Backyard Birding Tips for this Summer

The bird species in your area and their food requirements change seasonally. Many species will be migrating northward each spring. At this time, migrant and resident birds feed on caterpillars and other insects present on new plant growth. During the late spring and summer months, breeding birds continue to feed on insects but also eat fruits as they become available. Following are some more points to keep in mind to create bird activity in your backyard this summer.

Not all birds want a birdhouse:
By now your decorative birdhouses have attracted wrens and other songbirds to your backyard. These shelters are great but don't assume all birds are looking for a bird house. They're not. Many are in search of nesting sites in shrubs and trees. By planting a wide variety of native flowers, trees, shrubs, and grasses, you will provide food, cover, and nesting options that will make it more likely that birds will choose your backyard.You can leave a snag (a dead tree for nesting), or a brush pile somewhere out of the way along with some nesting boxes so they will want to stick around

Birds are well equipped insect-eating soldiers:
Songbirds are truly incredible machines for eating insects. Martins prefer insects that fly in the air, woodpeckers peck under tree bark, Pine Siskins love aphids while house wrens forage on the ground. A wren eats about 10,000 mosquitoes a day and are one of the most voracious bug hunters out there. So if you can attract different species of birds, then you are likely to have birds ‘working’ all those different areas of your property.

Birds still can be attracted by fruit, suet and meal worms:
Most birds will find plenty of natural food in summer months. But that doesn't mean you should stop feeding when the weather turns warm because you'll miss quite a show if you do.

Fruit feeders are primarily our spring and summer residents. These are the birds who return to us each year after wintering in warmer climates. Orioles, robins, mockingbirds, catbirds, tanagers, cedar waxwings and bluebirds all love fruit. Most fruit-eaters are insect-eaters, not seed eaters, though there are exceptions, including the cardinal, which enjoys both seed and fruit.

• Locate your fruit feeder away from your seed feeders to give fruit eaters their own haven for feeding. Some fruit eaters tend to be shy, so placement of a fruit feeder away from seed feeders will appeal to them.
  
  
• For fruit such as oranges and apples make a girdling peel around the fruit. This will expose the fruit’s tempting juices and aroma to the birds. As a rule, birds eat only fruit that is exposed or bruised.. Fresh orange halves skewered meat side up on a branch also works. Just make sure your oranges are visible to birds that are flying overhead. Apple halves, pomegranates, even grapes work in summertime, too, and so does grape jelly. What's more, by mid- to late summer, orioles will be looking for food to fuel their flight south.
  
  
• Remember, to keep your fruit and jelly fresher longer, replace food often and place your feeder in the shade. A final thought: Fruit feeding can be tricky. You may have to throw away several oranges and dishes of grape jelly before your birds catch on.
  
  
• If you find that at a particular time fresh fruits are not being eaten, try dried figs or dried apples. Robins, catbirds, and other fruit eaters are also crazy about dried fruit. Dried cranberries, raisins, cherries, and blueberries hold up well in the heat and don't require as much cleanup as jelly. Place an open dish on or near the ground where robins eat, and watch for spotty-chested juveniles. Mix in a little birdseed to jump-start the activity.
  

Mealworms will attract wrens, warblers, and other birds (including bluebirds if you live in open countryside). Place the worms in the open, near your birdbath. Since you don't want your food to crawl away, be sure to offer them in a bowl or feeder with slippery sides or buy a mealworm feeder

If it's too hot and sunny for fatty suet, there's another option: suet dough, a no-melt mix of rendered suet and grain. It comes in a variety of flavors, and regular winter suet eaters love it. We sometimes entice robins, bluebirds, and mockingbirds with suet dough containing berries.

Double the variety of birds you attract by adding water to your yard, and double it again by making the water move:

• A little pond with a pump that trickles water over rocks sounds just like a stream. It draws in all sorts of bird who bathe and drink here.
  
  
• Another alternative is a gadget called the Water Wiggler. It gently agitates small amounts of water in a bird bath. Not only does the agitated water prevent mosquito larvae from hatching, but it creates ripples in the water--which attracts more birds. The Wiggler runs for over three months on only 2 D batteries.
  
  
• Drippers and misters can also accomplish the same goal
  
  
• Still another idea is outdoor garden water fountain.
  

