#Smart Bird Feeder

[zeroloop]

Mangiatoia con Telecamera: Una Soluzione Innovativa per gli Amanti della Natura

Netvue Birdfy Aggiornato-Mangiatoia per Uccelli con Videocamera&Solare,Telecamera per il Birdwatching con Bambù Ecologico e Rinnovabile,Cattura Automatica,Notifica Uccelli,Edizione Limitata Natalizia La nuova mangiatoia con telecamera integrata rappresenta una soluzione ideale per chi desidera osservare e fotografare gli uccellini (e non solo) che frequentano il proprio giardino. Questo…

[everythingaboutbirds]

A Dark-eyed Junco eating at a Netvue Birdfy Smart Bird Feeder.

[ostdrossel]

Nothing much going on, we need more snow! But there was a Cowbird here today, so random. The birds seem to like the Birdfy too, and it's been nice to have a feeder cam that I don't have to tend to except for filling the feeder. (There is blood on the feeder when the Cardi sits there. That was from a MoDo with an injured foot. There was a clip with that too, and I am happy it was there because otherwise I'd have wondered endlessly.)

[detentiontrack]

This morning while I was packing my lunch in the kitchen, CZ started screaming and crying and I ran into the room because I thought he was hurt or scared, but he was physically fine, so I checked his food and water bowls (both full & fresh) and then he led me to the window and screamed louder and it turns out. He wanted me to open the window so he could chatter at and pretend to hunt the birds in the new bird feeder in the tree outside, and he wanted me to do it NOW.

[bmpmp3]

MAN i need to learn soldering properly i took computer tech for like 3 years in highschool but we learned to get rid of flux residue by going at the pcbs with a barbecue wire brush which makes every electronics nerd i know physically recoil to think about which is very funny but also. maybe i should. learn to use a solvent

[freelanceplatypus]

Summer Goal: befriend the crows that live in our apartment complex.

[octopiys]

Lost and Found

I. roll call and rainy nights

Next

Maybe Simon doesn't have any kids. Not yet at least. Maybe he doesn't know anyone we'll enough, or maybe he's not sure if he wants them in the first place.

But I'll tell you what.

Every time he goes on leave, without fail, he has an army of critters showing up to his house in the country. He never turns anything out to the streets, or to the cold night. The bottom of his pantry is stock full of dog and cat food. He's got three bird feeders in his back yard. There's four refillable water bowls by his garage.

The raccoons show up first without fail. They're named One and Deux, and they just recently had a baby named Tres. Hes pretty sure they live on his roof. He checked his cameras one night, after a long mission, and found them holding up Tres to the camera.

He didn't cry about that, what are you talking about?

Then the dogs show up. They're all mutts of varying sizes. One looks like some sort of lab, named Dog. Another is about the size of a pomeranian, but looks like a shaggy chihuahua. That's Barrow. He found her in his garden shed. She's got a mean bite, but a sweet face. The third is a big dog, almost the size of a Dane, but... not. He's not very smart. He's named barkmulch. Get it, cus- cus he barks- the fourth has gone unnamed. It's a furry little white thing, and it yaps at him a lot, nipping at his ankles anytime he enters the room. Behave, and it'll get a name.

There are a few cats that show up too. None of them have names except for one: Scraggle.

Scraggle is the ugliest fucking thing you can imagine. Scraggle is that shade of grey that white cats get when they're dirty, except you can't wash it off. The poor cat is missing patches of fur, and it seems permanent. It only has one eye. It's nose is flat, and gives it's face the illusion of a squished tomato. There's a scar going from it's whiskers, across it's nose and up to it's missing eye. Simon doesn't actually know what gender this cat is. It is only Scraggle.

Scraggle is also... very stupid, as far as cats go. It gets squished between the couch cushions, and yowls when Simon accidentally sits on him. How could he have seen him anyways? Scraggle screams when his food bowl is empty. Scraggle screams when everyone else's food bowls are empty. Scraggle screams when it manages to find it's way on top of the kitchen cabinets, and needs Simon's help to get down. Scraggle is a full time job when he's off duty.

Scraggle is his favorite.

He finds you in the rain.

Not nearly as run down as the rest of his animals, but just as lost.

Covered in scratches, blood, and muck, he finds you on the edge of his property, being screamed at by Scraggle, because it doesn't do much else.

