Pole Systems and Bird Feeders (The SAGA Continues)

The last time I posted here on HT (8-4-13), I spoke about how the array of wild birds who visit my urban garden had impacted my powers of observation of seagulls; seagulls which I had seen on my trips to the beach.
In this entry, I return to a topic I've covered in many of my posts thus far here on HT, which is content related to feeding birds in an urban garden, for I am currently in the throes of resolving certain issues re some of the bird-feeders that I have discussed in my past entries. I hope that my attempt to resolve these issues will be of benefit to others.
And so, without further ado, I share my what's beginning to feel like a "bird-feeder soap-opera": Yesterday (8-21-13), Juan V was here and he helped me find a spot in my garden for a pole system that I spoke about in an entry on TLLG's FB Page (8-9-13) @ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=534443716605006&set=a.355589574490422.73015.247917655257615&type=1
In the interim of Juan's prior visit and yesterday, I had received the pole system (an early birthday gift), put it together, hung feeders from it, and had placed it in a temporary spot in my garden; but today Juan put it in a better place.
The pole system will support four of my bird feeders, as seen in the first image included with today's post. One of these feeders is my CB feeder (indicated by the letter "a"). As you may recall, this is part of my rain-or-shine feeding system, meaning I switch it for another tower-style feeder depending on the weather, which gives me a chance to clean the feeder that is not being used. I discussed this in great detail in my first entry on HT @ http://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/garden/rain-or-shine-bird-feeders-to-perch-or-not-may-be-the-question-1721634.
The letter "b" indicates my hopper-house-style feeder which was also discussed in a prior HT entry @ http://www.hometalk.com/diy/part-5-back-story-of-tllg-s-rain-or-shine-feeders-1790724.
The small orange feeder (letter "c") is one that I have duplicates of, but I switch them out, using one while the other is being cleaned as mentioned in my HT entry about this particular feeder. This entry can be found @
http://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/garden/part-6-small-peanut-feeder-back-story-of-tllg-s-rain-or-shine-feeder-1796499
And the other feeder shown here (behind them both) is a platform feeder ("d"). It has a canopy and due to glitches in posting on HT in the past couple of weeks, I have not described the uses of this feeder; however, in a recent posting on LLG's FB Page (@ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=536289936420384&set=a.355589574490422.73015.247917655257615&type=1&theater), I have info on this particular feeder, and a picture of it can be seen in the second image of this entry.
What ALL of these feeders have in common is that they are designed to accommodate, and to please, the northern cardinal, and, since I've had a cardinal couple (Cam and Mac) visit my garden (seen in the third image with this posting), I am always on a mission to meet their needs.
However, all of these feeders have ANOTHER thing in common: neither Cam or Mac will perch from them! Both of my visiting cardinals prefer to eat the seeds which fall to the surface of my garden, an occurrence that happens frequently because the small song birds (that eat from all of my feeders) toss (spit out) a number of seeds to the ground, which the cardinals enjoy eating.
But, unfortunately, three pigeons have discovered my urban oasis (two of which can be seen in the fourth image with this entry) and now there is competition for feeding this way (off the ground), which I fear has deterred the cardinals from visiting. I say this because I have not seen either Cam or Mac in seven days as of this posting!
Of course the cardinals are used to competition for food on the ground (within my garden as evidenced in images five and six because I always have an array of mourning doves gobbling fallen seeds and they even have learned to spill seeds from the feeders (as you might surmise from images seven through ten).
This brought about a problem in my garden which is this: the presence of mice (discussed within TLLG's Blogger Pages @ http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/2013/07/a-mourning-doves-feeder-escapade.html). They not only were in my garden to nosh on the fallen seeds, but also were here to build nests.
One of these "mice nests" totally destroyed my Blue Shag shrub, as the mice had built it within the container housing my once thriving shrub! Juan V had to toss the tattered shrub yesterday, but as you can surmise from image nine, where even a blue jay seems impressed by its then awesome needles, it was once a thriving shrub!
But I digress, getting back to my bird feeders: Juan V had a great idea (when he was here on August 7th) for curtailing the mourning doves from landing on my feeders! He tied a piece of copper wire directly under a given feeder's hanging mechanism which prevented birds from landing on the feeders!
Juan's "deterring device" can be seen within the first circle (top one) on image eleven, and as you can see from the middle circle, smaller birds were able to enjoy a meal without being jostled out of "their" feeder from mourning doves landing on top of it! However, as you can see from the third circle, pigeons (new arrivals to my once serene oasis) stayed on the foliage of my kiwi vines waiting for the seeds to drop, then devoured them, ruining my foliage which brought me back to square one!
So, I moved the CB feeder (as well as the other feeders) back to my make-shift pole locale, and asked for an early birthday gift of a pole system which is the system I mentioned at the onset of this entry (and at this point that seems like eons ago, because HT crashed on me causing me to lose ALL of this content, and without the encouragement of Miriam Illinois, I might have abandoned my effort all together).
In any event, a lone mourning dove immediately took to his/her observation skills as soon as Juan put up the pole system! This is evidenced by the one seen within the circle of image one as well as image twelve. He/she did not even wait a full minute (after Juan had completed moving my pole system) to check it out — even before I replenished the feeders!
Believe it or not, my saga on how to accommodate Cam and Mac (for I still hope they will return) with my feeders still continues!
My next step will be to add seed hoops below my feeders which someone is giving me for my birthday. This "device" should catch most of the seeds that fall, which hopefully will deter the pigeons!
Then there is always the hope that Cam and Mac will begin to trust the perches on my feeders, feeders designed to meet their needs!
Stay tuned, as "they" say, even though it's beginning to sound like a soap opera, but I find it a better thing to think about then the daily grind issues!
A detail of this image was featured on TLLG's FB Page with a "story" @ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=539560466093331&set=a.355589574490422.73015.247917655257615&type=1
My platform feeder has been featured in some of TLLG's posts on Cornell Ornithology Lab's FB Page.
Cam with her beau Mac! in my urban garden. As most folks know she's my banner gal @ https://www.facebook.com/TheLastLeafGardener
This image is included in a "story" on TLLG's Blogger Pages @ http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/2013/08/following-up-on-8-2-13-blogger-post.html
Image featured with narrative on TLLG's FB Page @ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=535340613181983&set=a.355589574490422.73015.247917655257615&type=1
Featured in a "story" on TLLG's Blogger @ http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/2013/02/in-my-last-entry-here-on-blogger-which.html
As stated in my narrative this CN Feeder was featured in my 1st post on HT. More INFO on the feeder is @ http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/2013/06/visiting-birds-cb-feeder-follow-up.html
Mourning doves and the CB Feeder are is one of n array of topics on TLLG's tumblr Pages @ http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com
Similar images and a "story" of mourning doves at the small orange peanut feeder FEEDING the PIGEONS @ http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/2013/07/a-mourning-doves-feeder-escapade.html
Info on bluejays that visit my garden can be found @ http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/search/label/Blue%20Jays AS WELL AS @ http://thelastleafgardener.tumblr.com/search/blue+jays
Image included in a "story" within TLLG's Blogger Pages @ http://www.thelastleafgardener.com/2013/08/following-up-on-8-2-13-blogger-post.html
A similar image to image one in this entry. AND as you can see (within the orange circle), a lone mourning dove is planing his.her strategy!
TheLastLeafGardener
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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