Worldwide Beekeeping
General Discussion => Any and Every Thing => Topic started by: riverbee on January 08, 2016, 07:07:24 pm
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at my house i feed a great deal of birds and wildlife; small birds, pheasants, turkeys, grouse, deer, you name it, i feed the smaller critters during winter months, the birds are fed year round. the blue jays and squirrels love peanuts in the shell and i can hand feed a couple squirrels with peanuts. i have a couple blue jays that will land on my arm to take unshelled peanuts as well.
i captured this photo quickly when were taking down our christmas tree; my husband spotted her staring into a window. he had placed some deck furniture against the house under the window on the deck, we had received a hard snow and temps dropped.........she's been around for about 3 or 4 years now......will take unshelled peanuts from me by hand. every day. apparently i wasn't out on the deck at the appointed time, so she showed up staring into the window of the house........... :D
please, i don't want to read what others would do to put that squirrel down, when she's gone i will miss her.........we don't have critters in our house and the wildlife brings us great joy, especially me. not a great photograph, but wanted to share, just love and enjoy the critters.
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Every fall I put out pumpkins, uncarved, for decoration. Every year the squirrels start chewing on them until the only thing left is the stem. This year they ate 3 large pumpkins. Every now and then I will put out a few grapes, a few cherry tomatoes or an apple. They like over ripe bananas too. The squirrels also raid the bird feeder. I sure do have a bunch of fat and sassy varmits here at "Squirrel Manor". :D
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Good for you! I used to love to feed the birds too but not anymore, the price of black oil sunflower seed got to be too much. :\'(
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thanks bakers! we do the same with uncarved pumpkins, and stalks of corn used for fall display..........lol................ :D
my large bird feeder is pretty much squirrel, chipmunk, and raccoon proof........but not bear or pheasant/turkey proof. ;D
les, black oilers do go up and down, and i tell ya i can go through a lot in a week.
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She looks well fed river. My wife would have given her a name. We have names for the regulars at our bird feeders. :)
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While I have admittedly been negligent in the bird feeder department this fall, I take every opportunity to help anyone or anything in need or distress. Last year we had a crow with a clearly broken leg grace our backyard. We took to feeding it regularly, making sure there was lots of scraps spread out so that it could take advantage of it before the others scooped up everything in sight. It was very easy to spot, especially when it flew as the one leg hung down awkwardly, making it difficult for the bird, especially when taking off or landing. For months we saw it and each time it seemed to be able to maneuver a little better, but clearly could not "walk" normally. At one point it seemed to have taken up with another and then winter came. After the winter we had I was not certain that it would have survived but later this year towards fall I did see a crow with a leg that was somewhat hanging down as it flew so I like to think it survived.
We seem to be near a rookery, as early morning and just at nightfall there is a massive cloud of them heading out and returning, creating a cacophony of sound.
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"She looks well fed river. My wife would have given her a name. We have names for the regulars at our bird feeders. :)"
she is well fed neil..........lol, as are the rest. her name is just 'girl', too many critters to name each one, though this one has really been very trusting, and has managed to live longer than many others. i try not to contribute too much to critters not being afraid of humans............they need to be, sometimes it's hard. she has an ear that is separated and other identifying features to me that i recognize her.....my husband didn't until i pointed out what to look for vs. all the other squirrels.........same with other critters. all i can say is i surely enjoy them.
like perry, i have helped many critters in distress, some made it, some didn't.
i waded across our river in raging spring waters some years ago to save a very young fawn caught on a rock bed quickly filling with flood water bawling for it's mother. a foolish thing to do, but it worked out.
i could go on and on.........i have held hummingbirds in my hands and baby orioles. i guess there isn't much in the critters i haven't had some experience with. just the way i am.
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Riverbee the critter whisperer ~ Warms my heart :)
You won't get any smack from me River, I feed everything including taking pots of soup to people who are under the weather. We are the healers, wildlife and people ;) O:-) I also enjoy cutting up carrots, apples, and baking large overgrown squash for the deer. They get that kind of snack a couple times a week. They repay me by giving birth to their sweet little fawns in our back alley.
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Perry, I really like crows. They are smart and I think they live a long time.
I didn't fill the feeders last winter. I wasn't up to the challenge. During the summer, I always have goldfinches that visit my purple coneflowers from the moment the seed heads mature. They know exactly which seeds have ripened enough to eat. I also leave the plants with their seed heads in place until early spring so all the seeds can be eaten. The goldfinches have picked the coneflowers clean and I haven't seen them for a while until I filled the thistle feeder a couple of weeks ago. Here they came along with their cousins the purple finches.
