A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Hobbies, Crafts and Creativity The Bird Lovers Forum The Chimney Swifts have arrived!!!

Today, at 4:08 PM CDT, the first Chimney Swifts arrived in Nashville, TN, 4 hours after a line of MASSIVE thunderstorms passed through the area. I could hear their high-pitched twittering above my house and looked up to see, FLYING CIGARS! ("Flying Cigars" is a common nickname for Chimney Swifts, because that is what they MOST resemble when flying.)

I am glad you survived your storms, Thorny. I'm also glad your swifts arrived.

Today, at around 10:00 AM, the first Barn Swallow of 2008 was flying around my house. They nest behind my house on a neighbor's porch.

Thorn, this is off this topic, but I have a ?. In our little building there is a birds nest with 3 small white eggs with a little speckling. We can't figure out how the bird got in to build a nest much less to lay eggs. Anyway, we found the nest Saturday, no mama. Had the door to the building open a lot of the day Saturday and Sunday and didn't see the mama. Do you think the mother died or is just staying away from us? We still can't figure out how she's done all this work with the doors and windows locked.

I'm not sure. Keep an eye on the nest. Sometimes nests with eggs in them are abandoned for unknown reasons. Just continue to allow access to the nest and wait for what happens.

Bad birds..
The yellow finches finally arrived this morning here.
All I had was chickadees.
They are really bright yellow after the dull others colors.

Were late here .

Naw, Dodge, You're right on time. Goldfinches don't visit me much unless I plant Sunflowers, THEN they come!

I was dead shocked to see them this morning..Hd spyed them first . Boy they are bright. Yesterday it was still chickadees.

I am still wishing for other colors of birds.. Think I will make a tin can bird feeder....However that is done?

I gather stuff off the table crumbs and will make something for them..LOL
Cheap o me.

Smart o' ye! I give food scraps to the birds myself. The scraps the birds will like and is good for them I give to them. The scraps the dog will like I give to him. The scraps the Bunny will like I give to him. The rest, I EAT!!!

Many of the MOST colorful birds are insect eaters and will NOT come to feeders. Those are Warblers and Vireos, and such. HOWEVER all birds need water and love to bathe so to attract ALL birds to your yard, use bird baths ESPECIALLY those that spray, drip, or mist. Do this, and you have a good chance to attract ALL birds to your yard. For starts, Walmart has massive concrete bird baths for around $20.00. That's what I use.

I do that too in reverse order.
I make lots of extra gravy , so dog can eat his in style.
Chicken scraps go to the cats.

Here is an amusing photo of the Lil finch this morning.. He was above the feeder on the chain, and couple more were at the feeders.. GUess it was debating it's next move..LOL

Thanks , I may check that out.. I have no bird bath.

Just lots of pots.

I have 2 bird baths but none with a spray or drip. How does that work?

What an INCREDIBLE picture, Dodge! You should submit that to picli.com. It is REALLY good!

Sheri, You can order some SOLAR powered birdbaths that have an electric pump run by the sun. When the sun goes down at night the pump goes off, but of course the birds are asleep then. You can also hang one of those big plastic buckets with a faucet or some regulating device attached, that allows the water to come out ONE drop at a time, above your bird bath. The dripping sound attracts birds galore. A Five gallon bucket will run for hours without needing to be refilled. That's what a lot of bird researchers use in the field to attract birds.

Thanks Thorn,

Thanks for all the ideas also.

Might do the bucket thingy.

This is a picture of the eggs in our little building. I don't think the mother has been back.


Do you have a solar bird bath Thorne?

That appears to be a House Sparrow nest. House Sparrows are non-native exotic birds imported from England a century and a half ago and are NOT protected by law.They often make several nests and lay eggs in them before settling down to just one nest. I found a broken House Sparrow egg in my driveway this afternoon. They nest above my front porch.

No, I DON'T have a solar-powered bird bath, just a plain 200 pound concrete bird bath on my front porch. But the birds like and use it.

Here is a picture I found on picli.com of a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker bathing in a bird bath IDENTICAL to mine, with an added home-made copper dripper device in the front of the picture giving you an idea of how these things work.