Thanks for the kind words!

Yes, thank you and we miss you in the chat to find out what is going on in Southern MN.

Thanks for all you do for the channel @ODL_ce and hope you are doing well!

Thanks so much for the kind words @darksideoftheloon5726!

Glad you enjoyed it and great having you back in the chat so we can find out what is happening on the other side of the pond. Thanks again!

Thanks so much

@@KenLittle Been watching your lovley garden for years from across the pond, Take Care Ken and keep up the great work! 🌏🌞🌻🐿️🦋🐦🌷☀️🎐🦜🎋🐦

Glad you enjoyed it

Such an interesting observation @jim9930! I hadn't thought about that. Of course the woodpeckers try to find trees that are older with soft wood, maybe dying or rotten as it makes their job of excavating easier. But I can see how their holes have compromised tree structure and that could be the weakened point where the trees snap off. Thanks for the comment!

Thank you!

That is so awesome! Another class can learn to enjoy nature from a great teacher! I'll pass it along to the channel moderators. Thanks for all you do for the kids!

I’m not sure of the intent of your question, but the tree is doing fine. I don’t think that 5 or 6 screws about an inch into a relatively large tree will have any affect on its livelihood.

Thank you!

Lol! The final resolved stream (with birds) is located at: kzbin.infovdmmp9o7dP0

@@KenLittle oh dear LOL I thought it was a clip of something like I get so often. On my way to the actual stream 😁

Thank you!

Glad it was helpful!

Yes, squirrels are a hoot and agile and intelligent. I have immense respect for their intellect, which is why I also included a link to Mark Rober's videos at the end of my blog post about them (www.kenlittleblog.com/blog/amazing-squirrels). One or maybe two squirrels are not necessarily a bad thing, as long as they are not chasing off birds and preventing birds from feeding, when your main mission is to feed birds. Since your priority may be 50/50% bird/squirrel then there is no problem spending the extra money to feed the squirrels. Some folks (as I have) buy the squirrel perch and put an ear of dried corn on it for the squirrels to enjoy and locate it away from their feeders so the folks can feed and enjoy the squirrels without the squirrels bothering the birds as much. Thanks for your comment!

I’m not sure what you mean. Please explain further.

@@KenLittle On the birdhouse in the video, you have a round hole and you have a horizontal slot above the round hole. Close the round hole. Open the horizontal slot above the round hole to 1 1/4 inches. The slot at the top of your bluebird house provides the same protection as the Noel Guard with less work and less material. The slot keeps out other bird species like starlings and makes it difficult for predators to reach in to grab an egg or bird. With the slot so close to the roof, predators and competitive bird species find it difficult to chip away at the slot to make it easier to gain entry. Our native bird species have a slightly different body structure than the invasive species introduced from Europe. This difference in anatomy allows our native birds to squeeze into narrower slots than the invasive species. A similar technique is used to protect purple martin homes from starlings. With the slot at the top, you can hinge the door at the bottom . To clean the birdhouse, grab the slot and pull open. Add a pin or screw at the top to prevent predators from doing the same. This also makes it much easier to deal with bird houses infested with wasps and other undesirables. Bluebirds prefer their home out in the open away from trees and bushes. Bluebirds are well known to nest in cavities in fence posts, poles, and in old tractors/vehicles 4-10 feet off the ground away from vegetation. This gives them additional protection from predators as well as provides them a commanding view of fields, meadows, and open yards where bluebirds like to hunt for food. You can simulate this by mounting your bluebird house in the middle of an open area. If you have a small area, you can try putting the back of the house a few feet from vegetation facing an open area. To ake a portable, weather resistant mount that provides more resistance to predators. I and many others use 5-10 foot electrical conduit 1/2-3/4 inside diameter on matching diameter rebar or rebar spike/pin 3-5 feet in length. Drive the rebar or spike/pin 2-3 feet into the ground. Slide the conduit over the rebar or spike/pin sticking 1-2 feet out of the ground. I use EMT with the matching EMT coupler to securely connect the EMT to the rebar. You can also use the schedule 80 PVC conduit. If you use EMT with rebar, you can often drive the rebar into the ground and remove it by hand while attached to the conduit. Mount the birdhouse to the top of the conduit. I use a single pipe strap of the appropriate size with 3 screws. Two screws secure the pipe strap lower down on the back of the birdhouse. The 3rd screw is driven 90% into the back of the birdhouse a few inches higher that the pipe strap with the head of the screw in line with the center of the hole in the pipe strap. The conduit runs up through the strap and stops at the screw with the thickness of the conduit wall wedged between the screw head and the birdhouse wall. For added security, I cut a slot into the conduit for the screw head and shaft to fit into snugly. I also mount bluebird houses to the metal poles including the posts that hold up chain-link “hurricane” fences - preferably without the fence attached to the pole which allows predators easier access. If you don’t have conduit or poles, use a treated 2x4, 2x6, 4x4, or 4x6. You can decide if you want to add a predator guard to a wooden vertical mount to keep the parents from being grabbed by a predator.