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River,
We have 3 squirrels we feed peanuts in shell ,by hand , Carolina chickadees will land in your hand for sunflower seeds, when wife hand feeds squirrels, the bluejays land in the trees, and make all kinds of noise until she leaves them so peanuts, she wanted to know how you were able to get bluejays to land on your arm ?
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Since we are posting squirrel pictures Riverbee, we found this albino squirrel on the Mall in front of the Smithsonian last month.
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Well Riverbee I have had an unsavory wild friend before. In 2006 I think, the first snake showed up in my pond. I discovered her after about 1/3 of my fish were missing. When Pretty Boy came up missing I moved the rest to a stock tank in my front yard and war was declared. Every time I went out the back door the snake peeked out from under the liner flap over the waterfall, I think she was asking whether I was bringing her more fish. After about 5 or 6 weeks she left. and a couple of weeks after that a tiny baby snake showed up near the top of the waterfall. I put it in a jar and on my desk and identified it as a diamond back water snake, something Texas DNR doesn't really want put in a "good fishing lake" so I took the baby to a drainage creek that didn't connect to mine and let it loose there.
Eventually my smallest cat cornered the 38 inch male (mama had to be at least 5 ft) and I did kill him. But after playing peekaboo with mama for over a month I don't think I could have killed her. I now use sulfur along my fenceline, and at the base of pond stones, and hang traps in the ponds, but yeah, your squirrel probably doesn't do nearly as much damage. I held a barbecue and had people here the day I needed to look behind the waterfall, I filled the cave in with old mortar chunks and filled the gaps with gravel and waterfall foam. I didn't kill her but I did eliminate her hideout
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some really neat photos and comments!!! jen, awesome pix! lee, once in awhile we will get an albino squirrel, but not too often or a totally black one.
"River,
We have 3 squirrels we feed peanuts in shell ,by hand , Carolina chickadees will land in your hand for sunflower seeds, when wife hand feeds squirrels, the bluejays land in the trees, and make all kinds of noise until she leaves them so peanuts, she wanted to know how you were able to get bluejays to land on your arm ?"
lol, love chickadees!, i will put a baseball hat on, or any hat for that matter, trusty ol beat up straw cowboy hat, put seeds on the top, (push an indent in, cowboy hat already has an indent) and the chickadees will land on the brim and take the seeds! even an occasional nuthatch or woodpecker!
the bluejays mikey, this took some time, but yeah they do make a lot of noise when they are begging for peanuts! over a few years of feeding them peanuts, i would throw them on the deck floor, or table. i wouldn't leave. they would come closer and closer, or allow me to come closer. the jays would also sit on the deck railing and squawk (beg) until i came out, so i started holding the peanut for them to take from me as they sat on the deck, or holding peanuts in the palm of my hand, arm outstretched. at first they were timid about it, then later take the peanut quickly from my hand, or a 'fly by'. as they became comfortable, the jays would either land on my shoulder, or outstretched arm. they really are smart birds, and i have heard them mimic other birds including owls and eagles.
i tell you though, if you really want a challenge, try raising 3 baby raccoons................ :D
and not just once.......... :D
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Wow Gypsi, interesting story :)
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Thanks River,
We'll try that probably this spring. My brother in law in Louisiana had a in house raccoon (in an out house) that he raised from a baby, an amazing animal. I've raised from baby's 2 squirrels until they start to destroy the curtains :laugh:
The wife wasn't happy but I was,they were ugly anyway :laugh:
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Oh , the bluejays here mimic the red tail hawk to clear the yard, so they can have it all :D
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mikey,
try with the blue jays! but it does take time! neat story about the jays mimicking the red tail hawk, very true!
since i was a kid we have had all sorts of critters and birds in our household......skunks, raccoons, squirrels, foxes, wolves, fawns, and a great horned owl my father rescued as a small white fluffy ball of feathers. (all babies) that owl was really cool! grew up with the owl for many years before he died. the first raccoon my mom raised.....he went out the door when he started climbing curtains, and that was after he learned to open any cupboard and pull stuff out, or open drawers, and pull stuff out........ :D the thing with raccoon's is, you are their mother or family, and they do develop a relationship with whoever cares for them, much like domesticated animals. they are extremely smart and very adept. their paws are much like human hands and they can open or get into anything and are very mischievous and curious critters.....hmmm, don't ask me about my garage or better yet the kitchen............. :D
squirrels also develop a 'relationship' with their caregiver, been there done that! but they can't open cupboard doors or create havoc in total disbelief as raccoon's do! raccoon's are amazing critters!
i can say mr rb is not always keen on all the 'rescues' or my adventures in raising of birds and critters, but he has mellowed. i remember when a baby oriole decided to take a bath in a small tub of grape jelly i put out for the orioles. it turned cold later in the day. her wings were sugared up and she couldn't fly. i brought her in the house and gave her a warm bath in the bathroom sink......... :D :D :D oh my stars, grape jelly water all over the bathroom, and me, ya know sticky business............ :D he came home from work early to find me with the bathroom door closed.......LOL, what you doing in there.....i had to open the door....... :D flipped when he saw the bird! he doesn't flip so much now..... :D
but i can tell you this, when the bird was dry, he walked out onto the deck with me and watched while she preened in my hands, took her time, and flew off and returned day after day, pretty cool!
