Are there other bird nerds like me?

Question

The staples in my pantry are red wine, bird seed and dog food. I have many resident birds that I tend to. I live in Nashville, TN and the hummingbirds are starting to migrate at this time of year. I have 20 feeders and usually about 20-50 hummingbirds in my garden at this time of year. It is great to go out on the patio and be swarmed by the hummers. I have noticed something strange this year. I have Carolina Chicadees ( very small birds, 2-3 inches in height only found in the United States) that are feeding off of the sugar water. They feed on the feeder by the kitchen window. They are no ants on the feeder they are actually drinking the sugar water. I fill 3 different sized birth baths daily so it is not the water. Has anyone else seen this before? I try not to talk about my bird obsession with others. It's boring to them, I can tell.

Answer 1

orioles also like hummingbird feeders. I have not had chickadees at mine. My chickadees are crazy about sunflower seeds. But when I was down in Costa Rica this summer, the bananaquits were at the hummingbird feeders there.

Saw 25 different hummingbirds in Costa Rica. You have got to go there. 250 different birds total, 204 new lifers.

Answer 2

**Grins** You're not the only one! My dad is bird feeder crazy. The front yard used to have five feeders when you walked up the driveway. Every winter we were the birdy version of McDonalds - Over a billion birds served! Okay.. not quite that bad, but it sure looked like it some days. Now that my parents have a cottage they have a humming bird feeder, three seed feeders and four bird houses. Then there's me :)

I live in an apartment and I'm not allowed to have a bird feeder. Landlord is afraid of mice or something **rolls eyes** I breed birds as a hobby. I currently have six Green Cheek Conures, three cockatiels, two budgies a Zebra Finch and Three Japanese Quail. I just spent over 600$ on new cages, not including toys. The staples in my home include insectivore food, seeds and kaytee pellets, cat food, Guinea Pig Pellets, Timothy Hay and cat food. Oh..and canned cat food. People food? What's that? Most of the bread and veggies I get are for my critters. I just eat the leftovers ^.^ . BTW - kaytee pellets are rather fruity flavored. A bit bland though.

My parents think I'm nuts and wonder why I can't have just two birds. I wonder why I can't have a zoo. I'd love to breed some of the endangered species to help conservation efforts. I wonder if I'd be able to do that with my Green Cheek Conures? I can only dream!

Answer 3

i think my hubby would like to know that someone else has more to do with birds than i do.....! actually mine isn't all that much ,,i have 2 finch feeders..2 cardinal feeders,,1 suet feeder,,3 regular bird seed feeders and 2 hummingbird feeders and 1 bird bath.i planted a 12 foot section of gladiolus to attract the hummingbirds,,,,inside i have 11 birds,,6 parakeets,,2 lovebirds and 3 finches. and i collect bird figures,,having about 70plus so far......you out do me big time !!!!!!!! but ain't it fun?

Answer 4

Birds are some of nature's most beautiful creatures. I always enjoy seeing what kinds I can spot. I sure wish I had a nice big yard, so I could feed them as well. Here in town there are the common species such as robins, cardinals, black birds, crows, etc. I always like to see what birds I can spot when we go camping up in northern Wisconsin or Michigan though. I've seen bald eagles, osprey, common loons, pileated woodpecker, cedar waxwing, wood ducks, great blue heron, swans, among others. It's always a treat to spot a "new" species.

Answer 5

It Sounds Lovely,
I Am A Great Bird Lover ,
I Love All Kinds Of Creatures, Large And Small .

Answer 6

You are soooooooooooo lucky. I live in weymouth UK we have a nature reserve called Radipole lake, there are always a lot of birds there and we often get unusual/rare visitors tooo. My favourite of the sea birds is the cormorant, I love to watch them catching their food its amazing, I cycle or walk to work past the lake in the mornings and have often been late for work because I stopped to watch some activity going on with the birds down there. I would absolutley love to stand on your patio and experience just ONCE what you have everyday. my email address is [e-mail] PLEASE could you send me some photos of those hummers I would reciprocate with any birds here that I can capture that you would like.

Answer 7

I have never seen chickadees drinking sugar water. The one's I feed seem to eat the suet/peanutbutter/sunflower-seed blocks I hang out. I suppose that they would drink it though... maybe they're thirsty! ;-)

I am a little bit of a bird nerd... but I focus more on my pet birds than my outdoor visitors. My favorite wild bird: Rose Breated Grosbeak. The most "exotic' wild bird I have had in my yard: the Scarlet Tanager. (Massachusetts)

Answer 8

I love my birds.I have 4 bird baths,6 different kinds of feeders and I am not a nerd thank you.I am in the process of finding a pr. of inside gouldian/finch.Like I don't have enough to take care of.

Answer 9

Ya i love birds two. I don't have 20 feeders though (i wish i did. lol) I have no idea what would drive a chickadee to drink sugar water.

Answer 10

I am a bird lover also. I keep 4 feeders and a bird bath in my back yard. there is a pair of doves who have been here for two summers now and it has been fun watching them raise their young.

I also raise domestic birds. I have cockatiels, lovebirds, lady gouldian finches, canaries, java rice finches and scarlett breasted parakeets.