Subject: [Tweeters] unshelled sunflower seeds
Date: Feb 2 12:26:57 2008
From: alan roedell - roedell at speakeasy.net


Hi tweets,



I have a system that works well for me. I put out only a day?s worth of food
each morning, throw a few peanuts around to keep the squirrels busy, and
throw a handful of millet, etc. for the ground feeders. Most mornings I put
1 cup of black-oil sunflower seeds in a ?? mesh cylinder feeder with a plexi
dome to hamper the squirrels. They have a hard time getting seeds out of
the feeder and transfer their attention to the ground, where many seeds have
been dropped by careless birds. I don?t try to discourage any birds because
they?re all more comfortable in a flock. So I get Juncos, GC Sparrows, Song
Sparrows, BC Chickadees, House Sparrows, House Finches, Kinglets, and
Bewick?s Wrens. Oh, and the neighborhood Cooper?s hawks swoop through
occasionally.



Interestingly, House Sparrows and Finches have evolved enough to eat
sunflower seeds, which they wouldn?t touch 10 years ago. I also provide
nectar for the hummers and a roofed suet feeder for anything that can hang
upside-down. The squirrels clean up the ground during the day, so there?s
not much left for the rats after dark. One other thing, that I used to
hate, the neighborhood cats love my yard. Now I welcome them at dusk
because I think they catch rats often enough to make them go elsewhere.



A zen birder in Bryant, Alan Roedell, Seattle roedell at speakeasy.net



_____

From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Dennis
Paulson
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2008 9:13 AM
To: Tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] unshelled sunflower seeds



In discussion with my wife, I recalled why we tried unshelled (I'm defining
"shelled" as with shells) sunflower seeds and then stopped using them. All
through the winter chickadees and nuthatches gather sunflower seeds (with
shells) to cache them, but they apparently won't do that with the unshelled
ones, at least that was the behavior of our birds, and their visits to the
feeders diminished perceptibly when we started using them in the feeders. So
we went back to shelled seeds, even though it was great for a while not
having the ground littered with sunflower-seed shells.



The only way I would use them now is for House Finches and the other birds
that would eat them on the spot, but I'd have to find a feeder that the
House Finches can't get into for the seeds with shells on them for the
cacheing birds.

-----

Dennis Paulson

1724 NE 98 St.

Seattle, WA 98115

206-528-1382

dennispaulson at comcast.net