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Monthly Archives: December 2008

Our New Bird Feeder Setup

December 22, 2008 – 10:58 am

This past weekend Pam and I added to our feeder assortment by replacing a feeder that was falling apart and adding a couple of new ones to the mix.  Hopefully this will give us a wider variety of birds.

Out With The Old

Here is a picture of our old feeder setup. Old Birdfeeder Setup You will see that we had a “tri-tube” feeder along with a finch feeder and a suet cage.  We were getting a fair amount of birds.  In fact, the feeders were always pretty busy.  But the triple tubed feeder was on its last legs.  Most of the feeding holes were chewed away, the result of squirrels getting on the feeder before we raised the feeder.  The seed would just fall out of the holes and the feeder was almost impossible to clean.  The finch feeder didn’t get much action.  We think maybe it was because it was so close to the other feeder and the goldfinches supposedly don’t like that.

In With The New

We set out to get a new tube feeder to replace the one we had.  New Feeder Setup We went to a couple of  stores that sell bird feeders and found one we liked, the BirdQuest Spiral Feeder.  Instead of perches it has a “spiral” that runs from top to bottom.  It is easy to clean and holds a lot of seed.  In addition we got a Going Green Platform Feeder which is made from recycled plastic and should last a long time.  It has a perforated grate at the bottom to help keep the seed dry.  We also pulled a feeder “off the bench” which my parents gave to us a couple of years ago.  It is a tube feeder with a cage around it to keep big birds out and allow the smaller birds in to get the food.  The suet feeder stayed at the same spot.  We took the finch feeder off the feeder pole and put it on a hook attached to our deck, away from the main feeder by about 20 feet.  Hopefully that will help the goldfinches come back.

The Results

We set the new feeders up late Saturday afternoon and by Sunday morning the birds were swarming the feeders.  They seemed to like the feeders, especially the platform feeder, which had a bunch of nuthatches and cardinals all over it.  So far, so good.  Another benefit that I didn’t consider is that the new feeder setup makes it easier to get photos of the birds.  I took a bunch on Sunday and will post some when I can get through them.

So far we are very happy with the new feeder arrangement.  The birds have a wider variety of options which will hopefully attract some new species and the feeders are better positioned for viewing from the house.  We are looking forward to seeing all of the birds that will come to visit.  Now, I just need a second job to afford all of the seed we are buying! :-)

By Mark | Posted in Bird Feeding | Tagged , | Comments (1)

Life List Poll Results

December 21, 2008 – 3:56 pm

A couple of weeks ago I posted the first poll on the site titled “How Many Birds Are On Your Life List“.  Being new birders we wanted to see what we were up against as far as number of birds seen.

The Envelope Please

Well, we have some results, though not as many as I would have hoped.  But, this was the first, of what I hope will be many, polls/surveys on the site so it’s a good start.

There have been 8 responses so far and here is how it broke down:

  1. 0-50 birds- 25%
  2. 251-500- 25%
  3. 501-750- 50%

Wow, some serious birders read this blog!  I guess I should be flattered, thanks for reading.  Both Pam and I are in the 0-50 bird group and it’s a little hard to imagine having more than 500 birds on our life list.  So, whoever you are that has 500+ birds on your life list, congratulations are in order!  That’s a fantastic achievement and we hope to be there one day as well.

I will keep this poll open so as new readers find this blog (Spread The Word!) they can take the poll as well.

Stay Tuned For More

This was only the first of many polls that I have planned.  There are so many things that I’d like to know about all you birders out there.  I plan on doing another one here in a couple of days.  In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for poll questions you’d like to see answered please let me know!

By Mark | Posted in Polls and Surveys | Tagged , | Comments (3)

Researching New Birding Spots

December 19, 2008 – 10:12 pm
Chattahoochee River in Norcross, Georgia

Image via Wikipedia

Now that Pam and I are experienced birdwatchers :-) we figured we’d better expand our regular birding spots beyond our backyard.  So, this weekend we are going to try a few different locations close to our house that should offer us some variety in the birds that we see.

Get Out Of The Woods

As you probably know from an earlier post, our backyard is fairly wooded.  That’s great because we get a lot of birds but we’d like to find a couple of other locations nearby that will give us a shot at seeing some waterfowl as well as field-dwelling birds.  Luckily the Chattahoochee river is very close by as well as a couple of small lakes.  We’re hoping these locations will provide us with some new birds to see.

The Goal

Our hope is that we can find a few different areas, that are close to our house and easy to get to, that we can visit on a regular basis.  Hopefully this will give us the opportunity to see a larger variety of birds without having to expend a bunch of time and energy.

The Plan

Our plan is to take our binoculars with us as we’re out running errands and stop by a couple spots to see what we can see.  We have a couple of access points to the river that are easy to get to (one of them is right on our way to several stores we regularly shop at).  The closest lake is Berkeley Lake which is a little out of the way, but only by a couple of miles.  I ride my bike by, and around it, quite a bit and have seen numerous birds.  If our “scouting expeditions” prove successful we will add the locations to our list of local birding venues.

