Sometimes birds are not the most intelligent.

Rugelach? The jewish pastry? You wasted good rugelach on a bunny?
*swoons
sorry...I just love me some rugelach :D

The rabbits don't do much damage to my plants. I make a point of planting things that they dislike in the front since last year they ate up all my mariettas. They don't travel too far from the warren on account of the cats (and it seems to be working for them having never had a dead bunny presented to me) so the plants in the backyard are safe.
 
Oh no it wasn't me. The only "wild" animal I ever helped was a tame parrot that escaped from it's cage. And I didn't kill him either. ;)

Rugelach, Rhubarb... I knew it had a "rue" sound to it. :D

FTR, I love rugelach too. 'Specially chocolate.
 
greenfreak said:
Oh no it wasn't me. The only "wild" animal I ever helped was a tame parrot that escaped from it's cage. And I didn't kill him either. ;)

Rugelach, Rhubarb... I knew it had a "rue" sound to it. :D

FTR, I love rugelach too. 'Specially chocolate.
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There is a place down here that makes the dreamiest apricot rugelach :licklips:...not to mention some darn fine matzo ball soup.
 
Which part was old wives tale? There are mallards and Canadian Geese on the lake behind my apartment that never leave. I know because I've marked a few with indelible ink to see if they ever left. They can fly, too, because they do it when they see me coming in the daytime. Before you get upset, the ink is non-toxic, and the two male mallards, and one goose, that I managed to mark have shown no ill effects after 18 months..except for the usual molting, which cost me a bit of ink...
 
Read the article and you'll know what I'm talking about; I wasn't referring to migrating waterfowl, I was referring to backyard birding. The Canadian Geese and Mallards are year round residents here too. That's why I said I was interested in what you had to say about the waterfowl.

Do people feed the ducks/geese regularly? Do they have angel wing?
 
greenfreak said:
Do people feed the ducks/geese regularly? Do they have angel wing?
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Mostly kids, and the fat crapping machines get a steady diet of potato chips, stale bread...and the daycare next door has been feeding them dog food...I don't know which is worse...the crap from the stuff the kids feed them, or the crap from the dog food. The worst part is the smell in the summer. I'm kinda torn between my anger at the people feeding them, and creating such a huge mess, and the state, for not capturing those pests, and carting them off somewhere else. I've even tried blocking off the gap in the fence, but the day-care people don't like the ducks crapping on their side because of the kids, and always remove the boards I put up... :grumpy:
 
Boy what a wonderful way for them to teach the children about respecting wildlife. :rolleyes:

If there are "do not feed the birds" signs up, you can turn them in. Or go the nice route and inform them of the harm they're doing (to the animals). If the geese & ducks aren't getting fed regularly, or they stop getting the crappy food, they might leave to get food elsewhere.

That sucks man. A lake you can't really enjoy.
 
greenfreak said:
Boy what a wonderful way for them to teach the children about respecting wildlife. :rolleyes:

If there are "do not feed the birds" signs up, you can turn them in. Or go the nice route and inform them of the harm they're doing (to the animals). If the geese & ducks aren't getting fed regularly, or they stop getting the crappy food, they might leave to get food elsewhere.

That sucks man. A lake you can't really enjoy.
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BTW...Did I mention that there are laws forbidding the molestation of said (non)migratory waterfowl? The only thing remotely nice about them is the monster bass they seem to feed...I've seen some rather large bass snatch ducklings on that lake...Pity I can only utilize the dock during, or after, a good rainfall...
 
greenfreak said:
Is molestation of waterfowl a common occurence there? :eek6:
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Not the way you're thinking. :p You've been hanging around here too long. :D Another word would be pestering...which I did with the flourescent, lime-green ink...twice in one year...
 
this thread has turned very informative. at first was regretful that i'd started it, but with the educational turn it's taken, i'm glad.
 
My parents put a couple of gray leaf stickers on the sliding glass door to keep the birds from hitting it.
 
i've noticed the past couple of days that my dad's been keeping the screen door slid to the open position, so that it is in front of that pane of glass. i don't know if that's intentional or related or not, but i imagine it would help.
 
The local Cardinal family stays all year here. I do have a feeder, but haven't filled it in a couple of years. It's a priceless sight when the parents take turns bringing their youngsters to my backyard and teach them where the natural food is. Trees that bear berries are a favorite. I keep water available all year round and change it on a regular basis. The past week or so there has been ice on the water, so I freshen it with warm water.
In a icey or snowy situation, I will feed the birds, with black sunflower seeds, thistle, and other seeds and peanutbutter spread in the bark of trees for the nuthatches and other woodpeckers. They need the oils to help them keep warm.
I have some very fond memories about the blizzard of '78 when a large flock of evening grosbeaks and rosebreasted grosbeaks (all together as buddies) sought out my back yard for food. I lived in RI at the time.
 
Sounds great Kat. Ever tried suet? Fattens 'em up a little bit over the winter. There are some pretty cheap heaters for bird baths to keep the water from freezing too. You could also nail a half of an orange to some wood and some birds go nuts for it, especially Orioles.
 
You could keep the water fresh with a fish tank pump too. When moving water freezes, birds aren't coming out anyways.
 
FluerVanderloo said:
It's an old wive's tale, but I always associate a bird hitting your window or glass door to be a sign of death/bad luck.
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Well, it's not the best of luck for the bird, is it?
 
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