bird feeders by the pond???
- Thread starter objec
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Attracting more birds to our yard was one of the reasons we put the pond in
in the first place. The sound of running water attracts more and different birds than feeders or a bird bath alone. I think every sparrow in the county has had a dip in our pond at one time or another and I wouldn't want to change that for anything
in the first place. The sound of running water attracts more and different birds than feeders or a bird bath alone. I think every sparrow in the county has had a dip in our pond at one time or another and I wouldn't want to change that for anything
I have several bird feeders adjacent to my pond. The only problem (to some people) is the sunflower seed hulls which the birds drop on the ground. Many of them end up in the pond, adding pressure on your filtering system. I find the attraction of birds out weighs the small amount of debris in the pond, others may find it objectionable. I am not aware of sunflower seed hulls having detrimental effects on fish (i.e. giving off toxins), but can not speak to that issue.
objec said:
When I built my pond, I put in a bog garden with shallow slopes. The bog garden attracted birds, lizards, and ground squirrels. I didn't mind the four legged critters but the birds used the shallow water to bathe. In the process, they damaged my water chestnuts and shed feathers.
To make matters worse, the pond attracted crows. Whenever I went into the backyard, the crows would flap into the tree tops or perch on top of the fence where they'd scream at me with harsh guttural cries.
In addition to damaging aquatic plants, the crows damaged several ornamental plants. They also wiped out my blackberries.
In the end, I decided that I needed to regain control of my backyard. I installed a pet door and gave my four cats access to the backyard. The cats killed one crow and chased the others away.
I am sorry to say that they also chased away (or killed) all of the lizards and ground squirrels.
i want cats like that.
last year i did come home from work and saw a gang of crows in my pond, they did destroy my plants. left feathers all over the place too. i bought one of those fake owls after that, i havent seen them since.
last year i did come home from work and saw a gang of crows in my pond, they did destroy my plants. left feathers all over the place too. i bought one of those fake owls after that, i havent seen them since.
One of the disadvantages to having predatory cats is that they occasionally bring me "gifts." Shortly after installing the pet door, I woke up on a lazy Saturday morning, rolled over, and found myself nose to peak with the remnants of a dead pigeon.
One of the cats had killed the pigeon, brought it into the house, gripped it by its neck, and shook it. At the foot of my bed, there was an almost perfect circle of feathers.
The cats also seem to enjoy leaving dead frogs and lizards in my bedroom slippers. I have long since learned to shake out my slippers before putting them on. Insofar as I live in rural Arizona, learning how to shake out my foot ware hasn't been a problem as I routinely do this to check for snakes and scorpions.
On the brighter side, I am also saving a small fortune in kitty litter. Although I continue to maintain litter boxes in the house, I haven't had to clean or change a box since I opened the backyard. The cats now do all of their stuff outside and they even managed to select a sandy area in the furthest corner of the yard!
On warm days, the cats can be found outside - either lying on a paving stone to absorb the sun's warmth or crouching in the shade of a plant.
Having appropriated the backyard from the wildlife, the cats are even making use of the bog garden. They have stopped drinking the "hard" tap water I've put out for them in favor of drinking cool crystal clear water from the pond.
One of the cats had killed the pigeon, brought it into the house, gripped it by its neck, and shook it. At the foot of my bed, there was an almost perfect circle of feathers.
The cats also seem to enjoy leaving dead frogs and lizards in my bedroom slippers. I have long since learned to shake out my slippers before putting them on. Insofar as I live in rural Arizona, learning how to shake out my foot ware hasn't been a problem as I routinely do this to check for snakes and scorpions.
On the brighter side, I am also saving a small fortune in kitty litter. Although I continue to maintain litter boxes in the house, I haven't had to clean or change a box since I opened the backyard. The cats now do all of their stuff outside and they even managed to select a sandy area in the furthest corner of the yard!
On warm days, the cats can be found outside - either lying on a paving stone to absorb the sun's warmth or crouching in the shade of a plant.