Western Tanagers, Lazuli and Indigo Buntings, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, orioles, and all sorts of warblers will be lured into view by the sound and sight of moving water - even in city backyards

Now is the time to attract goldfinches:
Whether you see the beautiful American Goldfinch in the East or the lovely, smaller Lesser Goldfinch in the West, now is the time to attract them.

Finches love imported nyjer seed (commonly called thistle), but it can spoil quickly in mid-summer heat and humidity. Keep unused nyjer in a cool, dry location, and discard and replace seed in your feeder if it goes uneaten for a month or more.

We like to feed nyjer in a stainless-steel mesh thistle feeder, which also is a great squirrel proof bird feeder.. a thistle sock works well too, and both will discourage the sometimes-dominant House Finch.

Enjoy your birds this summer..Though we do not have to look out for them like we do in the winter. It is nice to get away from bird seed for a while !!!

I obtained most of the information for this post from: Bird feeding at its Best and Attracting Birds- May & June and July & August.

Don't forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Summer is here and it is time to truly enjoy your outdoor space! Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned wind chimes, Poly Recycled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:
Preventing bird disease at your birdfeeders
How to help baby birds that fall out of their nests
Most Common Birds to Feed or Nest in your Backyard

I have been away again!!!!!!!!!

I am sorry for my continued absence.
I have had unusual demands on my work schedule the last six months.
Will be making several posts this coming weekend..

Please have patience with me.. I miss my blogging time

Leslee

March Gardening Tips for Your Region

It is time to get out into the garden. How great it is to be talking about the outdoors. I will be getting my outdoor wooden furniture ready to be put out on my deck. Starting to think about cleaning my decorative birdhouses. But thoughts of cleaning are being replaced with the desire to get in my garden.

So upon surfing about on the web I found great information on Better Homes and Garden's Website. I am summarizing below the tips for the Northeast Region. The other regions I have put link for you to go to.

1)Planting Vegetables

• Plant cool season vegetables such as radishes, peas, cauliflower, lettuce and broccoli as soon as you can work the ground this month
• Plant seeds of warm-loving varieties such as such as tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers indoors under fluorescent lights.

2)Clean up Your Garden

• Perennials or grasses that you did not cut back last fall or winter, cut back the dead stems before or as the plants put out new growth- cut back to 3 or inches so you know where to expect new growth

3)Prune

• Fruit trees (including apples, pears, and cherries) and fruits such as raspberries and grapes.
• Summer-blooming shrubs such as butterfly bush and rose of Sharon. DO NOT PRUNE SPRING BLOOMING BUSHES.
• Roses. Typically, you'll want to cut back to about 6 inches tall. Tips for pruning roses
• If your trees need pruning, now's the month to do it, all except oaks.

4)Tool Care

• Make sure your tools are in good working order before you need them. Using a metal file, sharpen the edges of your shovel.

5)Divide Your Perennials

• Divide later this month as they start to emerge from the soil. Most perennials do best when divided every two to three years or so. (more info on dividing perennials)
• Do not divide peonies until fall.

6)Early Spring Lawn Care

• If annual weeds such as crabgrass are a problem, apply a pre-emergence herbicide. Watch for your forsythia to bloom -- a good indicator of when it's best to treat your lawn for crabgrass.
• Even though your grass may be starting to green up, it's probably too early to fertilize. Wait a month or so until your grass is actively growing before feeding it.

Below is the links to the March Gardening tips for the other regions of the country

south
northwest
midwest
mountain west
southwest

Don't forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned wind chimes, Poly Recycled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:
It is Time to Plant your Seeds Indoors
16 Bugs gardeners should love
Care for your Poinsetta and it will Bloom Next Year

Preventing Bird Disease at your Birdfeeders

Feeding birds throughout the winter is a humanitarian act. However, poorly maintained wild bird feeders may cause the birds you are trying to help, some real problems. Recently, there have been increasing reports of songbird diseases that have been spread through bird feeding.

Therefore if we attract birds to our yards, we have an obligation to do our best to offer them an environment that reflects the prevention of the potential of disease.

MOST COMMON DISEASES SPREAD AT BIRD FEEDERS
Salmonellosis is the most commonly spread disease at feeders. This bacterial disease can kill birds quickly. Symptoms include abscesses in the lining of the upper digestive tract of the birds. Infected birds spread the bacteria in their droppings. Other birds get sick when infected droppings land on food.

