Backyard Hobbies

[Stevo]

I enjoy wildlife in my backyard, as long as it’s not dangerous. I have a couple of bird feeders for songbirds and a suet feeder to attract woodpeckers. We also have a nice little birdbath with a little solar fountain in it. As long as the sun is shining, the fountain is tinkling and circulating the water. The birds like it.

Our backyard is also frequented by crows. The most I’ve seen in our yard at any one time is ten. I’ve been feeding them for awhile now. I started with dog food, but that got to be expensive, so I bought a big bag of chicken feed at a local farm supply. They like it, and it’s about 1/4 the price of dog food. Occasionally I throw in some raisins and some sunflower seeds.

The crows seem to enjoy it, and I get a big kick out of watching them.

I’ve read that crows are really intelligent and will remember and befriend people who are kind to them. They regularly drink out of the birdbath. A week or so ago they pulled one of the little plastic legs off the solar fountain in the birdbath. As soon as I saw them do that, I went outside, shooed them off, and reattached the leg to the fountain. I know the crows saw it all. Since then they’ve quit tampering with the fountain, although they still drink from the birdbath.

I like them. They’re cool.

[Stevo]

The songbirds have started actually bathing in the birdbath. The first one I saw take the plunge was a female cardinal. Now they’re all doing it. The crows aren’t bathing though. The birdbath is a little too small for them to bathe in. They’re still just drinking out of it.

[Stevo]

Bought a 50 lb. bag of deer corn for my crows yesterday. The price was right. It was even cheaper than chicken feed, and I like to mix up the crows' diet so they don't get too bored.

[Wahski]

I've always wondered why Woodpeckers don't get concussion after banging their heads into trees all day. I've found the answer recently.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/head-banging-woodpeckers-could-give-themselves-a-concussion-every-day-heres-how-they-avoid-it/

Don't have crows so much where I am, but have Ravens.
The ones in my area make a noise similar to a deranged duck talking backwards, and can be loud and very annoying, but they are quiet intelligent.
However on a golf course your golf balls disappear, they think they are eggs, and will drop them onto a hard surface to try and crack them open.

Have a listen here if you can handle it:

[Stevo]

Very similar. We have ravens, too, or we're supposed to, but I haven't seen any here yet.

[Stevo]

Bought a 50 lb. bag of deer corn for my crows yesterday. The price was right. It was even cheaper than chicken feed, and I like to mix up the crows' diet so they don't get too bored.

I've learned that my crows don't like chicken feed much. They'll mostly leave it laying around until they get extra hungry. They like the deer corn, but they have a hard time eating it unless they soak it in the birdbath first. Yes, I have found deer corn in the birdbath. The crows leave it overnight and come back and get it the next day.

So, I've basically gotten away from the chicken feed and deer corn. I feed that to the squirrels. I have found that the crows really like dog and cat food, so that's mainly what I feed them now. They also like peanuts and raisins, so I'll throw those in the mix now and then, but they are much too expensive to make them a regular part of the crows' diet. I can get BIG bags of dog food pretty cheap, so that's my go-to thing now for feeding the crows.

[georgian1950]

Be sure to put the food in a place away from where a cat can hide and get the jump on the bird. Not all cats will take on a crow, but songbirds don't fare so well.

[Stevo]

Be sure to put the food in a place away from where a cat can hide and get the jump on the bird. Not all cats will take on a crow, but songbirds don't fare so well.

It’s strange, but we don’t have many cats in our neighborhood, which is in a rural area. But, then again, we do have a fair number of good sized coyotes around here, so maybe it’s not so strange.

[Stevo]

This past autumn I planted in my backyard a White Oak that I bought from Tennessee Nursery. It's only a couple of feet tall right now, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it grows this spring and summer. White Oaks are among my very favorite trees.

autumn_white oak leaves.jpg

[Mag Uidhir 6]

Oaks aren't as plentiful around here as maple or alder but, being the extreme PNW that's kinda to be expected.

White Oak was prized in early shipbuilding days for it's inherent strength and flexibility. Two good qualities for ship hulls that crosses many thousands of years!

[Jim Barrett]

When crows try to eat the corn under my bird feeders I chase them off, if they are lucky they fly off. I much prefer to watch the deer. They are the ones I buy the corn for. I only shot the deer with a camera.

[Stevo]

Deer don't come in my backyard because we have a six foot fence around it, but they do venture into the wooded lot next door. I sometimes put out corn for them. I'm not a deer hunter, so I just enjoy watching them. I also like the crows, though. They are highly intelligent for birds, and funny. Unfortunately, they scared the songbirds out of the backyard, but I fixed that by putting a bird feeder for songbirds out in the front yard. For some reason, the crows don't mess with the front yard. The songbirds have it to themselves.

[KATM]

Hmm, I've had deer jump our 6 foot fence into and out of our back yard, so don't be too sure, Stevo! You may see a deer or two yet in your yard!

[Stevo]

Hmm, I've had deer jump our 6 foot fence into and out of our back yard, so don't be too sure, Stevo! You may see a deer or two yet in your yard!

You might be right, but perhaps fear of our awesome Yorkie guard dog will discourage them.

[Jim Barrett]

Hmm, I've had deer jump our 6 foot fence into and out of our back yard, so don't be too sure, Stevo! You may see a deer or two yet in your yard!

Deer where jumping my 5 foot fence so I add 1 strand of barbed wire and they haven't jumped it yet, but they sure did eye our purple hull peas and 8 foot okra last year.