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#89527
We've had some interesting birds showing up in the yard this year ... we do live close to Knox Mountain Park so I'm sure we get some bleed over -- plus we are between the Okanagan Lake and several smaller lakes -- so we get the definite flyovers ...
We also bought a new kind of bird seed for our feeders -- "Major Attraction" from Buckerfields. This stuff has everything in it ... even peanuts! Because it is a "Major Attraction" -- it was getting more attention than we needed. A Raccoon was trying to empty it. Once we put on a couple of bungee cords that got rid of him. But it afforded other birds the opportunity to come for a feast ... Check out this Brown-headed Cowbird and the Steller's Jay.
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Oh, we also put down some grass seed (the coated kind to keep the birds from eating it). haha.
Starlings, White-crowned, and Golden-crowned Sparrows were cleaning us out.
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Even the doves were getting in on the seed action ...
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As I mentioned -- strange things happen too. Yesterday, this Great Blue Heron decided to land on the neighbor's roof, walk across it, and hop down into his yard.
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As mentioned in the 2020 BC Bird Challenge, we've had Vultures flying over--we get all kinds of Hawks, Ravens, etc. Last year, a Mallard decide to hatch her eggs out back ... we aren't really near a pond. Here she is leading them in the back ...
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Around the garage ...
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and (I guess) over to the pond (that's about a kilometer from the house).
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Every day, something strange "bird-wise" happens here ... lol. So far, this year, we've seen 32 different kinds of birds at the house ... going for 50. haha. I hope you enjoyed my story.
James
#89529
I too am finding a much bigger variety of birds in the green space behind my condo. I don't know what the reason is and I guess I don't really care because I'm just happy to see them all.
The type of seed you offer makes a big difference - anything with peanuts and/or sunflower seeds will attract a wide variety of birds. Also if you set up a little bird bath you'll get many birds taking advantage of it especially now as the weather gets warmer. Even a shallow pan with a rock in the middle (so they have something to perch on) will do, but make sure to clean it out regularly.
My nemesis around here are not raccoons but squirrels! I've tried everything from putting the feeders in a (supposedly) squirrel-proof cage, spraying the weather dome on the feeder with vegetable oil, and putting out hot pepper suet. Nothing stops the varmints! See....

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(This was taken through the window hence the blurriness)

I did see our resident Barred Owl munching on one last year, so there is some natural rodent control going on.

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That's what's left of a black squirrel he's eating.

Now don't get me wrong - I actually was feeding the squirrels for a while, whole unshelled raw peanuts. The problem was that they ate all of them and then went after the bird food and when that was gone they gnawed the suet feeder (I've replaced it twice now).

I hope your Mallard family found their way to the pond. It seems like a long way for them to go, especially since the ducklings can't fly yet.
And a Heron walking on the roof - that's a new one for me! It just proves that everyone has to be somewhere and that's where he chose to be at that particular time.
#89535
Our neighbor has a water feature that really works well with our two feeders (plus hummingbird feeder). I get the occasional chipmunk ... but our two new feeders are nicely designed. We had a bird bath before, but the deer would drink it dry ... then knock it over ... and come asking for more. haha.
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Our yard is perfectly set up for these guys, though ...
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They are here all the time -- they wake me up early in the morning ... calling.
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Late in the summer, they really congregate -- we've sween almost 50 at one time ... they are breaking the ordinance! lol.
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#89538
That looks like you’ve got a really nice yard James with the lake view and all. No wonder you get lots of wildlife.
I’ve seen deer here twice before; this is in urban Surrey, not rural by any means. I think they were using the nearby creek as a highway of sorts. It leads to a golf course so maybe that’s where they live. In this immediate area there has been an awful lot of construction lately (and I mean awful literally- business parks instead of trees) so that has driven them away.
The only California Quail I’ve ever seen was at Reifel bird sanctuary about 2 years ago. I guess he somehow lost his way and ended up there for awhile. I’ve not seen nor heard of one being around the lower mainland since.
Cheers!
#89577
jewill wrote: May 09 6:28 pm That looks like you’ve got a really nice yard James with the lake view and all. No wonder you get lots of wildlife.
I’ve seen deer here twice before; this is in urban Surrey, not rural by any means. I think they were using the nearby creek as a highway of sorts. It leads to a golf course so maybe that’s where they live. In this immediate area there has been an awful lot of construction lately (and I mean awful literally- business parks instead of trees) so that has driven them away.
The only California Quail I’ve ever seen was at Reifel bird sanctuary about 2 years ago. I guess he somehow lost his way and ended up there for awhile. I’ve not seen nor heard of one being around the lower mainland since.
Cheers!
We put out a few new plants ... the deer like to munch on them. Even if they say "deer resistant." haha. They love our soft grass. haha.
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We've been hearing a bird that sounds like a "Poor-will" the last few nights ... we are going to go out and see if we can find it tonight ... I don't think it is very common in this area.

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