Other diseases that affect birds typically using feeders also include:

• Trichomoniasis - caused by a one-celled protozoan parasite. Mourning doves are particularly susceptible. Trichomoniasis causes sores in birds’ mouths and throats, making it difficult for birds to swallow or drink. The disease spreads when sick birds drop contaminated food or water at a feeder or watering area.
• Aspergillosis - a mold that grows on damp feed and in the debris beneath feeders. Birds inhale the mold spores and infection spreads in the lungs, causing bronchitis and pneumonia.
• Avian Pox - a virus that causes wart like growths on featherless surfaces of a bird’s face, feet, legs or wings. Virus spreads by direct contact, by insects or by viruses shed on food by infected birds.
• Avian influenza (H5N1) virus - much in the news, this disease has infected poultry throughout Asia, Russia, and Europe, but has not yet been identified in any birds in North America, or the Western Hemisphere, explained Jim Hermes, OSU Extension poultry specialist.

All of these diseases can lead to death either directly or indirectly, by making the bird more vulnerable to predators

MAINTAIN YOUR WILD BIRD FEEDERS
Poorly maintained feeders may contribute to the spread of infectious diseases among birds

• Place only enough birdseed into the feeder that birds can consume in two or three days. This will help prevent the accumulation of wet and molding seeds
  
• Don’t throw feed on the ground. It’s healthier for songbirds to feed at a feeder, not directly from the ground. In a feeder, the food can be kept dry, and protected from contamination
  
• Give the birds enough space. Lots of birds using a single feeder look wonderful, but crowding is a key factor in spreading disease. Do you have only one feeder? Get another if your feeder is crowded. Place feeders several feet apart.
  
• Clean your feeder and the droppings on the perching area each time you fill your feeder.
  Clean all hulls off platform feeders and out of seed trays daily.
  
• Give your seed feeders (especially thistle and tube feeders) a shake before you refill them, to dislodge any compacted seed. (Scrape when necessary). Dump out any wet clumps of old seed.
  
• Purchase feeders that are made of materials that are easier to clean, such as metal and plastic
  
• Disinfect the feeder once or twice a month with one cleaning solution (1/4 cup of bleach to 2 gallons of warm water). Completely immerse feeders for at least three minutes and then allowing them to dry
  
  When cleaning your feeders wear gloves and wash your hands afterwards. Avian salmonellosis, one of the diseases common among birds using feeders, is a strain of bacteria that can potentially affect humans and pets.
  
  clean the feeder outdoors in a bucket, rather than in the kitchen sink.

CLEAN UP WASTE
If left to decompose, hulls can harbor bacteria that can spread disease to your backyard birds

• Keep the feeder area clean of waste food and droppings. A broom and shovel work well, but a vacuum such as what you might use in your garage or workshop will help even more.
  
• Discard the seed waste with the household trash
  
• Move your feeding station when the ground beneath it becomes covered with seed hulls and droppings. Rake the old site to remove hulls and to give the grass a chance to recover.
  
• One way to minimize the cleaning needed is to use no-waste seeds or seed mixes that contain hulled seeds and to offer only the preferred seeds for the bird species in your area.

FEED BIRDS ONLY HIGH QUALITY FOOD
Moldy seed or bread or spoiled leftovers doesn’t do them any more good than it would do you.

• Keep food and food-storage containers dry and free of mold and fungus.
  Discard food that smells musty, is wet, looks moldy or has fungus growing on it.
  
• Disinfect any storage container that holds spoiled food as well as the scoop used to fill feeders.
  
• If pet or bird food recalls have been issued in your area, compare the recalled items to your supply and discard any affected products.
  
• Prevent contamination by storing food appropriately..Keep rodents out of food. Mice can carry and spread some bird diseases without being affected themselves.

CHECK YOUR FEEDER FOR SHARP EDGES WHERE BIRDS MIGHT CUT THEMSELVES
Small scratches or cuts allow bacteria and viruses to infect a bird more easily


Act early - Don’t wait to act until you see sick or dead birds. With good prevention, you’ll seldom find sick or dead birds at your feeders

Encourage your neighbors who feed birds to follow the same precautions. Birds normally move among feeders and can spread diseases as they go. The safest bird feeders will be those in communities where neighbors cooperate with equal concern for the health of the birds.