Your clothes are torn, and you look a bit more haggard than you should. Wet, and cold, and hungry. Like you had missed a turn off the trails, or you were running away from them. From something.

You look up at him with wide eyes, but decide to trust him, to follow him like a lost creature, because he could not be worse than what you escaped from.

He makes soup. He gives you soup.

He's not the best conversationalist. He's not used to things he finds actually talking back to him in a language he can understand.

You tell him your name. He calls you Honey. You'll earn your name. Behave, you'll get it.

Scraggle is on thin ice with you. Attention stealer. Food giver. You get the cat down from places it shouldn't be. But Simon pays more attention to you than he does Scraggle. You fool. Scraggle is all. Scraggle is life.

You don't leave, much like the other things he feeds. You make yourself useful, because you're afraid of being turned out. If you're useful, then nothing will happen. And you go to bed every night warm with a full belly.

You're just another lost thing he's taken in. You don't leave when he disappears. You know he'll come back. He always does.

And he watches the cameras, while he's on a mission. He watches you diligently fill the bowls, the bird feeders, the waters, the bath. You trot out to the fish pond, and throw handfuls of feed out in the early hours of the night. Then you make your way back through the tall grass, and into the house.

Scraggle screams. You feed it too, and then pick it up. And carry it around like it's a little baby.

Hm. Maybe....

You were a sweet like honey, a pretty little thing. You weren't lost anymore. He'd found you, you're his now.

He'll take care of you.

Scraggle agrees. Scraggle likes you too.

masterlist

[tricktster]

Rating the recent visitors to my mom’s smart bird feeder:

Tufted Titmouse

10/10 no notes

[stromcuzewon]

usually they leave when the snow melts..... snows been gone for a week and yet i just saw one climbing head first down the tree.... hes been watching the squirrels too much

over a foot of snow on the ground, you know what that means: rats at the bird feeder!

[brucewaynehater101]

They are so big and so cute! And if Huggin and Munnin are well above the average size of ravens they could be nearly the size of Tim's torso. Certainly bigger than his head. Plus they are so, so smart. Some of the smartest birds in the world. Imagine Tim getting in kidnapped as a civilian and Huggin simply grabs the key for him while Munnin acts as a look out. Tim escapes without ever being seen.

Tim also has special "bird doors" in his Nest so the whole place is filled with his many birds. Sure not all of them live there because he set up dozens of safe places around the city that are basically just Reall Big Pigeon Roosts with bird feeders in them that all types of birds are allowed in. Also the bird doors are much to small for any human to fit through, much like dog and cat doors are, and they do have actual sliding metal doors on them that are opened and unlocked by proximity of the little cameras he put on some of his birds. Roughly 4 owls, 8 pigeons, 3 Bluejays, 2 hawks, 17 crows, 9 grackles, and 20 ravens have access to his Nest. Are those a lot of keys just flying around the city? Yes. But no one knows the birds are his, Tim is constantly trying to make smaller and smaller cameras for them so that they will never be spotted, and who the fuck is gunna point to a random bird and go "that bitch has the key to Red Robin's house." And be believed by anyone who would help them catch a fucking pigeon that's just minding their own buisness?business??

The only beings who notice the cameras are other birds and the strange sparkly spot on his birds chest? It only gives his birds more Rizz. There was a study about how Zebra Finches actually preferred to mate with those who had on red tracking tags over other colors so what if this is similar? This would also mean that every spring Tim has an exponentially larger amount of birds.

Also the funniest way for the family to find out. It's one of the very rare sunny days in summer where it's Actually Hot in Gothem so the family decides it's the perfect day to use the pool in the back yard of Wayne Manor. Everyone is having an amazing time and eventually Tim gets tired so he sits down on one of the reclining pool chairs for a rest and snack, which is his chocolate free trail mix. He has a large bowl of it and ends up falling asleep with it in his lap. Just as the siblings are giggling and deciding what prank to play, a crow lands next to Tim and sqwacks a few times. Tim mumbles in his sleep but doesn't move so the bird hops up onto Tim's chair and starts to eat out of his bowl. Since it doesn't get shooed away, soon others are joining it. The family watches in amazement as Tim gets *covered* in birds that are casually eating from his bowl. There's even a pair of hawks that are perched above his head. When the bowl is empty, one of the crows bites Tim on the nose, startling him awake and he glares at the feathery fiend and very gently taps it on the beak as he scolds, "Monroe, I told you to stop biting my nose. Wait- you guys ate all my trail mix!" He has forgotten that his siblings are there because it's usually the birds or siblings, never both.

