Birdhouses, Birdfeeders and Birdbaths

August 25, 2013

This is why the birdhouses in my yard are just for decorative purposes.  The squirrels chew them all up.  Mostly enlarging the holes, but also chewing up the sides and tops too.  With these large holes, no birds would ever nest in one.  


I remember being an avid birdhouse collector.  I think it was in the late 1980's and early 1990's.  I had quite a big collection of birdhouses mostly purchased from country craft sales.  They were pretty "cutesy" with lots of hearts.


Now I go for a more "rustic" look in birdhouses.  Birdhouses for junk gardens.


Rustic Birdhouses
Like these three that I display on a potting bench in the back yard.

Craft Shop Garden Decor
This star birdhouse on a stake is from a craft shop. 

Craft Shop Garden Decor
I stick it in the ground in front of the house.  It's borderline "cutesy" but more towards primitive.

Birdhouse "Condo" in the Flower Border
This blue birdhouse "condo" is for decorative purposes only, and gets a lot of attention in my front flower border.

Condo Birdhouse and Step Ladder in the Garden


Galvanized Birdhouse Plant Pick
This little galvanized birdhouse is a flower pot pick that I stuck in with the sunpatiens this summer.

Thistle Mix Birdfeeder with birds
We feed the birds, probably why we have soooooo many squirrels.  This is our thistle or thistle mix feeder.  Usually filled with yellow finches but not today.

Black Oil Sunflower Small Birdfeeder
This black oil sunflower feeder has been battered, tipped and chewed on daily by the squirrels.

Squirrel proof feeder?  Not!


Squirrel proof feeder?
And no feeder is "Squirrel Proof" even if they say they are!

Squirrel Proof Birdfeeder


Upside down suet feeder
This is our suet feeder.  It is designed to keep the grackles and larger birds off.

Old cement birdbath
We also have a couple of bird baths.  This older cement, mossy one under a tree by our deck,

Terra Cotta Birdbath
 And this blue glazed, terra cotta birdbath one on an upside down terra cotta pot.  The smaller birds like this one by the deck.


Do you feed the birds?  Do you have a squirrel problem too?











Thanks for reading my blog, Carlene

Sharing is caring

Receive my Posts and Newsletters to your Email


Comment with Facebook

Comments

  1. I love your garden.

    I love all your birdbaths.

    I am glad I don't have squirrels.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi neighbor!
    When we had the same problem with critters nibbling the holes in our many birdhouses, my hubby bought 3x3" squares of heavy plexiglass and then used a hole driller to drill the appropriate size hole in each for the desired bird. He secured these to the outside of the houses (covering the "badly chewed holes"). They, of course, don't exactly "blend in" with the natural woods, but the critters never again gnawed the holes and birds, once again, gladly accepted the birdhouses.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have so many gorgeous birdhouses!
    I love the way you have them displayed around the property. No squirrels, my cat sees to that.
    Hugs,
    Patti

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do feed the birds...but right now I'm battling a raccoon who had decided to eat all of my bird seed...any tips for those nasty things?? The little galvanized feeder is my favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  5. When we tried to feed the birds, at first it was really fun but then....a bear got to the feeder and ripped it off the tree and took a big chunk of the tree off. That was the end of that!

    Cynthia

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good post. Squirrels seem like the most common form of destruction in bird feeders. Thanks for the post.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comments! I respond to most comments by email unless anonymous or no reply blogger. I also have a facebook comment box.
By leaving a comment you are consenting to your email being collected for communication purposes only. Your privacy is important to me.