20
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Do bees at the hummingbird feeders keep the birds away?
Yes, there is actually quite a bit of discussion you can find online. Bees in large numbers can keep hummingbirds away. They don't want to get stung either!
However, you can lessen the bees by doing ...
- 546
14
votes
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What should I feed ravens/crows?
We love crows! I live in America, where there are three main breeds of crow, including American Crows, Fish Crows, and Northwestern Crows. They're a bit different from the Common ravens, and other ...
14
votes
Do birds eat chillies? Do they feel the chilli heat?
TLDR: Yes they eat them, No they don't feel the heat.
The tiny Bird’s Eye Chili originated in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, and surrounding countries, but they can now be found all ...
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13
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How to help birds with water?
Providing water for birds in summer is always a brilliant idea, not just to drink but for them to have a nice bath in!
Usually bird baths are actually kind of shallow, or rather the edges usually are ...
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12
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What is the best way to give an injured bird water?
There are several ways to give birds a drink.
if it is calm just dip the beak in water and let it drink naturally. Your method of dropping water of cotton wool is fine.
Dropper, syringe or drop-wise ...
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12
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Are the birds that snatch bread out of the air "more citified" (tamer) than those who let it drop?
No, gulls (of some species at least) steal food from other birds by moving them until they drop it. They must then be adept at snatching the falling food in mid air.
There's material of interest in ...
- 25.8k
12
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What is the ecological justification (if any) for bird feeders?
If we exclude the birdwatching explanation Shem gives, the only possible ecological reason for a bird feeder is to counteract the negative effect we have on the bird's habitat by having our house ...
- 24.9k
12
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Sparrows eating grains strewn on floor but not the grains in a nice bowl
There are a number of different birds in the sparrow family. In Massachusetts, USA, I think what we technically have most of is the House Sparrow. This page has a whole sparrow list with their sounds. ...
10
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Are the seagulls begging or contentedly sighing?
The sound you are referring to is probably a plaintive call used to attract attention (of a mate or from the little ones to the parents for feeding) it might just be them wanting to be fed.
You can ...
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10
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Does the color of hummingbird nectar make a difference?
Most hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers in the wild. Therefore, a hummingbird feeder should mimic red flowers for best results.
The color of the "nectar" itself doesn't matter. After all, ...
- 21.4k
10
votes
What should I feed ravens/crows?
The real question is what won't ravens or crows eat. Ravens hang out at the garbage dumps and perch on dumpsters, the easiest way to get them to visit your yard would be to leave garbage spread out ...
- 53.4k
10
votes
What should I feed ravens/crows?
Crows and ravens are opportunistic foragers, meaning they eat carrion, rodents, steal eggs and nestlings, insects, etc. You will likely find them curious and very cautious (more so than typical "bird ...
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10
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How to encourage birds into the garden of a rented house?
Think like a bird. If I were a bird, I would go were I can feed, breed, and hide from predators.
Bird-feeders address only one of those needs, and most of the time birds can find natural food, which ...
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9
votes
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What type of bird seed attracts the most amount of birds?
This answer may apply to other countries but is pretty cert for the UK.
Bird feed sold in the UK (from big chain pet stores, to garden centres, to little corner shops) usually comes with a time of ...
- 15.4k
9
votes
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Is it safe to feed swans in the United Kingdom?
The "swans can break your arm" concept is rather lacking in evidence, though one once caused a kayaker to drown. They are a nuisance on the water, especially if you get between adults and their ...
- 25.8k
9
votes
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Why are common grackles standing on our bird feeders with their heads pointed straight up?
Those grackles are engaged in a courting behavior, most frequently called “bill tilt.” It's also been called “head up” or “head up threat.” While establishing pairs for mating, males vie for the ...
9
votes
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How can I help birds know how to feed from feeders?
Malaysia has 781 species of birds, but most are not feeder-oriented, which would explain why people don't put up many feeders in your area. There are some, though, and they've probably seen feeders in ...
8
votes
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Best food to attract Blue Tits
It looks like the problem might not be the types of food, but the feeder itself.
In the past blue tits had a monopoly on the relatively tricky kind of feeders people put out. The tiny birds were ...
- 69.2k
8
votes
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Is dirty birdbath water worse than none at all?
I guess dirty water is better than no water. I don't think algae will kill them. The primary danger is parasites.
Concrete cleaner is the easiest way to remove algae but be sure to rinse ...
- 7,156
8
votes
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What can I do to get garden birds back after hawk has made my bird-feeder his hunting ground?
The hawk will leave after its food source is gone. It may not be after the small birds you are feeding, but it may be after the rodents that eat the birdseed that falls to the ground.
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8
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Can dirty bird feeders make birds sick?
Dirty bird feeders are known for causing problems for birds,
CPW said the disease has not yet been confirmed in Colorado, but the agency wants to warn people that house finch eye disease, along with ...
- 69.2k
8
votes
Are there any tips to help hummingbirds find a new feeder?
Hummingbirds find the feeders by sight. Some ways to attract them include:
Use a feeder with bright colors. Red seems to be a color that they
are particularly attracted to.
Try to have colorful, ...
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7
votes
Does feeding migratory birds in the fall affect the timing of migration?
Because there are so many different migratory birds, each with their own unique pattern, this is a rather broad question. The answer, therefore, will be based on the general study of migration, rather ...
7
votes
How to encourage birds into the garden of a rented house?
We had a very similar yard at our last house, and had to work quite hard to attract the birds, but once they settled in, they stayed for the three years we lived there, so it was well worth it! Food ...
7
votes
How to help birds with water?
You've already received excellent advice, so I'll just describe a few things we've been doing for years. Our bird baths are a distance from the house, so in addition to those, we provide water on the ...
7
votes
What should I feed ravens/crows?
I'd rather not prefer inviting them for food at all. Usually for what I have seen around, crows scare the hell out of small birds like Bulbul, Robin and Sunbirds.
They feast on roadside kills, ...
- 31.7k
7
votes
What is the ecological justification (if any) for bird feeders?
The answers to this question may differ based on location, but I can tell you that in my part of the world there is legislation in place for controlling populations of certain birds (as well as other ...
- 53.4k
6
votes
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How should I position my hummingbird feeders to attract the most birds?
My mother and her husband feed hummingbirds rather religiously. They have feeders all over and in every conceivable condition you could possibly imagine.
My mother refills all of her feeders on a ...
- 4,702
6
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How to help birds with water?
We used to use a metal garbage can lid with a brick in it on top of a piece of wide pipe. I'm not sure if that's an option for you because of the size for your balcony. But, the birds loved it because ...
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