cardinals. Years past with other feeders, I had more Cardinal activity. However, there is a pair that can be counted on for a quick daily visit.

8 House Finch Below & 2 Perched on Feeder

House Finch

Prolific breeders. Families as large as 7 descend on the feeder and clean it out. They discourage the other birds by sitting on the feeder and pecking away newcomers.

Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco

These birds herald the coming of winter with a regular October arrival. They are not feeder birds, but will pick up dropped seeds. They feed in groups and exhibit a stunning variety of gray, charcoal, and black coloring.

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Light cocoa-colored caps on these birds enchanted me from first sight. They make very quick visits to the feeder just grabbing a seed and eating out of sight. The video below shows one of these speedy trips. A Cardinal, Chickadee, and Tufted Titmouse are also in the video.

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Characters at my Bird Feeder Part I (Videos)

Kitty watches Activity at the Bird Feeder

The kitchen sink window has a good view of my bird feeder. Over the years I've become quite familiar with the bird visitors.

Each season brings the same birds and we've become a family - tolerant of each others' habits. Let me tell you about these characters.

Brown Thrasher

Thrasher

Watching this guy under the bird feeder, explains the name. He swings his long beak side-to-side like a pendulum as it plows up the ground. This unearths dropped seeds and sprouts. He's the largest bird visiting my feeder, but gracious - not a bully. His long beak is scary, and he keeps the squirrels from taking over.

We have other Thrashers around, but this one shows up in the fall and maintains a solitary presence at the bird feeder all winter. I'm grateful to have him recycle dropped seed.

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

Wasteful. All the safflower seed in my feeder is the same, but this bird throws down 10 seeds for every 1 he keeps. Drives me nuts - this stuff is $20 a bag. I can't watch this waste, and have to leave the room. (In his defense, the Wren eats off the ground and may pick up some of his discarded seed.)

Tufted Titmouse

Tufted Titmouse

The pretty Titmice are regulars at the birdfeeder. Chirpy and sociable. I can count on them to hang around and entertain me while they eat.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee

These beautiful little black and white birds seem to be dressed in tiny tuxedos. They socialize in groups with the Titmice, and happily chirp.

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove

Peaceful and quiet. Mourning Doves silently arrive in pairs and small groups to clear the ground around the bird feeder. They are terribly skittish though, and fly off with a squawk when I come near.

White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Like the Juncos, White-throated Sparrows arrive for winter and have a charming presence in my backyard. They eat off the ground around the feeder and seem to enjoy the company of other birds. By hopping and scratching with their feet, they unearth small bugs and seeds.

I recently learned that these sparrows' heads can be marked with either tan or white stripes. Males prefer white-striped females and females prefer tan-striped males. Either way, they have beautiful brown, tan, and white markings with the distinctive white throat.

I'll continue writing about my bird feeder visitors in Part 2. Characters at my Bird Feeder Part 2 is available here.


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Squirrels at the Birdfeeder

The Droll Yankee Flipper could be a solution to squirrels in your birdfeeder.

Deer Visits Birdfeeder

House Finch enjoy the Birdfeeder

Most bird lovers who maintain birdfeeders struggle with a squirrel problem. Squirrels love the easy food source that birdfeeders provide. Sometimes a simple baffle can prevent squirrels access to a bird feeder. In my situation, I have far too many trees that allow the squirrel to jump over the baffle. The Droll Yankee Flipper keeps squirrels out of my birdfeeder.

Many people are familiar with the flipper birdfeeder because of YouTube videos featuring spinning squirrels (video below).  Excessive weight triggers spinning of the ring-shaped perch. I've had my Flipper birdfeeder for 3 years and haven't seen any spinning squirrels in over a year. The squirrels in my yard quickly figured out the spinner and avoid it. The spinner rarely runs so I only need to recharge the battery twice a year.

There's plenty of seed below the birdfeeder

The first few months I had the Droll Yankee Flipper, young squirrels  would jump on the spinner long enough to spill seed out of the feeder onto the ground.

Bottom line, the Droll Yankee Flipper keeps the squirrels off the birdfeeder. They still get fed because my birds drop massive amounts of seed on the ground.