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Rb,
My Jeannie has a young coon in a cage right now, feeding him and cleaning the cage while chatting away at him. She has him at the stage of gently taking food from her hand and not looking at us with terror in his eyes. It's easier when they are still bottle babies but she can tame anything. She tamed me! :D
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I love your critter stories River! My most personal story is about the bat I saved. But I won't bring that up again because you'll bring out the broom :o Kidding Snorking LOLOL
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lol bats jen.........well, that member hasn't been back to tell us all the rest of his bats in his belfry story......old farmhouses full of bats can really make one creep out, especially after what we had been through! i sorta saw bats (zillions and years of them) in a different light or not so different light........CHA CHING, CHA CHING, CHA CHING!.............. :D :D :D all in all, i think the bats were the one thing, them and the mice that really tested my patience, annoyance...........and my broom............ :D snork, snork, snorking back!!!! dang you make me laugh!.......... :D
neil, how young is the coon? estimate? are you keeping him warm? when they are young, they need warmth and 'security', especially when by themselves.
a heating pad on low, better yet a heating pad designed for cats and dogs, set under a blanket in the cage............or another blanket scrunched up and believe it or not...........a stuffed animal they can curl up next to. some will laugh at this, but it's true, and it works.
your wife sounds like me? not sure i can tame anything though.......... :D :D :D maybe critters?
somehow someone in my household sanded off my rough edges as well......i know many will get a good chuckle from that comment but it's true!
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was looking through my pix and videos on critters........
squirrel i bottle fed, raised, and let go back to running around on our land. a hawk had disrupted the nest, and this one survived falling from high a top a pine tree. i heard 'crys', hard to describe...... i found the hawk, wings outstretched circling the squirrel. the hawk flew off so i grabbed her up.
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a single raccoon we found as a baby. dang critter kicked my butt, bottle fed, raised, and she ran around on our property, raised her young (3), they also tried to raid the birdfeeder..........funny, she found a way to get past the anti critter stuff on the bird feeder. she would go up there, eat some seed and just sit, and/or fall asleep in it............ :D
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Hahahaha, love the pics of her up in the feeder ~ So cute
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I am enjoying all these tales or tails. :laugh: Keep them coming.
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RB,
He's probably about 9-10 months old. She has him in a huge dog carrier with straw piled up. Has to go in every week to clean out and he pretty much tolerates her. He's taken to calling to her when he hears her voice. He hears my voice all the time and doesn't look at me in terror anymore. A coonhunting friend of mine caught him in a live trap set in a commercial chicken house with the intention of letting his trainees catch it and kill it. His wife took one look and intervened and gave him to Jeannie. His name at this point is baby. :)
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thanks neil! he should be alright then at that age, but it doesn't hurt to add some warmth in the cage in a cold climate and/or throw in something your wife or you have worn that you want to give up! raggedty t shirt/sweatshirt...........just something with your scent on it! i would bet he gets excited to either see you or your wife and/or hear your voices?
in a short period of time....consider opening the cage door? i mean, let him venture out if he wants to .........leaving the cage door open so that he can venture for however long but yet has the 'safety' of the cage to come back to? he will, probably not far, and come back to the 'safety zone'.
neat story neil, thanks for sharing!
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I've had a lot of squirrel, coon, rabbits and young ground hogs growing up. I loved them, fried real crisp that is. :P :P Jack :laugh: :laugh:
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jack, jack, jack.......
crisp fried ya say?...........you are about to get crisp fried.............. :D :D :D
tell me a story jack about a critter you enjoyed, rather than crisp frying it, and i know you did!!!............ ;D
"I am enjoying all these tales or tails. :laugh:"
bakers, great pun!!!
