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Index of Subjects --001636832410a9ea23047a8967ce Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Hello Marg, Gayle and others, I have made many successful feeding cages for warblers and orioles out of the plastic coated mesh that fishermen use for lobster cages, fish boxes etc. You can usually find some of it washed ashore on beaches. The mesh grid is about an inch and a quarter wide, which will exclude about 95% of all starlings, though the slimmer hungrier ones will find a way in eventually. The cages will work best if you have a solid lid of wood to keep the snow out, and I usually have one solid wooden side as well to give shelter inside from the prevailing winds. Some of the mesh has wire inside a plastic coating which makes it easy to work with, but even the stuff which is all plastic is usually strong enough to make a cage without having to reinforce the walls with anything. You can either staple the mesh to the edge of the wooden roof with a strong staple gun, or drill a few holes in the wood and run wire or strong string through to tie it to the mesh walls. I usually have a solid wooden floor to the cage too. It usually doesn't take the birds too long to discover the goodies inside the cage, and once they are comfortable going inside it, you can place spruce boughs, old Christmas trees etc around more of the sides of the cage to give added shelter and protection. Attach the lights to the walls and/or the roof of the cage if you want to give them added warmth. Hope that helps, Pat McKay 2009/12/12 Marg Millard <mmillard@eastlink.ca> > Hi Gayle, I am still looking for that Info. My warbler didn't make it. > We did over winter an oriole successfully in a juice bottle sunflower seed > feeder I made for the chickadees a couple winters ago. It was hung in the > grapevine, bounced a lot and swayed all the time as wind demanded. A > squirrel chewed a hole big enough to get itself inside so I made a fresh one > for the little birds (and squirrel) and the oriole got in the holey one. > I just kept pushing grapes and apple/orange segments in there as well as > the broken bits of sunflowers. I lined it with some fine grass. Someone said > use grape jelly so I put some on the apple segments. Periodically it would > work its way out and flop about and stumble around then make its way back up > and in again. We thought we should try to heat it somehow but knew a reg > lightbulb would burn it. The christmas lights could work and I have power I > can use for that should we need that idea. It stayed quite late into the > warn weather and wasn't at all nervous of us by the end. It just wasn't > there one day. > Don't know how much we had to do with it living through the cold weather > but it chose to get in out of the wind and I suppose the bottle would be > like a mini greenhouse when the sun was bright. It is so nice to have the > group to go to for ideas, for sure! > Marg > http://MargMillard.ca > --001636832410a9ea23047a8967ce Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hello Marg, Gayle and others,<br><br>I have made many successful feeding ca= ges for warblers and orioles out of the plastic coated mesh that fishermen = use for lobster cages, fish boxes etc. You can usually find some of it wash= ed ashore on beaches. The mesh grid is about an inch and a quarter wide, wh= ich will exclude about 95% of all starlings, though the slimmer hungrier on= es will find a way in eventually. The cages will work best if you have a so= lid lid of wood to keep the snow out, and I usually have one solid wooden s= ide as well to give shelter inside from the prevailing winds. Some of the m= esh has wire inside a plastic coating which makes it easy to work with, but= even the stuff which is all plastic is usually strong enough to make a cag= e without having to reinforce the walls with anything. You can either stapl= e the mesh to the edge of the wooden roof with a strong staple gun, or dril= l a few holes in the wood and run wire or strong string through to tie it t= o the mesh walls. I usually have a solid wooden floor to the cage too.<br> It usually doesn't take the birds too long to discover the goodies insi= de the cage, and once they are comfortable going inside it, you can place s= pruce boughs, old Christmas trees etc around more of the sides of the cage = to give added shelter and protection. Attach the lights to the walls and/or= the roof of the cage if you want to give them added warmth.<br> <br>Hope that helps,<br>Pat McKay<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">2009/12= /12 Marg Millard <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:mmillard@eastlink.= ca">mmillard@eastlink.ca</a>></span><br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote= " style=3D"border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0= .8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <div bgcolor=3D"#ffffff"> <div><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"2">Hi Gayle, I am still looking for that = Info. My=20 warbler didn't make it. </font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"2">We=C2=A0did over winter an oriole succ= essfully in a=20 juice bottle sunflower seed feeder I made for the chickadees a couple winte= rs=20 ago. It was hung in the grapevine, bounced a lot and swayed all the time as= wind=20 demanded.=C2=A0=C2=A0A squirrel chewed a hole big enough to get itself insi= de so=20 I made a fresh one for the little birds (and squirrel) and the oriole=C2=A0= got=20 in the holey one.=C2=A0 </font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"2">I just kept pushing grapes and apple/o= range=20 segments in there as well as the broken bits of sunflowers. I lined it with= some=20 fine grass. Someone said use grape jelly so I put some on the apple segment= s.=20 Periodically it would work its way out and flop about and stumble around th= en=20 make its way back up and in again. We thought we should try to heat it some= how=20 but knew a reg lightbulb would burn it. The christmas lights could work and= I=20 have power I can use for that should we need that idea.=C2=A0=C2=A0It staye= d=20 quite late into the warn weather and wasn't at all nervous of us by the= end. It=20 just wasn't there one day. </font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D"2">Don't know how much we had to do w= ith it living=20 through the cold weather but it chose to get in out of the wind and I suppo= se=20 the bottle would be like a mini greenhouse when the sun was bright. It is s= o=20 nice to have the group to go to for ideas, for sure!</font></div> <div><font face=3D"Arial" size=3D