I acquired much of my information from Bird Feeder Maintenance ,Clean bird feeders to prevent disease , Keeping Feeders Clean


Don't forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned wind chimes, Poly Recycled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:

February is National Bird Feeding Month
Prevent Birds from Colliding into your Windows
Feeding Tips for your Birds this Winter Season
9 Bird Foods every Backyard Needs

Feeding Tips for your Birds this Winter Season

Winter is a crucial time for the birds that remain in our area. They spend their time facing the elements of bitter cold and snowstorms. There are no insects to eat and the natural seeds are covered with snow; the berries and crab apples are gone.

Many species of birds will double their amount of feathers during the winter as a ways to reduce their body heat loss. Birds can regulate body temperature allowing them to survive in a remarkable range of habitats. Also unique circulatory system of arteries and veins reduce the heat loss. In many birds, arteries and veins in their legs lie in contact with each other in order to exchange heat and maintain temperature

Birds produce heat during the winter nights and cold storms by shivering (thermo genesis). During this process all winter birds will produce heat by consuming their fat reserves. Shivering allows birds to maintain their body temperature for up to 8- 10 hours depending on the species and their intake of energy from food during the day.

That’s why it is necessary for winter songbirds to find food early in the morning regardless of weather conditions. If the bird doest not find enough food to produce the necessary energy to maintain their body temperatures and make it through the night or a severe storm, the bird will die

Birds must search for food from sun up to dusk. Fortunately, for the birds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 41 million Americans spend $2 billion annually filling their wild bird feeders with bird feed and the numbers are increasing yearly.


Bird Food tips

1. FATTY FOODS are important for our winter birds. Fat is metabolized into energy much quicker and more efficiently than seeds to help them maintain their 108° body temperature necessary for survival. Suet, Peanut butter, & kitchen fat
   
   SEEDS are very important. Seeds contain high levels of carbohydrates that are turned into glucose to help with the bird's high energy demands. They also are a good source for vitamins and some protein. Sunflower Seeds, Millet, Cracked Corn, & Niger Thistle offer the most for your birds.
   
   NUT MEATS are highly nutritious and provide necessary amino acids and protein the bird's body cannot produce. They also have oil and is energy producing.
   
   
2. Offer a variety of seeds and food in a variety of appropriate feeders
   
   
3. Save some money and create your own mix: 50% oil sunflower seeds (unhulled); 35% white proso millet; and 15% finely cracked corn.
   More info on bird seed preferences
   Preferred Bird food by bird
   
   If you do not want to create your own, consider the following when shopping: Quality mixes will consist primarily of sunflower seeds or hearts, peanut bits, safflower, and millet. Lesser quality seed mixes contain “filler seed” (milo, wheat, barley, cracked corn) and often inedible items such as empty hulls and sticks. Many birds won’t eat filler seed and they’ll flick it onto the ground. Premium seed may cost a little more, but quality seed actually has more edible seed per pound than other inexpensive seed mixes and in the long run you will save money on all that wasted “filler’ seed
   
   
4. Fill your feeders every day but put out only the necessary quantity that birds will eat before sundown.
   
   
5. When wet. Limit the amount seed on platform feeders to just a handful to avoid soggy clumps
   
   
6. It is important to remember that all birdseed is perishable. Properly store seed, it should be kept in a cool, dry place that is protected from bugs and rodents. Choose a storage bin that will be easy to access all winter, and one that can be easily manipulated while wearing gloves and bulky coats.
   
   It is best to stock up on birdseed in the fall when many lawn and garden centers are discounting seed to make way for winter merchandise. Stored properly, seed can easily last for months, particularly seed mixes and sunflower seeds.
   
   
7. Be consistent. Do not stop feeding in the middle of winter because birds become accustomed to using your feeders as a food source, especially in very severe weather when your feeders may aid their survival.
   
   
8. Birds especially need to chow down at the end of the day to stock up on calories for the night, and in the early morning to refuel after a cold night.
   
   
9. The birds visiting your feeders in summer may be very different than those in winter. Provide the feeders and food best suited to your seasonal suite of birds.
   

Alternatives to Seed:

1. There are many recipes for making suet much cheaper than the blocks bought in stores. You can also save bacon drippings into a small container such as a yogurt cup and place in a closed bottom tray feeder. Often, butchers will sell you their pieces of fat trimmings for just pennies - or perhaps give them to you
   
   
2. Half eaten fruit that we normally throw away can be given to the birds. Apple cores are a favorite.
   
   
3. Left overs such as muffins, cake, donuts, pizza crust, potato skins,scraps of pastry, grated cheese, & rice can be placed in a tray feeder. Avoid white bread because they are empty calories. However peanut butter covered bread is great. Use the cheapest peanut butter you can find because the birds don't care. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, cornmeal or plain oatmeal.
   