Having appropriated the backyard from the wildlife, the cats are even making use of the bog garden. They have stopped drinking the "hard" tap water I've put out for them in favor of drinking cool crystal clear water from the pond.
I have one next to my pond and those dang sparrows scatter the seeds everywhere. I even seen some drink from my smaller one next to the feeder, but my fish got sick. I think my water quality was bad though, I don't think Iit had anything to do with the birds.
lindsayanng
Umm yea... confused
If you have good soil for growing plants near your pond (which you probably do) then you will get all SORTS of unwated plants growing under your feeder. We make sure to put our feeders far away from gardens because they sprinkle seeds, and those seeds DO grow.. Unless you want that kinda random look.. i had weatgrass (from wheat birdseed) under one particular tree that was so dense the lawnmower could not cut through it.. i had to hand trim it.
The other downfall is squirrls. If you have a feeder, you have to either try and squirrel proof it, or just accept them.. but if you TRY and fail to squirrel proof, the squirels will just tear it down, have it land in your pond amd spew seeds everywhere
The other downfall is squirrls. If you have a feeder, you have to either try and squirrel proof it, or just accept them.. but if you TRY and fail to squirrel proof, the squirels will just tear it down, have it land in your pond amd spew seeds everywhere
I've seen robins and sparrows bathing in the stream bed of our waterfall/pond. We have bird feeders suspended from a wire hanging 8 ft above the ground, and away from the pond, that is a very effective squirrel deterrent. We have planted purple coneflowers which the goldfinch LOVE! I personally wouldn't want bird feeders near the pond for some of the reasons mentioned above, but mainly because when you feed birds you also get the end result of that feeding, meaning bird poo all over the patio furniture and patio.
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I watch flocks of birds bathing, they love the stream and ponds. The robins go crazy in the spring, right now it is golden finches and cow birds.
Aaron S
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I have been keeping feeders for the birds and squirrels for a couple of years with very little problems other than having an ongoing "war" with a squirrel.
Me and my son were out back one day messing around with the garden hose and sprayer attachment when my son got the great idea of going squirrel hunting with the sprayer. He found a red squirrel and started hitting it with the "shower" setting on the sprayer. The squirrel would get about 10 feet off the ground in a tree and just sit there and let my son give him a good soaking. I don't think that the squirrel was complaining much because it was about 110 that day. So ever since then every time it is hot, and me and my son go out to the back yard, that darn squirrel will start barking at us and throwing pecans at us until we hit him with the water hose. The wife says that I'm just freaking out because the squirrel can't be aiming at us, yet she can't explain why I'm always getting hit with pecans and she never is. We can have 30 people in the back yard and I'm the only one that gets hit
Me and my son were out back one day messing around with the garden hose and sprayer attachment when my son got the great idea of going squirrel hunting with the sprayer. He found a red squirrel and started hitting it with the "shower" setting on the sprayer. The squirrel would get about 10 feet off the ground in a tree and just sit there and let my son give him a good soaking. I don't think that the squirrel was complaining much because it was about 110 that day. So ever since then every time it is hot, and me and my son go out to the back yard, that darn squirrel will start barking at us and throwing pecans at us until we hit him with the water hose. The wife says that I'm just freaking out because the squirrel can't be aiming at us, yet she can't explain why I'm always getting hit with pecans and she never is. We can have 30 people in the back yard and I'm the only one that gets hit
sissy
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I give the birds a farther away place from my pond to eat and bath .I don't want lots of bird droppings in my pond .Not sure what may be in them .I have 4 bird baths I fill daily and 3 feeders and then I have the hummingbird feeders up on the porch because I like to watch them .
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What about getting new species of fish because of fish egg droppings? hmmm. That would be pretty cool to just notice one day a perch or some goldfish not there previously. Is this realistic? I mean this is how the concept of preservation of species works with fish. They have relied for 100,000s of years, so shouldn't that be effective by drawing birds to your pond where they just might poop in it?