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It's time to take down any old feeders that are dirty or in need of repair. Clean them thoroughly to rid the feeder sites of bacteria.
Mend any tattered screens, broken Plexiglas, and replace ropes with chains for secure hanging. Need a better way to hang feeders? Check out our Droll Yankee and Duncraft hanging chains.
The average backyard can be visited regularly by up to 20 or more different birds. The best way too increase the variety of birds to your backyard is to create a feeding environment that imitates the bird's natural feeding habitat. Each bird family has a specific food and feeding preference adapted from their family physical characteristics, natural habitat and how the bird searches for food. This is called habitat feeding optimization.
There are three types of feeding niches common to backyard feeder birds: ground-feeding, elevated feeding and a combination of both. For example, sparrows, towhees, juncos and doves are ground-feeding birds whose natural habitat is comprised of meadows and fields where seeds from plants fall to the ground become a source of food. We recommend Songbird Choice fed on a ground platform feeder. Check out the Rubicon feeders made from recycled milk jugs. Cleaning is a snap and you will be helping the environment!
Chickadees, titmice, finches, nuthatches and woodpeckers are tree-dwelling birds with strong feet for clinging that aid them in foraging for food in trees. Any of our Wood Country hopper feeders or Droll Yankee tube feeders hung from trees or mounted from poles is ideal or simulating an elevated feeding environment.
Birds that feed both on the ground and in trees usually live in margin habitats or forest edges where both low trees and low shrubs exist. Grosbeaks, cardinals and jays are just a few of the birds you can attract to ground, platform, or elevated feeders. Fill feeders with the best birds seed available. Wild Delight Total Cuisine contains lots of nuts and raisins and no fillers for lots of activity and no waste!
Take a moment to look over your yard and make sure you're providing feeders for all three feeding niches. Then sit back and enjoy the show!
CREATE A BRUSH PILE
Fall is an excellent time to trim shrubs and trees. Try using the trimmings to create a temporary brush pile for your songbirds. The brush pile should be 3-4 feet high and about 4-8 feet in diameter. You don't need large limbs - smaller branches provide perches and hiding places for the birds between visits to the feeder.
Big, colorful, fun, entertaining, methodical and raucous are all words that have been used to describe the twenty-one species of woodpeckers that inhabit North America. Because they are so different, we are always fascinated by them, especially when one visits our feeder. To identify woodpeckers in our area, look closely at the markings and colors on the head.
Downy Woodpecker
The Downy is the smallest North American Woodpecker at seven inches long. It has black and white markings on the wings, head and belly, with the white streak down the center of the back. Males have a red patch on the back of the head. Their outer tail feathers have black spots which help distinguish them from Hairy Woodpeckers. The Downy is considered a frequent visitor to backyard feeders and will nest in our smaller woodpecker box.
Hairy Woodpecker
The Hairy Woodpecker is nine inches long and its bill is much longer than the Downy's bill. Look for the solid white outer tail feathers. Males have a red patch on the head just like the Downy. The Hairy can become a regular visitor to feeders. You will just find them to be a little more shy about the visit.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
The Red-bellied is found throughout the East and is very familiar to feeders in the South. It is about 10 inches long and has "zebra bars" on its back. The male has red color extending from the back of his head to the base of his bill. The female has red only on the back of her head. Both have a reddish tinge on their belly that is difficult to see. Red-bellies will eat suet, sunflower seeds, peanuts and fruit.
Northern Flicker
There are three subspecies of the Northern Flicker. The Yellow-shafted Flicker, state birds of Alabama, is found in the East, the Red-shafted in the West and the Gilded in the Southwest. The male Yellow-shafted has a black "mustache" just behind the bill and yellow underparts. The male Red-shafted has a red "mustache" and salmon-red underparts. The male Gilded has a brown crown and a red "mustache" and yellow underparts. Each has a white rump visible in flight. Flickers spend more time on the ground feeding than other Woodpeckers. Their main diet consists of ants and other insects as well as fruit. Flickers can be attracted to feeders with suet, sunflower seeds, cracked corn and peanuts. They will nest and roost in specially designed staring resistant nesting boxes.
How to tell one bird from another is one of those questions we get from the beginning and experienced birds alike. The process of identifying birds is not some magic formula, nor is it something that requires a great deal of skill. It is more a matter of using simple skills, plus practice using those skills and finally patience. Correctly identifying a bird is one of the most satisfying rewards of bird watching. The identification process is something like trying to solve a jigsaw or crossword puzzle. You first need to look for clues, and then put the clues together to correctly identify the bird.
The basic clues to identify any bird are:
Shape & Size: our bird is smaller than a robin, but slightly larger than a sparrow. It has a rather short and fat body, with small, stubby wings, stubby tail, and a sharp, slender bill.
Field marks: Our bird has a bluish gray back, its head has a black cap with a white face, and the belly is white with a rusty red spot under the tail.
