SO,
I buy the wild bird feed. I get the premium kind though at Wally World.

Birds also like dryer lint and fabric clippings for padding their nests. I put mine in a strawberry basket hung from a tree. It's fun to watch the birds get a wad and take it to their birdhouse.

I have several bluebird houses. Bluebirds aren't the only ones that use them, but that's ok.

Laurel

I live in Illinois and it's time to put out the water and bird seed for the birds migrating through the Mississippi Flyway. It's a great time to see birds you don't normally see in your area.

And a tip...keep your bird feeders at least 4 ft off the ground and away from anything a cat can climb onto. Cats can get to your birds if your feeders are close to the ground.

Laurel, what a great use of dryer lint. I'll have to remember that.

I wouldn't dare have a birdfeeder in my yard. Daisy would enjoy it a little too much.

Cats are very easy to care for. They are highly independent and clean themselves. What? I thought you were looking for info on Bird Feeders.

Dotsie, my husband is really into his birdfeeders. We went to a bird store and purchased a pole that has hangers in which to hang bird feeders from. We have 6 hangers (you can add to the pole) and we found if we put the pole out in the open instead of very close to a tree the birds like it better. They can fly right in and right out and can see if predators are about. Not much to do about birds pushing out the food though. We get the wild bird seed and when sparrows push out what they don't like, it provides food for the grounders as we call them. Doves and yes, we love our squirrels. We have a squirrel protector at the bottom of the pole so they can't climb up and the pole is far enough away from trees that the squirrels cannot jump onto the feeders. I'll try and send you a photo of our feeder tomorrow. We have cardinals, seveal types of sparrows, chickadees, house wrens, tit mouse and others and I love sitting in my window seat having coffee and watching the feed fest that goes on most of the day. We've noticed the hummingbirds have returned and we've put up two feeders. Wtih hummingbirds it's best to put the feeders on opposite sides of the house or where one feeder can't be seen by the other feeder because a dominate hummer will try to control all feeders in its view. (Learned that on the internet when I was reading up on the little suckers). To be so tiny they're sure aggressive. During hurricane Katrina we had forgotten to take our feeders in and were in shock to see these tiny creatures still feedering just as aggressively in hurricane force winds. We took video footage to prove it. I was impressed. Good luck.

Laurel,
I'll have to try the dryer lint and fabric clippings...I have lots of both. Thanks.

Dee, your feeders sound impressive. I have heard that hummingbirds can be feisty little boogers. It's funny because they look so docile.

Laurel

I am hoping to finally get my hummingbird feeder out next week. I found an interesting web-site that tracks the northern migration - and finally - there's been a sighting near me. It's been so cold here (in the 20's at night) that I've held off - but I don't want to miss them this year.

When we lived in TN I had to have several feeders spaced around the yard there were so many little buggers. Last summer I only one visit my feeder here, but hopefully getting the feeder out early will help. Hope the nectar doesn't freeze.

browser, I'm wondering if it is the same site I found. Is it http://www.hummingbirds.net/index.html by chance? This is a great place to learn it all. I'm getting ready to put out my hummingbird feeder and wanted to learn more. I see I've already learned something I've been doing wrong. Cleaning the feeder with dish detergent! Dang!