   It's surprising how many birds enjoy cooked pasta. If you have left over pasta (without seasoning of course) place some in an open tray feeder and watch the birds devour it.
   
   Important to clean up these foods regularly.
   
   
4. Your feathered friends digest their food with a special organ called a gizzard. Birds tend to look for pebbles or other types of grit to help their digestion work properly. The stones remain in the gizzard and help grind the food. During prolonged periods of ice or snow cover, provide grit (coarse sand or ground shells) along with the seed. Do not mix the grit into the feed itself. Try placing it in a small dish near the feeding station
   
   
5. If possible, consider leaving leaves on the ground. Instead of raking them up, leave them or pile them up in an area. Many insect foraging birds will find tasty morsels hidden underneath this shelter from the cold and snow.
   
   
6. Birds may be wary of new foods. If you add something new to your bird-feeding station, offer it in a familiar place.
   
   

Feeder Tips

1. Winter wild bird feeders should be placed in sheltered locations out of the most severe winds. Strong winds are uncomfortable for birds and may scatter your bird seed . The east or south side of your house will probably offer the most protection from cold, northerly winds.
   
   If you have no sheltered areas, consider putting up a fence or hedgerow. Surrounding your feeders with trees and shrubs can help buffer your birds and offer a milder micro climate.
   
   
2. Add natural features to your feeding station, such as branches to perch on, to make birds feel more at ease.
   
   
3. Most successful feeding stations have different styles of feeders placed at varying heights
   
   
4. Place your bird feeders in places where you can readily and frequently see the birds you are feeding.
   
   Make sure you put up your feeders in a location that's convenient for you to attend to.
   
   
5. Put your feeder a few feet away from protective cover-Birds use dense tangles of shrubbery or trees as places to hide from predators. If your yard has no cover, create some by planting shrubs or small trees. If you live where the ground is already frozen, make a brush pile of old tree limbs.
   
   
6. If cats roam in or near your yard, be sure your feeders are several feet away from any potential cat hiding places.
   
   
7. Feeders will be most useful in the winter if they have a wide cover over feeding ports, perches and dispensing trays so seed is not buried during snowfalls or storms.
   
   
8. Clean off feeders, platforms and perches after each storm so seed is easily accessible.
   
   Stamp or shovel snow around feeders to provide easier access to spilled seed for ground feeding birds.
   
   
9. Do not fill the bird feeders every day. Less seed in the feeder will make the birds find the seed that they spilled on the ground. They do not go hungry, and you do not waste seed.
   
   
10. Platform feeders should be emptied and refilled daily to prevent mildew and spoilage
    
    
11. Clean your feeders regularly with hot water, and let them air dry completely. Also keep areas under and around the feeders clean. Always keep the bird feeders clean and free of bacteria
    

I got much of my information from:
Bird feeding Do's & Don'ts , Top Ten Bird Feeding tips, Winter Bird Feeding Tips, How to feed your Birds Cheap, Feeding Birds in Winter, Successful Winter Bird Feeding, & Winter Bird Feeding and Survival for Wild Birds

Don't forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned wind chimes, Poly Recycled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:

February is National Bird Feeding Month
Prevent Birds from Colliding into your Windows
Peanut Feeder for Birds
9 Bird Foods every Backyard Needs

9 Bird Foods every Backyard Needs

No matter where I go target, walmart..I see bags of bird seed for my wild bird feeders. So I decided it was time to do a little research to see if I have been buying the right Bird Seed. I am sure you get confused by all the choices like I do.

Bird Seed Preferences

1. Sunflower Seed
   
   
   
   • black oil seed is preferred
     
   • striped seed is a favorite of large beak birds
     
   • hulled seed is the favorite of greatest number of birds
     
   • considered by most #1 choice for your backyard birds
     
   • higher percentage of meat, nutritious source of high quality protein
     
   • softer outer shell makes it easy for smaller birds
     
   • boasts a high concentration of oil. Birds will spread the oil over their feathers to keep them buoyant, dry and warm.
   
