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Bird Feeding

May 12th, 2014 at 06:05 pm

To start this post correctly, I need to go back to February, at some point just prior to DD2's birthday. It seems that my sister-in-law (DW's sister) was at a hardware store, kids in tow, and she remembered that she needed to get something for my daughter's birthday (keep in mind that from my and DW's standpoint, she didn't *need* to buy anything for our daughter) she was apparently rushed for time, or something, and chose to buy a bird feeder and premium sunflower seed at the hardware store. It ended up being a nice gift that DD2 appreciated.

Fast forward to a week ago Saturday. DD2 and I filled up her bird feeder, and put it out in the spot of her choosing (with a bit of parental guidance). DW put out a thistle feeder, and some grape jelly for the oriels. I can't name all the birds (DW is more the bird watcher than I am), but we have lots of finches, and oriels, and many others. Just last Thursday they ate down 3/4 of a full feeder in that one day. Our original package of super premium sunflower seed is empty, as of yesterday. One week plus one day from when it was opened.

The birds have been fun to watch, and the kids have really enjoyed it. We've never had so many birds like this before. DW and I have fed birds practically every year since we've been married. But, we've never bought the really expensive bird seed, always the cheap stuff with millet filler, that the birds clearly do not like. This is an obvious case of "you get what you pay for."

Which gets me to the point of my post - we could go broke feeding these birds. The first bag was (I think) 10 pounds. I'm sure we could buy a bigger bag that would last a longer time, like 40 pounds for $20. And maybe, because there isn't much other food out in nature for them right now, they will slow down a little bit, but still, this could get expensive if we want to do it right.

I guess you could say that if bird feeding is my current biggest financial concern, thing are going pretty smoothly for us right now.

6 Responses to “Bird Feeding”

  1. just a thought Says:
    1399915019

    What if you just put less in the feeder each day? When it is gone for the day, it is gone? That may be a away to control the outflow. If you're really concerned and not being tongue-in-cheek Smile

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    1399924391

    Interesting problem to have. I also would suggest deciding how much you are willing to spend for the season, and portion out accordingly.

  3. snafu Says:
    1399947192

    For the pleasure and enjoyment of all the children I'd make a few cut elsewhere and buy quality feed for for the birds. Their environment is getting more difficult it's a blessing to be able to do a small part. I'm reading about the drop in numbers of bees and it's shocking

  4. Bob B. Says:
    1399985754

    DW bought a bag of sunflower seed via Amazon. Not sure how big, or what she paid, but she said it was the cheapest source she could find.

  5. Suzanne Says:
    1399997386

    Once you put the feed out they seem to tell all their friends Smile

  6. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1400107002

    When I stayed with my grandma for the summer two years ago, one of my favorite things to do was to fill the bird feeders. She had 4 of them - 2 with seed for smaller birds, 1 with seed for larger birds, and 1 with sugar water for the hummingbirds. Her backyard was almost always occupied with birds. Big Grin

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