A few weeks ago, I wrote about the birds nesting in our yard. All of the babies left the nests shortly after my post, and I thought baby season was over. I was wrong! Before I could even clean out/replace the birdhouse used by the bluebirds, a new pair (or maybe the same pair) started setting up house. The wren nest in the carport didn’t get reused, but wrens set up another nest in the corner of the fence around our side yard.
As soon as the new batch of babies fly the nest, I am going to replace the current house favored by the bluebirds because not only is it literally falling apart, it is also difficult to clean out. Kenn said that we can build new houses and, while we can, I plan to buy new houses. This one and this one are my choices; they will be easy to clean and the opening is reinforced to protect from squirrel damage.
I also need to thank Suzassippi for introducing me to suet pellets. I didn’t know such a thing existed until she mentioned them in her blog. At our last house, I always put out blocks of suet dough for the birds, but the raccoons put an end to that when we moved to The Cabin. No matter where I located the suet feeder, the raccoons would find it and polish off the whole block of suet overnight. As much as I love caring for the critters, I’m not willing to put out a new block of suet every day. Suet pellets to the rescue! I’m now mixing the pellets into the songbird blend that I use in my regular bird feeder, and I bought a separate feeder for the pellets. It took the birds a while to find the new feeder, but now that they have, I have to refill it regularly. Even better, the squirrels/raccoons have not hauled off the pellet feeder or removed the top and dumped the contents. Of course, I have now probably jinxed things and will find an empty feeder on the ground tomorrow.😂
Lastly, the barn swallows (maybe?) that build a nest on or near our downspout every year do seem to be incubating eggs this year! The nest is in a difficult place to monitor, but I finally managed to a fairly decent picture of one of the parents in the nest. Here’s hoping we’ll see babies soon!
So, do you feed wildlife – birds or otherwise?
Linda Lou's Life 
Great news on all fronts, fellow bird and critter lover! I use a carabiner clip to hook my feeder onto the branch, and thus far, the raccoons have not taken it down, or taken off the lid–they settle for just shaking out the contents, so I try to feed an amount that will not leave leftovers. The wrens who set up housekeeping on our screened porch have babies hatched now!
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Yay for babies! The carabiner clip is a great idea.
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Nice! I don’t feed the birds, my contribution in SoCal is the fountain to keep them hydrated. I have neighbors with bird feeders, but all they really seem to feed are the squirrels.
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Hydration is important for the critters, too. It’s wild to me that we have fewer squirrels here at our rural home than we did in the suburbs. They constantly raided our feeders.
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I used to feed the wild birds in the winter, but the squirrels and raccoons ruined it for me. Little punks!
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I’ve never minded the squirrels, but the raccoons are definitely a bit much.
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Lots of bird action at your place! I like how the new bluebird houses can be cleaned out. I do enjoy feeding the birds when we are home. I really like seeing the gold finches.
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The ease of cleaning is one of the things I was looking for in replacement bird houses. Thanks for stopping by!
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I’ve never heard of suet pellets! As a guy who frequently buys whole blocks of suet, this sounds like a game-changer.
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Right? It was for me.
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What fun! We have hummingbird feeders and a feeder for wild birdseed and a birdbath. Robins get worms out of the lawn. We don’t have any bird houses, as I fear that wasps and hornets will think them a lovely dwelling place.
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You have babies all over the place Linda; you must have a “Welcome” sign out somewhere in the yard. I no longer feed the birds or give them birdbaths but not by choice. When a neighbor moved in with a dog and left it out 24/7/365, we got rats in record time. I never had rats before, not even mice as I cleaned up any seed on the ground, but the doves usually got to it first, or the squirrels. I had to get a pest control service come in routinely and we got rid of the rats, but were advised to not feed/water the birds again. That neighbor is now gone, but I remember the ordeal so I never returned to backyard feeders or birdbaths again.
The squirrels are a pain though – no matter what type of feeder or set-up you have, they will do calisthenics if necessary to get into the feeder. They ate the suet in the cage-type holder too. There are suet plugs you can buy to deter the squirrel, though raccoons have paws like human hands, so I’m sure they could pick the suet plugs right out of the wooden suet plug holders. I used to buy the Birdola seed blocks for Winter and would hang them far enough away that squirrels could not jump on or access the blocks from the fence, shed or trees. But then you’d have several big birds like jays or cardinals hang on it, it gets unstable and breaks in half – voila a feast for all the backyard critters!
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Even though we no longer have outdoor cats, we still keep a food dish out for any passing critters in need of sustenance. Before we moved the dish to its current location, the raccoons would regularly haul it off overnight. Several times, they hauled off the food container as well, and it was held in place by a bungee cord.🤦♀️
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My friend has a group of feral cats she feeds and has for years … she has a daily battle with the raccoons and deer eating the food she puts out for the cats. She started putting out dry dog food for the raccoon before putting out the cat food and it eats it up and leaves. 🙂
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