   Birds that like black oil sunflower: blackbirds, buntings, northern cardinals, black capped chickadees, mourning dove, finches, goldfinches, grackles, grosbeaks, pine grosbeaks, juncos, nuthatches, redpoll, sapsucker, siskins, sparrows, tanagers, titmice, towhees, wrens and woodpeckers. Birds that like striped sunflower: northern cardinals, grosbeaks,blue jays, nuthatches,titmice, woodpeckers


2. White Proso Millet
   
   
   
   • White millet is the favorite food of most small-beaked ground-feeding birds
   • least expensive bird seed but may be difficult to find
   • scatter it on the ground
   • outer shell of white proso millet is easily opened by birds with small beaks but is hard enough to protect it from the weather
   
   Millet is a favorite of buntings, doves, juncos, native sparrows, tanagers, towhees, quail, and bobwhite. Birds that prefer sunflower will eat this as their second choice.


3. Medium Cracked Corn
   
   
   
   • is about as popular with ground-feeding birds as millet, but it is vulnerable to rot
   • avoid fine because will turn to mush and coarse because it is too large for small beaked birds
   • good source of both oil and starch
   • can be used to tempt larger birds away from more expensive seeds
   • Feed small amounts, mixed with millet, on feeding tables or from watertight hopper feeders
   
   Birds that like cracked corn: painted buntings, crows, jays, juncos, mourning doves, quail, pheasants, sparrows, and towhees


4. Nyjer Seed
   
   
   • high in calories and oil content
   • most popular seeds to feed goldfinches
   • so tiny and light you can blow away a handful with a gentle breath
   • Sometimes referred to as "black gold" due to a higher price caused by importing and sterilizing costs
   • should be offered in a specially designed feeder with tiny ports that prevent spillage. Feeders with ports located below the perches - known as "upside-down feeders" - are a good investment. Goldfinches and pine siskins are quite acrobatic and don't seem to mind hanging upside-down to feed.
   • Contrary to its popular nickname, nyjer is not a thistle. It will not germinate and invade backyards and gardens.
   
   Birds that like Nyjer: chickadees, finches, grosbeaks, grosbeaks, juncos, mourning doves, redpolls, siskens, and sparrows


5. Suet and bird puddings(beef fat and seed)
   
   
   
   • solid fat rendered from beef and venison combined with other ingredients
   • attracts insect-eating birds
   • quick source of heat and energy for birds
   • Place the suet in special feeders at least five feet from the ground to keep it out of the reach of dogs
   • Suet cakes come in many pure suet, suet-peanut butter blends and suet mixed with a variety of seeds and nuts
   • No winter feeding station is complete without a suet feeder
   • Do not put out during hot weather as it can turn rancid
   
   Suet attracts: Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds, Yellow-breasted Chats, Chickadees, Finches, Northern Flicker, American Goldfinch, Grackles, Grosbeaks, Juncos, Ruby Crowned Kinglets, Mockingbird, Nuthatches, Orioles, Redpolls, American Robins, Sapsuckers, Pine Siskins, Sparrows, Starlings, Tanagers, Titmouse, Thrushes, Towhees, Wrens, and Woodpeckers.


6. Peanuts
   
   
   • out of the shell and usually roasted but not salted.
   • best in wire mesh tube feeders, mesh bags, or hopper and platform feeders
   • high-protein boost to winter-weary birds and help insect eaters
   • squirrels and chipmunks love nuts, too, so nut feeders must be as squirrel-resistant as possible
   • Peanut hearts -are overrated as bird food and often attract starlings
   • Offer only as many as the birds will eat in a few days in warmer weather
   • Build your own wild bird feeder for unshelled peanuts see here
   
   Birds that like peanuts: Cardinals, Chickadees, Doves , Finches, Grackles, Jays, Juncos, Starlings, and Titmouses.


7. Live Food
   
   
   • Mealworms (beetle larva) and wax worms (bee moth larva)
   • a real treat to most birds during winter
   • High in protein
   • they are not slimy, they don't bite, they are easy to store and easy to feed from a tray feeder
   • bluebirds and robins, which rarely visit feeders, enjoy live food.
     