@@davidscbirdsall - THANKS SO MUCH for taking the time and for all the detail, from which we can all learn!

@@KenLittle you’re welcome. Those are ideas I was taught in 4-H. You can see all those ideas I mentioned in KZbin videos.

It is heartbreaking! I know it is bad practice to hang bluebird nesting boxes on trees, but I don't have a lot of room in my small yard and the cost for 3 poles, 3 baffles for my 3 nesting boxes is prohibitively expensive, so I used trees, but like you learned my lesson the hard way, so I did my best to ensure it would not happen again. I'm glad my video was helpful. However, I do acknowledge that putting them on a pole that is baffled and away for all trees that squirrels and raccoons could use to access the nesting boxes is the best solution if you have the room in your yard and the money to afford it.

I agree that poles are better. I probably should have spent a lot of money buying four poles and a baffle for each pole, as I have a lot of squirrels and raccoons that would try to get in them. Also, my back yard is tiny and finding suitable space doesn't leave me the option to place 4 poles. Trees are already there and so I used them but tried my best to provide the best protection.

Thanks for the question. For front door cleaning opening, the guard needs to be removed and reinstalled. For side door opening the guard can stay in place. This will be the case for any store bought guard as well.

Well hello to you as well. 😄 www.kenlittleblog.com/blog/live-cam-setup

@@KenLittle Thank you! I had no idea there was that much equipment involved. Just curious, if my feeders are really close to the house about 20ft., can a high quality camera use WiFi and be clear like yours? Do you know how close it has to be to get a clear picture?

Thanks for the question. You might want to take your phone out to test the signal of your WiFi. The potential issue is the bandwidth that your WiFi can handle and if you are running just one cam or two. I was running two cams on 1GBPS service that only had up to 35MBPS upload capacity. This ran the cams at 2K resolution. To get two cams to 4K when Fiber came to my neighborhood, I ordered 2.0GBPS service, which with fiber is up and download speed. Remember that it is the upload speed that you have to have to transmit over. Charter offered 1GBPS, but it was download speed with only 35MBPS.

Thanks Vicky for the kind words! To God be the glory and for Christ's grace and mercy that we as Christians have!

Great tip! Hopefully, folks will see this and give it a try! Thanks again!

Thanks for the kind words and yes, getting in God’s Word and having a relationship with Jesus is where life is found!

Thanks for the observations @Richard Beee. It’s funny how the more that we read and understand God’s Word, how much in terms or wisdom, knowledge and observations that he discloses to us that we may not see otherwise. It’s like Jesus removes the scales from our eyes and our world perspective becomes more clear and better. We miss seeing you in the chat and hope your computer problems get solved.

Ken, I am SO thankful the Lord led me to your channel! Thank you for this, very insightful & encouraging in the dark days in which we live. May God bless & keep you. Looking forward to more content like this! I would love to live in AL and attend your church. Praying the Lord will use and grow your channel sir!

Thanks Tammy for the kind words and blessing. I do have one or two more Faith Feeder Talks, that I have done in the past, but they need to be edited, produced and uploaded. As iron sharpens iron, we are here to help each other grow in our faith and to help and encourage each other, as we are the hands and feet of Christ. I just pray that God uses me to reach as many people as possible. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. God bless you Tammy and thanks again.