Behavior: It is moving down the tree trunk upside-down, with its bill facing downward. It scoots under limbs like a fly walking on a ceiling. It is a fast flyer. We see it eating sunflower seed and suet from the feeder.
Habitat: Our bird is in a group of mature shade trees in the backyard, hopping up and down the tree trunks, or flying to the feeder and then back to a tree trunk where it opens the sunflower seed with its sharp bill.
Voice: The little bird calls yank, yank, yank, every few seconds as it flits round the trees in our backyard.
Season and Range: The season is winter, and the bird is here in our area.
Using this information I check my Stokes Field Guide (our recommendation) and discover our little bird friend is a white-breasted nuthatch. The key to his identity is the fact that he hops down the tree trunks head first, making him one of the nuthatch species. But there are even more clues - the bird's call, its shape and relative size, its color and pattern, and its range for this time of the year.
This example is very simple, but it does give you an idea of how easy it is to identify various bird species if you learn to recognize the clues.
This article was adapted from the pamphlet A Beginners Guide to Bird Watching by Kit and George Harrison, published by the National Audubon Society.
A good pair of binoculars will help you better identify the various birds in your yard and garden.
Q. Sometimes it looks like the birds are fighting at my feeder...what can I do?
A. Flocks of birds have well-established "pecking orders" or dominance ranks, determined by body size, age, sex, and even plumage. When food is only offered at a single feeder, dominant birds can easily defend and monopolize it. You can reduce aggression by spreading out the food with a second feeder. Try more than one location and offer a variety of seeds to appeal to more kinds of birds (sunflower, nyjer, or a high-quality mix like our Wild Delight mixes). Often inexpensive mixes contain milo which aggravates the problem as birds sort through "undesirable seeds" looking for those they prefer.
Q. How can I help the birds through the cold winter nights?
A. Birds need additional energy to get through the cold nights. They also need to replenish lost energy first thing in the morning. We recommend that you have your feeders filled for the last couple of daylight hours and at daybreak so they can fill those empty crops first thing in the morning. Putting up a roosting box as shelter from the elements will also help as small birds father on the perches and use their body heat to keep each other warm.
Q. Is it really important to provide water in the winter?
A. When the weather turns cold, you may see the birds looking "all puffed up". They're puffing out their feathers to trap air inside to act like a "feather blanket" for warmth. When feathers are soiled and matted they lose this insulation effect and the birds may suffer or even die from exposure. Keeping water available in winter is even more important than summer. The Wildlife Authority has bird bath heaters with automatic thermostats so they will only operate when the water is cold enough to freeze. We also have a selection of heated baths and heated bath liners available for the clamp-on style bath that fits on your deck railing.
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September and October are the peak months of fall migration. Birds are moving south toward their wintering grounds, mainly in Central and South America. These migrants often stop for brief periods at feeders to "fuel up" for the journey. Sometimes less common species including Baltimore Orioles, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks and numerous Warbler species can be enticed into yards with a variety of fruit, seed and water offerings. These migrants are also attracted to areas of activity by our resident species. Having a steady stream of birds such as Chickadees, Titmice and Cardinals increases the likelihood of unusual visitors. (They know who has the scoop on where the goodies are!)
Northern species are also moving southward and they often take up residence for the winter. These species include the diminutive Red-Breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker and the familiar Northern Junco and White-Throated Sparrow. It's a great time to provide white millet for these latter two ground feeding species. The uncommon Purple Finch and Pine Siskin can also appear. The latter loves Nyjer and is the only other species able to use the "upside down" finch feeder. It's a great time to add more nyjer sacks to entice these lovely streaked birds. Keep watch for flashes of vivid yellow as they open their wings. Goldfinches also appreciate extra offerings so don't overlook them in their subtle winter colors of soft yellow and olive.
Keep your hummingbird feeders going until Halloween. Although the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is the only breeding hummingbird species on the east coast, other species can be seen at feeders during migration. Some even take up residence for the winter! Last year a Black-Chinned and Rufous Hummingbird spent the winter in the gardens of the Smithsonian Institution. If you see a hummingbird at your feeders after the beginning of October, it is more than likely an unusual species. Please give us a call!
Fall is the best time to see the Red-Headed Woodpecker at your feeders. They love peanuts and suet. The solid red head, jet black back and snow white wing patches make this an unforgettable sighting. The immature of this species is entirely brown with big white wing patches, much more subtle in coloring than the striking colors of the adult. Various species have young that look much different than their adult counterparts: Eastern Towhees, Chipping Sparrows, Orchard Orioles, and Eastern Bluebirds are a few. The Sibley Field Guides are excellent for identifying birds during autumn. Better yet, grab your binoculars and enjoy a bird walk! The Howard County Bird Club holds free field trips all year long. Check out the schedule during your next visit to our store.
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Wildlife Authority Hours: OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Sunday, 12 noon - 4 p.m. |