Birds in Wrightwood

[TooSlim]

Can anyone tell me what kind of birdseed to buy for attracting birds up here?  I bought some at the hardware store and I'm not attracting any, except for an occasional group of juncos.  Also, do we get orioles here and when do they arrive?

[Wildman]

I have had great success with a number of bird seed products in Wrightwood and I buy them all at Mt Hardware.  I feed one feeder with Sunflower seeds.  Chickadees, Jays, Nuthatches, and House Finches all love sunflower seeds.  I keep a suet feeder up year round...not just in winter.  It attracts Woodpeckers, Jays, Flickers and House Finches.  I also put up the Niger seed feeder (with the upside down perches) for the little Goldfinches.    They also like the socks to cling to and eat.  Finally, I have a feeder with the bird seed that Mike sells in the red bags that attracts everything.  Everyone seems to like that...you might even attract some of the wild Band Tailed Pigeons.  The Jays love whole peanuts in the shell.  Have a bird bath or source of ready water for the birds.  If you provide food and water, they will come.

I keep Hummingbird feeders up year round (I live at 4,500 feet) and get hummers year round.  When they migrate in , I will refill 10 feeders a week.  Right now, we have four or five that are feeding off the nectar from the Manzanita blossoms.

Good luck and have patience. We are fortunate to have lots of incredible wildlife in our backyard.

[Up Sheep Creek]

Yes.  We do get Orioles and Tanagers migrating through.  They are here early spring and don't stay long.  Thought I heard one yesterday.  The Pine Siskins love thistle.  I prefer suet over bird feed and make my own nectar for the hummingbirds and Orioles.  And don't forget about the coveys of Quail with babies soon.  Maybe Wildman can get a good pic of them.  Lots of birds to be seen right from your yard.

[angiepoo]

Is there any way that we could have some pictures posted of just the birds that are here in wrightwood and what times of year they are around?

[Wrightwood]

See this topic :
http://www.wrightwoodcalif.com/forum/index.php/topic,391.0.html

[angiepoo]

That thread is cool but what would be really cool is something like:

Scrub Jay - picture
Time of year
what they eat

Hummingbird - picture
time of year
what kind of feeder

Oriole - picture
time of year
what kind of feed

 And so on instead of having to read through several pages to find the bird you are looking for.

[love_walnuts]

Yes.  We do get Orioles and Tanagers migrating through.  They are here early spring and don't stay long.  Thought I heard one yesterday.  The Pine Siskins love thistle.  I prefer suet over bird feed and make my own nectar for the hummingbirds and Orioles.  And don't forget about the coveys of Quail with babies soon.  Maybe Wildman can get a good pic of them.  Lots of birds to be seen right from your yard.

What is your hummingbird nectar recipe, if you don't mind sharing? I am using the store bought, which sometimes leaks and leave red sugar on the patio.

[Wrightwood]

Spring: (by volume)
1/3 sugar
2/3 hot water

Summer: (by volume)
1/4 sugar
3/4 hot water

Large quantity:
5 gallon pail
10 lbs sugar
4 1/2 - 5 gallons hot water

Absolutely no nectar coloring should be used

[Nolena]

Here you go, Cinchy. 
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/ident.html

I look forward to your online Wrihgtwood bird identification guide on this forum.
Thanks for thinking of it! 

Everybody thank Cinchy in advance!!!! 

[sage]

I feed a nut and berry variety of seed that I get at Target.  It is more expensive, but the birds love it.  Unfortunately the seed at the hardware store has never attracted the birds for me.  Also rite aid has a pretty good variety, one is a woodpeckers blend.  The only thing abour that one is it has to many corn kernels and no one seems to eat it. Also the niger or thistle seed will attract the beautiful goldfinches.  I counted through the years the different species of birds that come to my feeders and it has been over 30 species.  Each season brings new birds.  Also saw my first robin last week and I put out grape jelly in a little dish for them and they love it.  The orioles and tanagers love when I cut an orange in half and put it on a branch!

[Chesslike]

The Flickers, Jays and Humming Birds are now back.

Thanks Cinchy, that will be great when you get that done.

[Wrightwood]

The Flickers, Jays and Humming Birds are now back.

They never left in this neighborhood. We continued to have 1 or 2 hummers all winter long. The flickers continued through winter as long as the suet holders were kept filled. Jays are always dropping by 

[angelwolf326]

I have 1 or 2 hummers that never leave as well over in the East Cyn.  Juncos all year long, quails all year long, jays all year long (scrub and stellar) and they know when you throw a peanut!  Finch left at winter, hopefully they will be back soon.  The red/brown birds, that look like big finches (name?) stay all year long.

My birds don't like the feed from Mt Hardware, the seeds seem to be too big and they leave them.  I get my food at Petco, I buy a mixed bag of seeds with blacksunflowers in them and then get an extra back of the black sunflower seeds, they seem to be the favorite of all.  The quail seem to eat the lighter colored seed and they also love the thistle that falls from the finch feeders.....

In the warmer months I have 10 hummer feeders and usually go thru 25lbs of sugar a week.  They have to be filled sometimes twice a day!  Just call me the Hummer House.....

I have had problems with birds hitting the window and have buried many.  They seem to all fly fast when a car passes and they hit the window.  I tried to hang a ribbon, and have put tape on the window but it did not work.  I finally came up with the idea of hanging beads, the mardi gra type.  I have 4 strands of different colors hanging spaced about 2 feet apart and it seems to have really helped......

That's my bird update. 

[Stitches]

I went outside this morning to put my daughter's instruments in the van.   Right at the tree outside my door, a Blue Jay was screeching at me.   I told him to wait and I'd be back.   Went to get the bag of peanuts from the empty cooler outside and there were four or five Jays.   All at once, every Jay in the neighborhood was at the party.   I ended up feeding them two handfuls before I had to go inside to get the kids to school.  The feeding of the birds is one of the few things I like about spring (planting flowers being the other one).

I also bought a big package of Nyjer Seeds to fill my two finch socks.    I also saw a new thing on the shelf at Petco that had a platform like thing that held two socks and to refill the socks you just fill the dome.    I spill every single time I refill these socks.

Also got to get back in the routine of filling the hummingbird feeder. 

I'll try that cut up oranges trick.   I'd love to see an Oriole.

[angelwolf326]

Acorn Woodpecker
Time of Year:Fall
Food - Wood

[angelwolf326]

House Sparrow
Spotted in the Summer
Birdseed from Petco - mixed seeds with black sunflower

[angelwolf326]

California Quail - baby
Spotted Summer - Coveys frequent WW all year long
Mixed birdseed



California Quail - Male Adult
Spotted Winter
Mixed Birdseed

[Chesslike]

Nice pics AW and just FYI - Quail like cracked corn.

[Stitches]

Love the photos Angelwolf.    Aren't the woodpeckers digging into the wood to get the bugs??

BB, any cracked corn will do or does Jimmy have to crack the corn?   

Anyone know how to attract the Northern Flickers??  What do they like?

[Chesslike]

BB, any cracked corn will do or does Jimmy have to crack the corn?

Careful, you don't want to give the Quail the Jimmy leg.

Anyone know how to attract the Northern Flickers??  What do they like?

Suet and insects, especially ants.