Melanie, I agree with what Kurt said. I know for a fact that Cardinals eat bugs as do sparrows, wrens because I've seen them. I've even see a Cardinal take a pretty big frog. Mostly though, I think, the songbirds get bugs when they are raising young. The young need the heavy duty protein. However, having said that, from my observances, they MOSTLY eat seed. I use a small bird or finch or songbird mix. Small seeds. I can't find safflower seed here but where we used to live I could buy it. The squirrels didn't eat the straight out safflower seed but the songbirds loved it.
I don't think there's any particular feeder that will only attract one type of bird over another.

You've said this before yourself.....
Remember, it's all about balance. I know you really love your cats but birds are part of the whole too & they can prey on cats. I prefer to think of it this way:
The birds may very well be getting the "weak", the ones that wouldn't survive anyway, the ones that are genetically inferior.

But....
it's up to you. You have to come to terms with what you are willing to do or not.

I, for one, will not think any less of you if you choose not to have bird feeders.

Wow! Look at all these bird photos! Great shots and wonderful job with those cameras! I've not had time to take any photos lately. It's Spring here and I've been cleaning up my garden areas and planting, planting, planting ...

I want to wish all the Mom's here a Happy Mother's Day!

Click on this link to see your Mother's Day card: http://www.jacquielawson.com/v...

Different feeders will accommodate different types of birds better but that does not mean other birds, bigger or smaller won't try to use it. Since I am open to whatever shows up, I prefer my platform & tray feeder. Mine are on a pole system that's includes raccoon baffles. Squirrels & raccoons are what I battle with here. Had lots of feeders torn up by both! I also battle with chipmunks and mice.

Some seeds are a lot messier than others. You can buy "No waste" seed mixes. The have seeds with no shells. You can buy sunflower Hearts, again you do not have the mess of the shells. These do cost a little more. Less mess attracts less rodents!

So many people seem to say and even had success with safflower seed ,
but the only thing I ever had really seem to enjoy it was red house finches.



and I use to be able to get tons of goldfinches with thistle sacs and seed





most up and disappeared a couple years ago , I still see a few rare feeder visits
but mostly catch two or three eating the seeds from basil and sunflower plants.

mockingbirds love apples if you peel them first

Thank you for that lovely Mother's Day card Becky!

We actually used to have one of those platform feeders, but that was my brother's idea. He took care of it. I know it was sunflower seeds (or mostly) because one year, for fun, he threw a bunch of seeds right along our property line just to see what would happen. Luckily, our neighbor's wife loved sunflowers. Our biggest problem was squirrels, but we haven't had nearly the population we used to. I think maybe the Hawk (and the occasional gunshot I hear) are keeping them in check. They're still around, but not like they used to be.

If you follow the butterfly thread, you know I find most of my caterpillars as eggs and bring them in to raise. But there are certain species I leave outside because they do better. And the caterpillars do have defenses of their own. Looking around yesterday evening, it's clear the birds are already here, anyway. I thought it might be nice of I could "corral" them every now and then like the hummer so I could really see them and get pictures. My parents really like watching the wildlife, too. Dad was painting his trailer yesterday and the color is called "Safety Red". The hummingbird actually came and checked it out! I told him he couldn't wave that much red around without them getting curious.

Today was the hairy woodpecker at the suet cake. He is just grabbing a hunk and flew off right after

You never know, Melanie, a bird feeder might make the birds less inclined to hunt for caterpillars, since they aren't as hungry most of the time. Just thinking it might just balance out.

I know "my" squirrels go after the mangoes a lot less if I keep the feeder well stocked when the fruit is ripening. Btw you'll probably see the squirrels come back as soon as you put out bird seed.

I have a little globe cage feeder that only the small birds like sparrows, wrens and titmice can get into, Well . . the cardinal does get in there once in a while, but only the male. I wonder if the female is fatter or what? The squirrels climb all over it, and one did manage to remove the lid but I chased him away, as he was nearly getting stuck, head down in the seed tube.
Picture taken with my new wide-angle phone camera lens. for new toys for Mother's Day that really work!


Lovely shot of the hairy woodpecker, Lori. Wow, they sure do look exactly like the little downies, except for the long beak.

Lori, great picture! It really helps me see the difference between the Downy and the Hairy. I thought mine was the Downy because of the beak size, but this really illustrates the difference!

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I have to go pick up some supplies at Lowe's, so I think I'll poke around and see what they've got.

mellielong said:Lori, great picture! It really helps me see the difference between the Downy and the Hairy. I thought mine was the Downy because of the beak size, but this really illustrates the difference!

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I have to go pick up some supplies at Lowe's, so I think I'll poke around and see what they've got.

Yes. I can always tell adult hairy woodpecker as soon as I see it because it is bigger and I remember that. Sometimes I mix up the younger ones with the downy, although there aren't any babies yet :D

The birds were playing 'catch me if you can' today.

Am I correct that this is a Downy wooodpecker (shorter beak?)?




Goldfinch




Not sure if this is a female cardinal or a house finch with the goldfinch


Bluejay (love the back feather detail!)




Cardinal


Chickadee (I think)

Lovely photos everyone! That's a house finch Marie.

Thanks Ann!

I was visited by a few yellow rumped warblers, they must be on their spring migration. A few black and white ones too but couldn't get a good shot of them.

Pretty Ronnie! That setting is just to die for!

Thanks Ann, I wish they were a bit more focused. They were out my bedroom window.
This one is through the screen but I kind of like the way it turned out. Just wish the whole bird was in the shot.

I like it! It has a dreamlike quality about it. I may be strange but I find things like that fascinating when you have to sort of search & find these hidden little surprises in a picture. Not having the entire bird just makes you want more you know? Sort of like when someone helps your dinner plate for you & they put massive quantities on there so by the time you're done the food is no longer special. The best chef's know you always leave them wanting more.

Melanie did you find any bird feeders you thought you might like?

I did want to say that Doves eat on the ground BUT they will eat from a platform feeder but not any other kind of bird feeder. So if you want Doves, you either need to sprinkle seed on the ground which is not really advisable - see prior posters about rats, mice, squirrels etc... or put up a platform feeder where they will land & feast on.

My doves feed on the cake feeder and the other feeder if they're not too fat to land on the perch.