wildflowers said:Great job Avedon! I find them hard to capture too, they move pretty quickly around the tree and from tree to tree.

Exactly! Avedon, I always end up playing ring around the tree with them. You can stand there & watch them & they won't move to the other side of the tree but stick that camera up to get a shot & they go around & around & around the tree always keeping themselves on the side the camera is not.

Those are pretty good Avedon. I have a pretty good zoom so I can stand at the kitchen door and shoot away, they are really cool birds.

Margaret. your photos are outstanding!!!

Thank you Avedon and Natalie.

Wow, I've only seen the Red-Bellied Woodpeckers and I play ring around the tree with them, too. They're not so bad when they peck trees but when they peck telephone poles it's so loud! And last year one was pecking the metal on my neighbor's roof. My dad watched it and said he thinks it was scaring the insects and when they would come flying out, he would eat them. Sounds like a good strategy to me!

I was at MOSI today and it was kind of quiet in the gardens. Maybe because the Renaissance Festival next door kept firing off cannons? But I did see this Great Egret in the parking lot. I like his tail feathers.

Amazing photos, everyone!

Margaret, what is the tree the Pileated is on? I like that twisty bark.

Ann, that is a crabapple tree, I have 3 of them, they are pretty old and the woodpeckers have pecked them to death.

Ah. Thank you Margaret.

Does anything eat the crabapples? The color of the blooms are stunning, but the mess I've seen them leave behind has made it so that I'd probably never get one. If a bird would eat the apples, maybe it would be worth it. Or deer. Maybe they eat them. Need to check on this! The blooms are amazing.

Natalie, yes the blooms are amazing, all the bees just love them, my trees hum especially from the bumble bees. Some people like to make crabapple jelly or can them whole with spices, you can also make applesauce but it is rather tart. The waxwings love them when they are ripe and is a much needed winter food. However the bears also love them and we had to start picking them as soon as they were ripe in September. If you don't have a problem with the bears then plant a few different varieties, we have 3 that ripen at different times.

No way am I going to plant anything that attracts bears. They aren't common where I live, but they have been seen here. I think the last one that anyone saw was 4 or 5 years ago, on the property next door. That leads me to think that they just haven't seen them, but they are around. If I had a moose walk through my yard, it is very possible to have a bear come through here too. Bears are very common here, but just not exactly where I live, because the more forested areas are down toward the end of our road. Changed my mind on that tree! Maybe I'll give it another 5 years, and see if anyone sees a bear. Then I'll consider it again.

Natalie, I love to see the bears, but I don't want to be responsible for getting them shot so that's why we pick the apples.

I do NOT love seeing bears, unless I'm locked in the truck, and I'm not near my house! Like, maybe in another state, or something.

I would still like to plant something for the birds that they can enjoy during winter. We have a lot of bushes around here, and there are berries on some of them, but I have no idea what those bushes are. I need to get more though, no matter what, because I love helping the birds. I'm sure that anything I plant that would attract birds would also attract bears, but it would be easier to plant shrubs down the hill, where I could watch from a distance. A tree would have to be close to the yard.

Natalie, how about ornamental crabs, they have awesome blossoms and small fruit that the birds love and the bears don't bother.


This one is at the back, still young, and the second one is at the front, it was here when we bought the place.

That sounds much better, Margaret! Thanks for the suggestion! I might even be able to get one at the little nursery in town!

Wonderful pics everyone!

I change my clear (boiled) sugar water solution every day in the feeders, no matter if they need it or not. Until DH or I see Hummingbird activity, I'll change the solution every other day. We've 2 feeders that are hung in the front and back of the house. We also have the hummingbird swings that we hang next to the feeders (opposite hanging hook). It is so neat to see the hummer sitting and swinging on it!

http://www.duncraft.com/index/...

I also hang a separate red ant moat above the feeders, even if the feeder has a built-in moat. The Goldfinches, Chickadees and some other song birds drink out it. So cute! Their own little watering hole! I always keep it filled up with fresh water and change it every day.

At the back yard feeder, we have a birdbath right below it, but the little birds like to drink from the ant moat. http://www.duncraft.com/Red-An...

I've tried to use the saucer type of feeder before, but it turned cloudy (by or before the next day) and that was changing it with fresh solution every day. So I quit using it.

What are y'all your success with that type?

Natalie, if you have the space and can afford it I would plant several of those trees to attract the birds. The deer do like to nibble on them during the winter.

I bet winterberry would be a good one for you too. They are shrubs though & not trees.