Well, the females finally decided they loved it like a fat kid loves oreos.
The new location, hanging from my crepe myrtle, did the trick. Only problem is, it's far away from my house, so I haven't been able to get a good picture of them swarming the sock.
This is the picture I took after work today:
What's my biggest beef with this photo?
a) The sock is empty and waving around in the wind.
b) There are no goldfinches.
c) There are giant HOLES chewed in the sock, so that it is empty and waving in the wind, and thusly creating a goldfinchless environment.
I'll give you a chance to think about it...
C?? Ding ding ding!!
I was so mad lol. I woke up a couple of days ago, and looked out the bathroom window at all the feeders. I instantly realized the sock was gone. Mr. A went out to investigate and found it out in the field, half empty because of all the holes.
I don't know what could have taken it off that branch without a breaking it and several others. As you can see in the photo, the tree isn't very old, so the branch could have broken easily with some tugging.I had that feeder string on there good. And it had some weight to it. Maybe a deer?
I'm glad that the finch socks are relatively inexpensive, because this will probably happen again. I'll get another one on Wednesday.
On a completely non-gardening, non-birding note...
That was celebration photo from yesterday afternon's Olympic activities. Nothing goes together like Molson Canadian and a Canadian hockey gold medal on home turf. Except maybe peas and carrots :P
I'm so proud of my country right now. My husband and I were watching the game together, and I thought one of us was going to have to sleep on the couch depending on the outcome LOL. I'm happy with all of our medals, but this was the most important to me. I even switched work shifts so that I could watch the game. SO proud.
I bleed Canadian colours. Thank goodness blood is red, or I'd have to see a doctor O_O
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16 comments:
I'm sorry about your missing sock....but maybe if you put up a new one and the females come - the males can't be far behind ;^)
I'm sorry your finch sock was chewed and then removed. Maybe a deer, but squirrels are crafty little critters!! BTW, I love Molson too! :) Nice win by the Canadian team! Congrats!
Hmmm...a sock, with holes...sounds like someone has been rummaging through my laundry hamper LOL. My vote would be squirrels!
If it becomes a continual issue with the sock, you may want to try upgrading to a more heavy duty thistle feeder, like the Droll Yankee or Duncraft feeders. At least it won't blow away. Our goldfinches loved them, and I did too, as they were easy to refill.
Congrats on the Hockey win!!!
I'd invest in a metal thistle feeder since whatever is eating your sock will likely come back.
Congratulations on the Hockey Game, your boys earned it.
Cindee
I'd never heard of a finch sock before - it could be a squirrel as they are the biggest thieves around my area too.
I can understand you wanted those goldfinches into the garden they are beautiful - I was reading a birdwatching book at the weekend and was wondering if there were any in my area as I get chaffinches and Greenfinches in the garden.
Hope you have alot more success with your next sock. Someone must have been really hungry to go to all that effort to get it off your tree.
BTW I really enjoyed watching the Olympics from Vancouver. Canada did a great job of hosting them despite the lack of winter weather at the begining.
Noelle: I'm optimistic :D I got a couple on my regular feeder last year, so I'm sure they'll eventually visit the sock feeder :) One will show up when I least expect it!
Kimberly: *high five* I was so happy that my grocery store started selling 'imported' Molson. It just tastes like home lol. I'm thinking a squirrel now...it would have had to have some serious opposable thumb action though, to get it off of there...
CVF: I was thinking about trying a metal feeder. Mr. A used to have one, and he said they didn't take to it. And I had a plastic one that was even worse, if you can imagine, because it was very hard to clean. I really like the sock...As long as this isn't a weekly occurence, I may just stick with it. The socks are so inexpensive...I maye have to come up with a different idea, squirrel-proof like our other feeders are. Thanks for the congrats!
Moonstone: I guess you can see the comment I made to CVF above. :) I still might try one though! I love blowing my money on birds (I'm such a geek). Thank you as well for the congrats!
Rosie: I hadn't heard of them either before a couple of months ago. I was on some random internet person's blog, and they were taking about them. I hadn't seen them in Lowe's or any of the places I could find birdseed here...I finally found two different finch socks at K-mart. I went with the Scott's. At first the finches didn't come (I had it in the wrong location I think), but once I moved it they treated it like a buffet :D
Yeah, I was very surprised that Vancouver got the Olympics in the first place. Not because of the city, it's very cool. The weather is just so warm...tulips and daffodils come up there sometimes earlier than mine do, and I live in teh Southern US now. lol
Kyna ~ I love the little finches. I have never seen socks...I'll have to check it out. I usually get doves eating from the ground because they don't fit on the feeder. One day I'll get a photo of those birds....I'll keep trying. What is the flower on your header? pretty!
The flower is a mountain columbine :D My husband and I went on a trip through the Smoky Mountains, on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC. We went for a hike up a mountain, and we found that lone columbine blooming in early June. That's my husband's hand in the picture, holding the flower up :)
Sorry about the finch sock but congrats on the hockey! Cheers!
A BIG Congrats on being the featured blog on Blotanical!!!!
My theory is that something furry was jealous of the birds getting all that camera time.
Kyna, here's my thoughts on this. I figure that when you're sleeping, Mr A is probably pilfering your supply of Molson. A man and beer have a chemical attraction to each other. We need each other to survive.
Then, with a few beers on board, he's obviously getting a bit peckish. Now, whilst a woman would go the the fridge and make a ham sandwich, Men have a different molecular structure that makes our brains work in a slightly different way.
A few beers and he's thinking where he can get some scram. Hold on, if he remembers rightly, there's a sock filled with good stuff just outside, where he can also urinate if he wishes (drunk men prefer to pee outdoors; I know I do).
Then, in a fit of guilt, he tries to cover up his act by chucking the sock away.
It's so obvious, it hurts!
I had a nice blue columbine last year and I suspect it will be nicer this year if it ever warms up.
Go to WalMart or someplace like that and get yourself a tall plant hook to hang the feed sock on. I hand suet cakes on one of them here . The metal is so small that squirrels can climb it but they usually slid back down like a fireman on a firepole.
We have a seed sock hanging on a dead limb in the Japanese Maple that went to meet its maker. The birds love it there and the goldfinch are the only ones eating at it now. And they are in their winter plumage I guess as they are not as bright as they are in the spring and summer. I think that is where those pictures came from that were underexposed and I had to bring them back in Photoshop.
Sunny: Thanks for the congrats on both things! lol. I'm glad you told me about the featured blog thing, I would have never known :D
Chicken: I'm betting you're right. Damn prima donnas ;)
IG: Haha! I live with the man, and I would have never guessed! Isn't it against the bro code to disclose such privelaged information to a woman? :P
Abe: I'll have to try that. Our regular feeder works like that. As you can see in most of my photos, he rigged it up with metal flashing, and they slide right back down when they try to get up it. I think they've given up on it now...:)
I've been lucky - no missing socks, no holey socks and plenty of goldfinches. (Had to giggle when you called me the Goldfinch Whisperer)
Well, that's cause you are! You should have your own show. Although, if it was with birds instead of dogs, the public might think you were a bit kooky. I'd watch! :D lol
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