Flipped Out in Alabama

[hobbiehobbie]

I really wanted to focus on supplemental feeding this Spring. I've never tried it before this year and I really need some peace mind knowing that I can help my feathered friends in times of need. I have flipped almost two thousand crickets and about two hundred dollars worth of scrambled eggs all to no avail. I also have placed crickets and meal worms just inside the doorways earlier this season when it was so cold.

I decided to try that again this morning when I went out to raise the gourd racks back up after I had lowered them yesterday for all the bad weather. After I had raised them back up I watched to see if I could see any of them eat the crickets. Instead I watched one female in particular systematically pick the crickets up one by one and fly away dropping them as she went.

She does not want them here nor there, she does not want them anywhere
It kinda cracked me up.

Im not going to give up tho.
The crows and the bluebirds are loving it!

[C.C.Martins]

It can take a while, a long while. Our public site birds didnt eat for at least 4 days when the cold blasted us. It still took a whole lot of flipping. Its worth it!

[flyin-lowe]

What has your weather been the last couple days? My experience has been you will not get martins to take flipped food unless they really need it. If you have had weather with highs near 50 degrees or higher within the last 2 days or so, it's likely they don't need the food.

[hobbiehobbie]

We have had cloudy skies and very gusty winds on Friday and Saturday. Also a tremendous amount of rain Saturday afternoon/evening.

I was aware is was a long shot. The reaction of that female just kinda cracked me up.

We have truly had a lot of very cold weather since my martins have started arriving. I have just flipped and flipped and flipped, but they have shown zero interest. I was really worried over them when they first started arriving because we had such cold weather.

Now Im just flipping crickets anytime the weather is cloudy or windy. I would really like to know that I can provide supplemental feeding if necessary....for my own mental well being

However - if they don't want it, they don't want it.

My flipping skills have become pretty impressive though

And the crows and blue birds are more than happy to clean up the rejected crickets

[flyin-lowe]

I know it's frustrating but the good news is since the martins are still alive, the weather has not been too bad for them.