Are the Robins Gone??????

[Wilma]

Signs of an early winter?

[Teresa]

The geese are moving in droves.. honking and the lead bird switching out and changing positions..
I love to watch them. How free it must feel to be able to fly so high above the earth..seeing everything with all your friends and family in respectable formation. As soon as I cross over into spirit once again.. and after I rest awhile.. I am going to fly and glide  ..just to let the wind blow across my soul.

[Catwoman]

The birds are massing to move south...in droves!  I have a bad, bad feeling about this coming winter.

[dnalexander]

The birds are massing to move south...in droves!  I have a bad, bad feeling about this coming winter.

Catwoman on the website I posted earlier it said that temperature was not as much of a migration factor as food source. Maybe the winter "fruit" and other food sources are low this year.

[Catwoman]

We'll hope so...because this particular cat enjoys small amounts of cold and snow but nothing like what I'm afraid this winter is going to end up being...and being a cat, will have to retreat to the inner sanctum to curl up for warmth with a hot cup of cocoa...tea just won't due under these circumstances!

[Wilma]

BIRDLOVERS, Help.

There are two robins hanging around here.  This morning they are hanging around an old robin's nest in one of my trees.  My theory is that they are young robins that failed to go with the flock and now are hanging around their old home wondering where everyone is.

If they stay around, what should they be fed?

[sixdogsmom]

Robins are meat eaters for the most part; they eat insects. Baby robins will eat hamburger,(I raised a nest full of them that way when I was a kid). Adults will eat grain when nothing else can be found. Robins can be found here in nice weather, going back and forth to the areas that are having nice weather. It is common to see robins in February gleaning the thawed patches of fields for bugs that the sunshine has awakened. I wouldn't worry too much about them, Mother Nature has equipped most critters to care for themselves handily.

[S-S]

I wish that I had trees in my yard so Wilma and sixdogs could teach me about birds. I always admired the barn swallows that live in our tractor shed. No matter how many times Billy knocks down their nests they just keep coming back.

Maybe I should buy a bird feeder. What kind should I get? And what would I put in it? I do have several hummingbird feeders (they're of course put away now), and we always have tons of little hummingbirds.

[Judy Harder]

Be careful what you wish for, you feed them, and they will come.

If you don't care what type of birds you get, you can always get sparrows and the
lesser birds..............anything that grows like sunflower seeds, and thistle
a nice mixed bag of bird seed.............and another thing...........you hang a feeder where
you put your hummingbird feeders and they will come.

But, as long as there is food around......meaning snow isn't covering the ground and the seeds are
still easy to get to you will mainly get sparrows.........which bring the other birds.   

I have been known to feed left over cereal, stale bread and most left over veggies...........course, you need to
keep your 4 footed creatures away .............and that means coons, possoms, cats and coyote, etc.

Can't beat a birdfeeder for entertainment and just knowing that you are feeding the least of God's creature,
is a good thing.

Good  luck with your project.
God Bless

[sixdogsmom]

Of course, I like to help anyone with anything that I can. You can google almost any question and find zillions of answers from folks more leaned than myself. P.S. sunflower seed is about the best all round feed for winter birds, but I am especially attatched to the goldfinches that come in the winter to eat niger thistle seed. The seed you buy won't grow, therefore it cannot become a pest in the yard, and the goldfinches love it! A source of water is attractive to birds also when the weather is cold. I keep a tub under the exhaust from our outdoor furnace, the exhaust is enough to keep the tub from freezing; a popular place for the birds all winter. I also have a few goldfish in that tub and a small fountain.