Today’s post consists of a variety of subjects; hope you
guys find some interesting. As most of you know I’ve been blogging for quite a
while, in fact, seven years to be exact. During that time I have interacted with
some wonderful individuals who love fishing as much as I do; a big thank you
for visiting Fishing Through Life and pushing the number of visitors over half a million a couple of weeks ago.
Some weeks ago we got a heavy dusting of snow that really
brought out the birds feeding at the feeders. The grandchildren and Pops
enjoy identifying each species that frequent the feeders.
I’m sure a lot of you guys use screen savors. I have my
computer programmed so it will show a different outdoor scene each time I log
into my laptop. This image of the old Crystal Mill rotated onto my computer the
other day; I thought about Howard and Mel, who I suspect live within driving
distance of the historic site. The mill is located about four hours west of Denver
in the town of Carbondale. Just
wondering if you guys will ever make a trip there, could be worth a great post!
I was visiting the Orvis website the other day and linked
into their fly fishing video segments, which covers everything about fly
fishing. After viewing some of the videos and taking the test at the end of the
videos showed me that I am still in the learning stages. Check out the test on
Dry Fly Fishing and see how much you know about fishing the dry fly. By the way
I did pass my test with a score of 88.
I have been watching birds
feed on our back porch for years.I’ve
never bothered to find out the name of some of the species, I was just content
watching them fly in and out through the day. It’s not that I am clueless as to
the names of some of the more common birds that visit the feeders; such as the
Cardinal, House Wren, and Morning Doves, but others I didn’t recognize.
I decided a couple of
weeks ago I would make an effort to try and identify the other colorful birds
that frequent my feeders; so my first stop on this bird journey was Barnes and
Noble. The big-box book stores can be overwhelming with the volume of books. I
spent some time sorting through numerous books that dealt with everything about
birds. I finally found a small handbook titled “Birds of Alabama” which had everything I wanted to know about the bird
species in Alabama.
This little book is loaded
with information about each species of birds. ----according to size, color
images of male and female, types of nests, number of eggs, incubation period,
type of food and much more. For someone getting into bird watching at a
beginner's level; this book really got my attention.
The book states the types
of bird seeds that will attract different species to your feeders.
I’ve been using the Black
Oil Sunflower Seeds for years to attract numerous species of bird. It is
probably the most popular of all bird seeds.
I just started using the Pennington Ultra Premium Nut and Fruit Blend Bird Seed. I read in the book where this seed will attract even more species of Sparrows and Wrens. I may add another feed later such as the tiny White Sunflower Seed, but for now I feel this is a good seed start.
I’ve had this feeder in
use for years and over time had to add a tray on its bottom to collect all the
sunflower hulls. The birds will crack the outer shell to
get to the soft seed inside. I am cleaning the tray out daily. Notice the cast iron tray bird feeder; prime for another type of bird seed in the future.
This copper feeder has the
nut and fruit blend seeds. I am seeing more Sparrows and Wren species since I
started using this feed.
Adding the piece of round
metal below the feeders made it squirrel proof.
Guys, I'm sorry for the blur on this video, but it was shot from my den filming through the window. I wanted you guys to see the activity around the feeders. I believe most of these birds are Goldfinch. Let me know if you think they are a different species. I believe I have found a new hobby!