Oh, and when they eventually ask why he hid the birds, Tim simply says, "last time anyone found out, Janet called an exterminator."

I love this so much. Him building little nests all over the city for them is adorable and great. It would be cool if he started that before his Robin years as he was out and about in Gotham. He just built small little safe places for the birds, and it rapidly expanded as Tim got more experience, more resources, and more birds to look after.

Your logic with the keys is fantastic! When the batfam finds out, I bet birds pop by Tim's place while whatever family member is just chilling. Like maybe they are watching a movie and said bat gets distracted by the coming and goings of various birds (the birds probably also mess a bit with Tim or his space as fond pestering before leaving again). Maybe a few are just staring at the family member without blinking or taking a nap.

I wonder if Damian would start to make excuses to go over to Tim's Nest as much as possible. He states he needs to "ensure Timothy is maintaining adequate nesting conditions for the various species of birds" or that he will "test the Nest's security" by dropping by unannounced and breaking in.

Perhaps some of the birds watch over his various family members for Tim? Especially Duke because nobody else works the day shift with him, and birds are more common during the day (and thus less suspicious).

[cosmerelists]

The Orders of the Knights Radiant as Birds

Namely, birds that I happen to (think I) know something about. This post motivated by watching pelicans for an entire day while I was sick. 

The Windrunners are like pelicans--they fly in neat rows with their chests out and their heads facing straight ahead, and when they hunt, they skim close and fast over the surface of the water and then dive straight down below the surface without hesitation

But the Edgedancers--as represented by Lift--are also like pelicans; if they can eat it, they'll try to eat it. (Remember the one that tried to eat a capybara? Just to see if it could?) 

But the Edgancers are also vultures--they tend to the dying, they destroy diseases and pestilence, they're holy

The Dustbringers are also like vultures; they take things apart and thrive on seeing what's inside

And the Dustbringers are also woodpeckers--pounding away at the tree and reducing it gradually to dust

The Stonewards are flamingos--extremophiles who can endure any conditions, for they follow Taln

But the Lightweavers are also flamingos because of their color, their vibrancy, and the growing realization of how much they can endure

The Lightweavers are also cowbirds--shapeshifters who pretend to be what they're not to survive, not always on purpose, not meaning to hurt

And the Truthwatchers are roosters, yelling about the light

But Truthwatchers are also ravens, known for watching and learning secrets and being wise

Willshapers are weaver birds, who build elaborate and beautiful nests

But Willshapers are also chickadees--first to explore a new feeder, grabbing one seed and flying quickly away, never tied down

Bondsmiths are puffins; they mate for life, cherishing their bonds with each other; social and curious, wanting to learn and be like others

Elsecallers are crows--very smart, very clever, and definitely willing to mess with you if you upset them

But Elsecallers are also cormorants, taking to the air and swimming beneath the water. They can go between realms easily and smoothly to get what they want

And Skybreakers are hawks--quick, predatory, a quick flash in the sky bringing death to their prey

[everythingaboutbirds]

A female Cardinal eating at a Netvue Birdfy Smart Bird Feeder.

[ostdrossel]

A new visitor this morning... The Birdsy AI identified and recorded the clip. I was in a meeting and only saw it later in my Birdsy account. What a magnificent bird! Apparently it is a she, a Sharp-shinned. And she left hungry.

A word about Birdsy... I have been using their cameras since 2019, and I love the convenience of using a camera that is AI driven rather than unsing motion detection. My photo setup is motion activated, and it takes me a lot of time and computer storage to handle and edit the photos. I have used security cams to get close to wildlife before too, but I found it very time-consuming to sift through the footage to see if they captured anything fun. The cool thing with Birdsy is that the AI is trained on wildlife and captures exactly that so you do not end up with tons of “empty” videos. You also don’t have to install emulators or wonky software in order to watch your clips or livestream. With Birdsy, you get an app as well as an online account in which all your videos are saved and sorted by ID and date. And you can share your clips and livestream with others or embed it on your website, like I am doing here as well. In my opinion, nothing beats the convenience of this system as opposed to trail cams or security cams. No SD cards needed, and you are not tied to a setup like the gadgety smart feeders that seem to be all the rage now. You can build your own setup. Check it out on their website birdsy.com. I am streaming there too 😊