What About You

If you don’t watch birds outside of your yard, you might want to take some time to investigate some alternative spots.  If you do have regular “non backyard” birding spots, what kind of birding areas are they and how often do you visit them?

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By Mark | Posted in Birdwatching | Tagged | Comments (0)

The Little King Of Our Backyard

December 17, 2008 – 1:24 pm
Displaying male

Male Ruby-crowned Kinglet showing his "crown". Image via Wikipedia

Over the past few weeks Pam and I have seen many of the same birds each time we look at the feeders with the binoculars.  It’s always neat to see the birds, and we don’t get tired of them.  But, there is one bird that is quickly becoming a backyard feeder favorite, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

A Hyper Bird

The first thing we both noticed is that the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a hyper little bird, always flitting and twitching.   All About Birds (on the Cornell University Ornithology Lab website) says that the bird is constantly in motion, flicking its wings.  It’s fun to see them (if you can follow them fast enough) dart around the yard from bush to bush and finally to the feeder where they attach themselves to the suet feeder.  Trying to follow them around the yard certainly is a way to build our “binocular handling” skills!  Once on the feeder they are quickly scared away by any other bird in the area, but they return shortly to grab a bit of suet and fly off again.

A Winter Treat

In our area, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a Winter bird, migrating in Canada in the Summer.  So, we better enjoy them while we can because when the weather warms up they will be gone for six months or so.

A Nice Color Combination

The feature that I like about them the most is the very distinct  black and white bar on the wings that really stands out against the light olive color of the rest of the bird.  The male also has white ring around the eye and a “ruby crown” that he flashes every once in a while.  I’ve seen it once and it was only for a brief moment.

Find Your Own Backyard King

If you live in an area that the Ruby-crowned Kinglet visits, keep an eye out and you might just see one of them darting back and forth from the bushes to your feeders, especially the suet feeder.  Look for a very small yellowish-green colored bird that is constantly in motion and you might just have your own “little backyard king”

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By Mark | Posted in Bird Behavior, Birdwatching | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Buying Birdwatching Binoculars Part Three

December 15, 2008 – 2:46 pm

This is the third, and final part of this short series on buying binoculars for birdwatching.  This part covers the final selection of binoculars.  Part one covered defining our needs and budget.  Part two discussed the research of possible binoculars based on our needs and budget.

Making The Choice

After a bit of research, looking through a few different binoculars, reading reviews, and getting the opinions of others who have used them, we decided to get a pair of Vortex Diamondbacks in the 8×42 size.  A couple of people on Twitter that I follow, specifically @Birdchick and @Kolibrix (who leads birding trips in Peru), said they were impressed with the quality. The specifications, reviews, and price were right where we wanted them to be.  They are waterproof, have plenty of eye relief for those times we wear glasses and seem to be ruggedly built.  They also have a great warranty.  Here they are:

The Vortex Diamondback Binocular

The Vortex Diamondback Binocular

The price was just under $200 which was great as that will allow us to get some other birding “accessories” such as field guides and  some CD’s with bird songs on them.  We ordered the binoculars and they arrived last week. 

Impressions

We had some time to “play with” them over the weekend and so far we are very happy with our choice.  Here is a summary of what we noticed:

  • The view is bright and clear. 
  • The focusing is accurate although a little slow but the depth of focus is pretty good so that makes up for it a bit. 
  • They have a nice, wide field of view which makes finding and following birds a little easier. 
  • There seems to be good contrast and the colors come through well, even in flat light.  Compared to our old Bushnell’s these are a great improvement.
  • They have  wide range of adjustability.  They fit both my narrow, deep set (Pam calls them beady :-) )eyes as well as Pam’s more “normal” eyes.
  • They are easily held by both my fairly large and Pam’s small hands.

Also, they come with a decent neck strap that is actually wide enough to be comfortable.  The case that comes with them is a hard-sided cube that protects the binoculars fairly well but is a little bit of a pain to use.  I think for most of our use the binoculars will stay outside of the case.

Overall we are very happy with the Vortex Diamondbacks so far.  They are an improvement over our existing pair and they are much better built and weatherproofed.  We will keep using the Bushnells outside until we get another pair of new binoculars (hopefully in the next month or so) and then after that they will stay inside as an “emergency” pair.

Summary

In summary, buying a pair of binoculars for birdwatching is a fairly straightforward process.  You just need to take you time and not rush into it.  Here are some suggestions based on what we learned during the process:

  1. Decide on your budget (be realistic).
  2. Determine the best size and use for the binoculars.
  3. Get opinions of other birdwatchers you trust.
  4. Research a bit to find a few different options (use the internet).
  5. Make the decision based on the best match to your particular needs.
  6. Purchase from a trusted source that allows resonable returns for binoculars that don’t meet your needs.
  7. Enjoy your new binoculars!

Hopefully you have found this series helpful.  Let us know about your favorite birding binoculars!

By Mark | Posted in Binoculars | Tagged , , | Comments (1)
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