funny, that coon we raised and i shared pix of her in the bird feeder.........funny thing she never really did eat much of the black oilers if at all? she'd just go up there and sit for hours after dusk, content as all get out and fall asleep. ??? i really don't know why. sleeping in a bird feeder 10 - 12 ft up off the ground? ................ :D
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Okay rb, Here it goes, i use to raise Roller Pigeons and had some of the best around. Not many people know what a Roller pigeon is. When they fly they will flip over in the air or go into a spin, the trick is to breed them so they will fly high go into a spin and pull out after spinning 20 ft. to 50 ft., if you get there genetics to strong they will go into a spin and not pull out and hit the ground and kill there self :o. Well i had one that was a pet (little Red that didn't roll much) that i trained to come and light on my shoulder or hand when i whistled.Well when i got married and left home little Red took a liking to uncle Roy who lived next door, uncle Roy (in his 80's) was afraid of her, when he would go outside little red would fly down and try to light on uncle Roy, and when uncle Roy and aunt Lottie would get in there 41 Nash to go some where , little red would fly down and light on the front of the hood and ride for about a mile and then fly back home.Mom and dad made there selves sick laughing about uncle Roy's fear of little Red, but made me come and get little Red because aunt Lottie said uncle Roy got so he was afraid to go outside. I gave little Red to a good friend that had pigeons. Jack :D
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Enjoyed that story Jack ;D But was wondering why you didn't keep Little Red with you after you got married?
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Moved to town and lived in an apartment. I loved my pigeons and would get some now,but the red tail Hawks are protected now and there are a lot of them and they are a predator on pigeons. >:(
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I see. I'm so interested in learning about these Roller Pigeons, Very Cool!
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Jen, here's another amazing pigeon called (Parlor Tumbler), They couldn't or wouldn't fly over 3 ft. to 6 ft. off the ground?? You would bend over, hold them in front of you with both hands, there head toward you making circular motion, then put them on the ground. They will do a series of summersautes (sp?) or back flips across the ground.I also had Fan Tails, Puffball's and Homer pigeons. Strange animals. Jack
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I have two bird baths on the back deck. One is a frozen block of ice. The other is heated and up close to the electrical outlet on the house. This morning I see squirrels chipping away at the frozen bird bath and eating chunks of ice with their little paws. The heated bird bath must be too close to the house for comfort. The birds must not like the location either. I will move it.
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Jack, it may just be local language, but we called rollers the ones who made a back flip or two and kept going. The ones who continued the flips we called tumblers. The ones that couldn't fly, but just did flips when they tried, we called parlor tumblers.
In addition to all the ones you named, I had Giant Runts. Chinese owl pigeons, feather legs, and a few others, plus the common city park ones.
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Very Cool reading all this pigeon stuff. If I had a farm....
Baker ~ That would be awfully cute to watch the squirrels eating chips of ice... but hard to watch as well. Glad you are accomodating them :)
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Iddee your probably right ( :o Gulp), i've never heard them called anything but Rollers? I've seen the other pigeons you mentioned but never had any., i think what you called Giant Runts, we called Giant King pigeons? My best friend that i gave little Red to passed away Jan.7 last Wed. had his funeral last Saturday. We were like brothers, when you seen one of us the other was close by, he had been in bad health for the last 3 years, it got so bad that he put a gun to his chest (Aug.28, 2015) but missed his heart and spent the remainder of his life in the hospital and rehab. I was the only one other than his wife and son that was allowed to visit him, he had many friends and family members. He will be and is missed. Jack
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Sorry to hear that Jack. Condolences my friend. :sad:
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Jack, that is a tragic story. I am so sorry for your loss.
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Sorry to hear that, Jack. I'm feeling for you.
Yes, the giant runts were also called white kings. They were a solid white pigeon as big as a game chicken.
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That is a tough one Jack... tragic and hard to understand. How lucky he was to have you as his friend. Sending lots of love ~Hugs~
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Sorry to hear Jack. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and his family.
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Jack.
Jeannie and I have a good friend who has raised rollers for years. He built a portable coop for the back of his truck and takes them to different places to fly. Every now and the a hawk scatters his birds and he loses a few. The town of Jasper now has a resident flock of feral rollers as a result. :)
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Neil, that's great. When i had rollers (back in the 1950's) it was just word of mouth who had roller pigeons and we would go to each others homes to watch there birds fly. I had a (Hen) bird that everyone around had seen her fly or had heard of her ( called Whitey) she was pure white. I had her stolen twice,but when they turned her out to fly (or she got out) she came back home. :yes:. When i got married i gave Whitey, and all of my birds to my Best friend, i knew he would take good care of them. Did your friend take his birds to compete for a contest? If he traveled very far away (like another state) i would think he would loose his birds, because they were not used to the area and get lost? My birds were Pensen Rollers, he probably had the Fireball breed and didn't care if they came back or not. :laugh: :laugh: Jack
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Jack,
I honestly don't know the details on his birds but they were fun to watch. I don't think he competed, at least he never mentioned it. Here in the hills big fields are few and far between so he had to haul them to good flying spots.