     
   Birds that love live food: blue jays, bluebirds, cardinals, chickadees, finches, nuthatches, purple martins, robins, sparrows, titmice, woodpeckers, wrens


8. Safflower
   
   
   • white seed, slightly smaller than black sunflower seed
   • an oil seed that makes a fine minor ingredient in a quality seed
   • great thing about safflower seeds is that squirrels don't like them. Neither do grackles, blue jays, or starlings
   • not many birds actually attracted to this seed, but the absence of less desirable birds at feeders offering safflower that makes it so popular
   
   Birds attracted to safflower: cardinals, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and grosbeaks


9. Fruit
   
   
   • a summer food but across the sunbelt and on warm winter days in the north you will find birds attracting to fruit
   • Raisins, craisins, sliced apples and oranges and bananas
   • Scatter on an open tray or impale on small brances or nails
   • Attracting fruit-eating birds can take time and patience
   
   Birds attracted to Fruit: woopdpeckers, jays, robins, bluebirds, catbirds, orioles and mockingbirds

If you want to know by bird their Favorite food.. go to Birds Preferred Food

I have gotten most of my information from the following sources: Selecting Seeds , Bird Seed Preferences of Common Feeder Birds, ,Wild Bird Seed Preferences, Winter bird Feeding , Top 10 Wild Bird Foods

Dont forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned windchimes, Poly Recyled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:

February is National Bird Feeding Month
Prevent Birds from Colliding into your Windows
Peanut Feeder for Birds

All posts this month will be on birding feeding

Last week I wrote about February being National Bird Feeding Month. Therefore I have decided since we experiencing one of the snowiest winters in history that I would focus on only the needs of birds this month. I would think that birds in my area must be in shock..Normally coming to south jersey means one maybe two mild snow storms a season.. Not over 54inches!!

I wonder if birds decide to go further south when weather changes like this. Yet they would find similiar weather in delaware, and virginia. Or do they just bunker down and deal with it. If anybody knows let me know.

I think it is important to take special care during these times to keep your birdfeeders and birdbaths filled with fresh water and seed.

I'll tell you that I truly am enjoying the snow even if my backyard birds are not..It is so beautiful and calming.

It is Time to Plant your Seeds Indoors

In addition to focusing on keeping my backyard birds happy by continually filling wild bird feeders and keeping water in my garden bird bath from freezing.

I like to spend time paging through and ordering from my catalogs in January and February.

Knowing it is time to start thinking about planting seeds I have found several sites with great information on planting below:

Starting Seeds Indoors from GardenGuides.com

February Feature: Seeds from Garden Paradise

How to Start Seeds Indoors: What You'll Need and When to Start from About.com

How to Plant Seeds Indoors from Herb Garden Seeds

Starting Seeds Indoors from Demesne


Dont forget to check out my websites for many things for your backyard. my website Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned windchimes, Poly Recyled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:
8 Plants that Flower in the Winter
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Care for your Poinsetta and it will Bloom Next Year

February is National Bird Feeding Month

In January 1994, a resolution was read into the Congressional Record making February "National Bird-Feeding Month".

February is designated National Bird Feeding Month because it's one of the most difficult months in the U.S. for birds to survive in the wild.

In the last couple months of winter the natural sources gradually become more and more scarce and birds may switch to utilizing wildbird feeders to survive from day to day.

Also, low temperatures force birds to burn up to 10 percent of their body weight in stored fat each night to stay warm, and this fat must be replaced every day.

During this month, individuals are encouraged to provide food, water and shelter to help wild birds survive. This assistance benefits the environment by supplementing wild bird's natural diet of weed seeds and insects

This month my posts will focus on bird feeding tips. As a backyard birding novice I continue to educate myself and post what I am learning. In the upcoming weeks I will be researching topics related to bird feeding so I can do my share in helping birds find food this month.

As a starter I found several websites that have helpful information on backyard birds this month:

1. National Bird Feeding Society - Bird Seed Preferences, Bird Feeder Preferences, Top birding Tips, Bird Identification Sheet, Prevent Disease at Bird Feeders, Backyard Bird Chat. Links to these topics are on home page.
   
2. Hatching Out an introduction to Wild Bird Feeding
   
3. The Great Backyard Bird Count February 12-15, 2010, Watch birds at your favorite spot and put your sightings on the map
   
4. Project Feeder Watch A winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. Project FeederWatch is operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada
   
5. Most Frequently Asked Questions about Birds One of the most-visited pages at All About Birds. Cornell Lab staff answers some 80,000 questions per year from the public.

As I am learning more about birding hopefully you are too.

Dont forget to check out my websites for many things for your backyard. my website Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned windchimes, Poly Recyled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.