[kedreeva]

*rubs my face with both hands* Some Guy(tm) on FB inserted himself into a conversation I was having with two other people about a chicken being conditioned to peck a pink piece of paper, to post a link to Some Blog Post about why chickens peck at red. A post which was full of misinformation (or at best, info with zero citations for scientific proof) about how you shouldn't wear red when attending chickens because it makes them Mad and how if a chicken sees red its instinct is to peck it to death because they kill each other in the wild if someone gets wounded to protect the flock (...) and how waterers and feeders have to be red to draw the birds to them and so on and so forth in a truly stunning display of ignorance.

So since this person CLEARLY wanted to engage, I engaged. I asked why chickens with red combs don't get immediately pecked to death, why don't we have to blukote their combs to save their lives if they'll peck anything red to death? What about red chickens? Roosters with red feathers? Why do chickens drink out of black pig bowls or waterers with purple, pink, green, yellow, white bases (all of which i have and were used fine)? Why do they peck at the FOOD in the red bottomed feeder, instead of the red plastic?? Brown eggs are colored with a red pigment, how do any of them ever survive this violent desire this person thinks they have for red??

They're pecking at red because red = fruits/berries/meat in the wild. They peck each other to death in captivity when they don't have enough space to get away and they're BORED. They feather pick and go for blood when they're missing vitamins or protein. They peck at blood more because they are omnivores, they literally eat bloody stuff and they're too stupid to realize THIS bloody stuff is their friend. Their brain is the size of a walnut, they're just not differentiating between "this blood came from WITHIN my friend" and "This blood is ON my friend from somewhere else." Like yeah they might peck at something red to see if it's food (and continue pecking when it tastes like food), but they're not hulking out at the sight of red things. Geezus.

Anyway now he's pissy because I didn't roll over and tell him how smart and right he is. Because he thinks his chickens are literally pecking at his red shoes because they think he's a weakened flock member they must kill for the good of the flock.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

This may not seem like a very impressive photo, but it's very exciting for me! I just set up my bird feeders in Portland a few weeks ago, and unsurprisingly no one showed up immediately. The scrub jays found the endless plate of peanuts after a few days because they're just smart that way, but since the two old cherry trees in front of the apartment building got cut down last month the most convenient shelter for smaller birds to retreat to after visiting the feeder is gone.

Imagine my joy this morning when I got up and saw not one but TWO red-breasted nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) visiting the black oil sunflower seed feeder! One female (pictured here) and one male, likely a mated pair, have been flitting back and forth, making their little chittering sounds back and forth (as opposed to the territorial "beeping" more commonly heard earlier in the year.) Hopefully their activity will signal to other songbirds that there's food, and the local woodpeckers will discover the suet feeder.

I know bird feeders have become increasingly controversial in recent years, due in part to the risk for disease transmission. This is why it's so important to clean them regularly, not just removing old food but spraying them down with a 1:9 bleach:water solution and then scrubbing thoroughly with hot soapy water. I've only ever had one house finch with conjunctivitis show up, and I was quick to bring the feeders in and leave them in for a few weeks before cleaning and putting them back out.

And yes, I agree that a yard full of native plants that provide year-round food opportunities for birds and other wildlife is ideal. However, I don't have a yard. I have a 3x8 balcony, and I live in one of the older neighborhoods in Portland that, but for a few yards, is pretty scarce on native plants and pretty heavy on non-native ornamentals, so natural food sources are thin on the ground for those birds and other wildlife that are tolerant of urban living.

I'll get some natives in pots next spring for pollinators, but apartment management says I have to remove any dead vegetable matter in the fall, which means getting rid of seeds birds would normally eat over winter. I won't be able to create an appreciable amount of food for birds in this space, so feeders are the next best option, giving them something to eat without further reducing their fear of humans. (Let's be clear: any wild animal that lives in this neighborhood has got to be pretty tolerant of us, but that doesn't mean we should be encouraging them to be even less wary.)

Plus, quite honestly, they're good for my mental health; while I don't regret my move back to Portland, I do miss the easy access to a wide range of native biodiversity right outside the door. Being able to once again look out my window and see birds visiting is really good for me, and helps me get through those days when I am stuck at the computer for far too long.