Jo's Morning Walk: Bird-feeder for My Yard

I have always wanted a bird-feeder to attract more birds to the yard but had never bought one before and wanted good advice. I went to my favorite bird store, California Backyard Birds Store https://www.californiabackyardbirds.com/ and asked Mark the owner for advice on a good bird feeder. I wanted something that was not messy. A feeder that does not attract rodents. A feeder that was easy to clean and hang. The owner recommended a nice round hanging basket and the most important purchase was the feed. The feed consists of mixed nuts that have been shelled and chopped. These chopped mixed seeds are easily consumed by the birds and leave no mess. He says it is his best seller and it comes in one pound bags. Anything that falls to the ground is immediately cleaned up by the birds. The trick is to just feed only a handful which is consumed in about 15 to 20 minutes and then the birds are in the yard foraging for other treats! I highly recommend this wonderful store and the world of knowledge the owner has to accommodate exactly what you want for your backyard birds!

Here are some images of my new bird-feeder. It's an instant success! These are House Finches with a lone male House Sparrow looking towards us from the feeder.

My solar "owl fountain" provides lots of fresh water for the birds. It is located only about 5 feet away from the feeder.

A House Sparrow stops by for a drink. This is an adult male with that distinctive black chin patch.

LOL, with so many birds trying to get a mouthful of these chopped seeds, the bird-feeder starts to swing! But they don't seem to mind.

Some seeds fall to the ground but there is always the clean-up crew, an adult White-crowned Sparrow here, that gets it all picked up.

Few more shots of the feeder.

Now a group of Mourning Doves have flown in. They make great a "cleanup crew" too.

An Allen's Hummingbird is checking out the commotion at the feeder.

A Yellow -rumped Warbler flies in.

Watches the action at the feeder but soon goes hunting for bugs.

A little squabble going on at the feeder.

A House Finch wants to land and the White-crowned Sparrow says, "No way"!

The White-crowned Sparrow has had enough feed and goes to the fountain/birdbath for a nice long drink.

The sun is just starting to clear our neighbors' roof. Now the doves want a drink.

Five doves using the fountain!

The solar "kitty fountain" is one of my favorite fountains because it makes a wonderful splashing sound and it is right outside my dining area. Also a reminder that if you own a cat, which I do not, please be mindful that if you put out a feeder they may also attract predators. That is why I decided that I will only feed 15 minutes worth of food and at different times of the day. This way, there is no routine for hawks or neighbors' cats.

Next to my kitty fountain is my "original fountain". It is electric powered. Several birds visited and used the bath even though the temperature was only 44 degrees! I love this little Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Photos taken through closed sliding glass. I'm freezing and have a bad case of the flu. This guy must be really healthy!

Brrrrr! In these photos, notice the pale eye-ring that is broken at the top but wider behind the eye, like a teardrop. And the small black smudgy rectangle behind the white wing-bar. These are good field marks to look for when identifying a Ruby-crowned Kinglet!

Right behind the kitty fountain there is one I call the Aztec chicken fountain and wow, I finally got to see a bird actually taking a bath in one of my fountains! This appears to be an Orange-crowned Warbler. He didn't want to compete with other birds at the original fountain.