Some other posts that may interest you:
Peanut Feeder for Birds
Prevent Birds from Colliding into Your Windows
Concerns for birds in America

Prevent Birds from Colliding into your Windows

Over 100 million birds die each year due to collisions with human built structures in North America alone. Daniel Klem, a biologist at Pennsylvania’s Muhlenberg College, has been studying the problem for three decades and cites window strikes as a major cause of bird fatality.

Many birds strike windows after being startled off a wild bird feeders.

It is the reflective and transparent characteristics of glass that make windows invisible killers. Birds see the tree reflected in the window or the plant behind the glass not the glass itself.

If a bird can see through to the outside through two aligned windows in your home, they confuse them for a tunnel and will attempt to fly through to get to the other side.

Collisions can happen by night, when nocturnal migrants (including many of our most beloved songbirds such as tanagers, orioles, and catbirds, and warblers) hit lighted high-rise windows jutting into their airspace.

Also during the breeding season, territorial males may see their reflection in the glass and repeatedly attack the perceived intruder. The species that do this often, are territorial such as Northern Cardinals, American Robins, and California Towhees.

Window strikes are not limited to a specific type of building, to a particular type of window, or to a certain time of year. Collisions are not limited to a certain suite of birds or to birds of a certain age or sex.

Solutions-Highly Practical

1. Place bird feeders very close (within three feet) or at least ten yards away from windows.
   Wild bird feeders placed within three feet of windows can reduce fatal collisions because birds do not have an adequate distance to reach high flight velocity.
   Placing the feeders more than 30 feet from a window will also reduce window collision risk because, at that distance, birds are more likely to recognize that the reflected image is part of a house and are less likely to fly toward it for safety.


2. Draw white or light-colored window shades, blinds, or drapes which eliminate much of the mirror effect or transparency of windows.
   Interior window treatments usually already exist in many homes. The downside is that they block the view to the outside. Below you can see the reflection is greatly reduced with drapes drawn in the picture on the right:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Keep bug screens or summer screens on the outside of exterior glass in place year-round will cut down on reflectivity and transparency.
   In newer construction, double paned windows can be shielded by screens. In older homes with storm windows, screens would need to be switched with exterior glass.

Some more solutions- Less Practical

1. Install Bird Screens or other fine-mesh plastic netting in front of windows .
   Leave a few inches between the glass and the netting to allow birds to collide softly with the mesh instead of hitting the glass.
   
   Small-mesh netting is best(such is 5/8" (1.6 cm) in diameter) so if birds do fly into it they won't get entangled but will bounce off unharmed. You can mount the netting on a frame, such as a storm-window frame, for easy installation and removal.
   Works well but requires some do-it-yourself agility; poses entanglement risk if not properly installed. Netting must be taut and at the appropriate distance from the window.
   
   You can also purchase bird screens from Wisconsin Humane Society.
   
   
2. Apply CollidEscape to the outside of windows.
   CollidEscape is an easy-to-apply film that greatly reduces the reflections on the outside of windows. The film lasts for years, but can be readily removed if needed. And yes, you can still see out the window!
   CollidEscape can also be purchased from Wisconsin Humane Society.
   
   
3. Put decals, stickers, sun catchers, mylar strips, or other objects on the outside surface of the window.
   It reduces the mirror effect of reflective windows and makes windows more visible. They must be spaced close to each other to be effective – at most 2 inches apart horizontally, and 4 inches apart vertically.
   The design of a decal or sticker is immaterial. Hawk silhouette stickers are probably no more or less useful than any others.
   
   You can purchase static cling window appliques called whispering windows or window alert at Wisconsin Humane Society.
   
   
4. Hang brightly colored fluttering ribbons in front of windows.
Irritape holographic mylar tape can be purchased at the Wisconsin Humane Society. Alternately, tie unwanted compact disks (CDs) on string in front of the window so that they turn in the wind.


5. Install external sun shades or awnings on windows, to block the reflection of sunlight
   
   
6. Keep the slats only half open on interior vertical blinds
   

I got my information from.. Preventing Home Collisions , Minimizing Window Collisions and Keeping Birds Safe around Windows

Buy something new for your backyard today!! Check out my website for lots of cool stuff. Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Wooden Outdoor Chairs, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird birdfeeders, garden birdbaths, tuned windchimes, Poly Recyled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Some other posts that may interest you:
Peanut Feeder for Birds
How to help baby birds that fall out of nests
Concerns for birds in America