Bird Feeders at Deer Stands
- Thread starter GreenWing
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toivo
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Why not? Even where baiting is illegal, you could hang it high enough that the deer couldn't reach it. Use suet or something that won't fall to the ground.
Wildfan99
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My wife got me a Bluetooth bird feeder with a camera.
I can look on my phone app and see what is sitting on the feeder.
JeffG
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That sounds like a great idea!
Ooo… I’m thinking I might have a birthday idea…
buck460XVR
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....around here it would be the pesky squirrels during daylight hours. Between my bad hearing mistaking them for deer behind me and their scolding giving my presence away, just not worth it. Besides, there are plenty of bird species working the woods for food all day long where I hunt to keep me amused. From Pileated and other woodpeckers hammering away at dead trees, to the mobs of chickadees, along with the creepers and nuthatches going headfirst down the trees......a feeder would just be unnecessary.
Yep or the squirrels. I got 1" mesh around the bottom of my feeder barrels to keep the damn things from spinning that 300 lbs of corn out in a week or so. I have tried everything to keep them out of bird feeders but they are persistent and intuitive critters...
buck460XVR
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My wife got one for Christmas a coupla years ago. Works great and has an alarm you can set off to scare away the squirrels. Like a trail cam for birds. You see a lot of behavior you wouldn't see otherwise.
I put a trail cam on a bird nest last year and took pics daily with my phone for about 14 days. I got egg to fly away pics. My kid thought it was really cool to watch the baby birds grow.
Wildfan99
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Nothing a pellet rifle can't handle...
DinnerNothing a pellet rifle can't handle...
buck460XVR
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In Wisconsin, a bird feeder is only legal when(and I quote the regs),
....check your local regs.
jmorris
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Even when Texas banned feeding wildlife in State parks, they exempted bird feeders.
We bait for animals to hunt too, on our land, legally.
If I lived in a State that banned deer feeders, I would probably skip having any feed around me. Oddly enough the States that think a little corn is "cheating" are just fine with something like this...
We bait for animals to hunt too, on our land, legally.
If I lived in a State that banned deer feeders, I would probably skip having any feed around me. Oddly enough the States that think a little corn is "cheating" are just fine with something like this...
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buck460XVR
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I think....and this is only my opinion, but in CWD areas where feeding/baiting is banned, it has to do with the feed/bait being placed in a very small area(as in bait "pile") and so the deer congregate in a very small area and thus are more susceptible to being exposed. Also, I think it would also be hard to distinguish between "Agricultural" practices and what constitutes "baiting". For instance, I eat the greens and bulbs from my brassica plots as well as harvest seeds from other plots to fill my bird feeders. My clover plots reduce erosion and prevent the invasion of noxious weeds. Food plots tends to not just draw deer to withing shooting range, but feed deer year round, thus while giving a hunter opportunities, they also improve overall herd health. Last but not least, I think much of it comes down to the quality of the hunt. Since hunting deer in the lower 48 is basically a recreational sport and not for subsistence, the idea of sitting over a feeder or bait pile, does not always reflect the image of what constitutes a quality sport hunt. Kinda the same reason most states do not allow recreational hunters to shoot deer after dark and with the aid of lights, even when populations are well above target densities. Again, JMTCs.
.308 Norma
Member
Yeppers. "Baiting" deer is illegal here in Idaho, but during deer season, my wife and I can often be found sitting in the brush beside our rancher friend's hayfield at dusk. And it's perfectly legal for us to do so.
BTW, my wife loves hummingbirds, and she has several hummingbird feeders that she keeps full - spring thru early fall. The darned feral cats around here lay on the ground, under those feeders, and they're just waiting (and hoping) for a hummingbird to swoop down low enough for them to jump up and grab. I tell my wife, "You're not feeding hummingbirds, you're baiting cats."
The truth is though, I've never seen one of those cats catch a hummingbird yet. I just like giving my wife a bad time about it.
22250Rem
Member
Never had a bird feeder near my stand but our bird feeders out back sure do attract the deer on a regular basis.
.. They started out just picking the spilled seed off the ground, then discovered that if they get the feeder swinging then more seed will fall out where they can get it. they learn quick when any food they like is involved..
.. I've shot deer over corn in a state where it's legal, (not here), but never over bird seed. Where baiting is legal I would recommend corn over bird seed. Deer like them both but corn is a lot cheaper, LOL. Back in 2007 we even had a young black bear raiding bird feeders around here until the conservation guys live trapped him and re-located him. Bird seed attracts a lot more than just birds and squirrels.
.. They started out just picking the spilled seed off the ground, then discovered that if they get the feeder swinging then more seed will fall out where they can get it. they learn quick when any food they like is involved..
.. I've shot deer over corn in a state where it's legal, (not here), but never over bird seed. Where baiting is legal I would recommend corn over bird seed. Deer like them both but corn is a lot cheaper, LOL. Back in 2007 we even had a young black bear raiding bird feeders around here until the conservation guys live trapped him and re-located him. Bird seed attracts a lot more than just birds and squirrels.
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Highland Lofts
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I like bird feeders where I sit hunting,
It breaks up the boring day with nothing going on.
It breaks up the boring day with nothing going on.
EIB0879
Member
Birds will perch themselves on the railing of my stand occasionally. I
Need to raise the feeders out of reach for the deer.
Unfortunately the difference between farming and baiting is debatable, for example...........
A local farmer raised a lot of grain and had several silos on his property. During dove season (which usually falls in close proximity to grain season) he also offered day hunting on his property (due to scarcity of public land available it is a common asset that farmers/ranchers use to help "pay the taxes"). He made it a practice to extend an invitation to state and federal game wardens to hunt on his property as a professional courtesy. It is commonly understood that it is illegal to plant food plots (specifically for attracting game) but acceptable to hunt over cut grain fields. Everything worked fine for years, until it didn't........
Trash and moisture causes a conglomeration to form at bottom on any long term grain storage bin and must be removed when the silo is empty. One year, as I understand it, the farmer cleaned out his grain silos and dumped the waste in the edge of one of his harvested fields. Since Whitewing dove are a migratory species they come under federal law and the farmer was supposedly charged by federal game warden for baiting whitewing.
I never heard the outcome of these charges.
Bazoo
Member
I've never considered putting a bird feeder out while deer hunting, but it sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I don't know if there are any state regulations for my state, I will have to check.
I enjoy watching squirrels though, and that's just about as entertaining. I often hunt an area that has plenty of walnuts, which of course has plenty of squirrels.
I enjoy watching squirrels though, and that's just about as entertaining. I often hunt an area that has plenty of walnuts, which of course has plenty of squirrels.
Arkansas Paul
Member
Never put up a bird feeder, but I do enjoy watching dozens of different critters eating out of my corn pile. It does help pass the time.
I have been meaning to take a camera to the stand and take some photos.
I have been meaning to take a camera to the stand and take some photos.
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