Backyard Birder

Downy and Web Cam Upate

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Downy and Web Cam Update

The woodpecker treat seems to be very popular. When I looked the other day, all that remained was the plastic ribs, so I put up a new treat.

I removed the chain on the suet cage so it would not swing as much. Doing so also allowed me to zoom in a little. Today I caught a female downy on the treat. So much for my, 'the female likes the suet and the male likes the treat', idea. I also replaced the suet with another block of homemade. I haven't seen anything eating the suet lately, but judging by how fast it is disappearing, something most definitely is! I received the new pileated suet cage, but as I feared, the tail prop acted as a sail. If I can find a good way of fixing it so that it does not swing, I will put it out.

edit - I caught her on the suet today.

Seed Storage Update

I ordered a pair of 32 quart storage containers here. This was the best my search turned up. There were a lot of alternatives that looked more attractive, but none were very cheap. These seem more practical, with the dual pour spouts. We'll see.

Wingscapes

Today I saw the male cardinal on the new hopper feeder. I do not have a good way to get pictures of that feeder. A web cam points at it, but the optics are not good enough to really tell what kind of bird is feeding. It tempts me to try the Wingscapes camera there. Since that feeder is pole mounted, I could use the mounting arm and point the camera right at the feeder. That should minimize false triggers, which is the main complaint that I saw about this camera. Well, that and the cost!