With bone chilling temperatures forecast for the beginning of next week, birds will be looking for lots of food to keep their internal furnaces stoked. If you didn’t know, one of the ways that birds keep warm is by eating more food when the thermometer drops. If you are one of those people that are helping the birds make it through the winter with a bird feeder, then you are taking part in an increasingly popular winter activity.
If you take part in bird feeding, then you are among more than 1.5 million people in Missouri who enjoy this activity. Although birds benefit from easy access to birdseed, humans are the primary beneficiaries of the recreational activity. The opportunity to view birds at close range provides hours of entertainment just outside your home. Believe it or not, people in the United States spend more than $500 million each year to feed birds. However, to get the most for your money, you need to know what types of food birds like. If you buy the pre-packaged seed, many times you are wasting your money on many types of cereal grains such as milo, wheat and oats, all of which rate fairly low to a hungry bird. Generally, packages of birdseed mix are put together to attract people more than birds. Rather than buying mixes, you may want to spend your money more efficiently by buying bulk amounts of certain seeds.
By Jeff Berti, Trenton Republican-Times
Read more: Warmer Birds - More Food
Showing posts with label Bird Feeding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bird Feeding. Show all posts
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
This Christmas - Connect with Nature
Christmas is a time for giving, and a time for family. What a great opportunity to start a family tradition of giving back to the earth and instilling the values of sustainable living to your children, friends and community. Start an annual, earth-friendly Christmas family tradition! It will also get you outdoors for a few hours to build an appetite for the big dinner.
Annual Christmas Day Bird Count - take your binoculars, a field guide to local birds, a small pad or journal for each participant and walk a course through your neighborhood, local park or countryside. Try to identify and count every bird you see, and make a note of it in your journal. At the end of the hike, list the species seen and number of birds per species. There's always a surprising discovery, and the activity highlights the presence and value of our feathered friends. Compare the results from former years and you'll become experts on your local bird population and migration habits. This is a great family activity because even the youngest eyes are just as good at spotting the birds and contributing to the event. For more information, see our page Annual Bird Count
Family nature hike - a peaceful walk through nature on Christmas day will be remembered and valued more than the score of the football game.
Nature restoration activity - planting a small tree together symbolizes the value of nature and offsets the 'taking' of the Christmas tree. An hour spent cleaning up or enhancing a natural area also enriches the giver and acknowledges nature as the source of our well-being.Decorate a tree for the birds - place seed bells, suet, pine cones with peanut butter and seed trays on any tree in your yard, preferably a tree in the open where cats can be seen easily by the birds. To attract a wide variety of birds, use varied seed types such as black oil sunflower seed, wild bird mixed seed and nyger seed bells. This is a great activity for kids, and offers an important food source for birds during the winter.
Read more: How to have a 'green' Christmas, Eartheasy.com
Don't Feed Birds Steady Bread Diet
Be an angel, don’t feed birds - A steady bread diet can deform waterfowl wings
When Pat Phillips’ grandchildren were visiting for Christmas, she decided to take them out for one of Eugene’s favorite activities: walking around Alton Baker Park and tossing bread scraps to the resident ducks and geese.
They had just arrived at the park when her husband read a sign posted by the water’s edge.
“It was so sad,” Phillips said. “We had already thrown some bread crumbs, but we took the rest of the bread back to the car.”
The new sign in Alton Baker Park explains the prevalence of so-called “angel wing,” a condition marked by a deformed wing and spindly feathers that poke out at right angles. When a young bird eats calorie-dense, nutritionally poor foods — like bread — the growth of its feathers outpaces the development of its wing bones. Gravity pulls the heavy feathers down, and the growing bones twist outward, resulting in the twisted wing. Bandages and physical therapy can correct the condition in young birds, but it is incurable in adults, and affected birds lose the ability to fly.
By Shelby Martin
The Register-Guard
Read more: Be an angel, don’t feed birds - A steady bread diet can deform waterfowl wings
When Pat Phillips’ grandchildren were visiting for Christmas, she decided to take them out for one of Eugene’s favorite activities: walking around Alton Baker Park and tossing bread scraps to the resident ducks and geese.
They had just arrived at the park when her husband read a sign posted by the water’s edge.
“It was so sad,” Phillips said. “We had already thrown some bread crumbs, but we took the rest of the bread back to the car.”
The new sign in Alton Baker Park explains the prevalence of so-called “angel wing,” a condition marked by a deformed wing and spindly feathers that poke out at right angles. When a young bird eats calorie-dense, nutritionally poor foods — like bread — the growth of its feathers outpaces the development of its wing bones. Gravity pulls the heavy feathers down, and the growing bones twist outward, resulting in the twisted wing. Bandages and physical therapy can correct the condition in young birds, but it is incurable in adults, and affected birds lose the ability to fly.
By Shelby Martin
The Register-Guard
Read more: Be an angel, don’t feed birds - A steady bread diet can deform waterfowl wings
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Where Are All the Acorns?
Scientists baffled by mysterious acorn shortage
(CNN) -- Up and down the East Coast, residents and naturalists alike have been scratching their heads this autumn over a simple question: Where are all the acorns?
Oak trees have shed their leaves, but the usual carpet of acorns is not crunching underfoot.
In far-flung pockets of northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states, scientists have found no acorns whatsoever.
"I can't think of any other year like this," said Alonso Abugattas, director of the Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington, Virginia.
Louise Garris, who lives in the Oakcrest neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, first noticed the mysterious phenomenon early this fall when doing yardwork beneath a canopy of large oak trees.
"I have lived in the area my entire life and have never not seen any acorns!" she said. Garris checked with some local plant nurseries and they confirmed her observation.
The mystery has found its way to the Internet, where a "No acorns this year" discussion on Topix.com yielded more than 180 comments from people reporting acorn disappearances as far away as Connecticut and North Carolina.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" posted a resident of Maplewood, New Jersey. "Now we are finding dead squirrels! SHOULD WE ALL BE CONCERNED?"
Not necessarily, naturalists say. Last year Garris reported a bumper crop of acorns, which scientists say may be one clue to this year's scarcity. Virginia extension agent Adam Downing said acorn production runs in cycles, so a lean year is normal after a year with a big crop.
"It fits with the physiology of seed reproduction. The trees are exhausted, energy wise, from last year," Downing said.
But even he is surprised at the complete absence of nuts in parts of Virginia.
"There are plenty of acorns in most of the state, but zero acorns in some pockets," he said.
Read more: Scientists baffled by mysterious acorn shortage
CNN.com's Brandon Griggs contributed to this story.
(CNN) -- Up and down the East Coast, residents and naturalists alike have been scratching their heads this autumn over a simple question: Where are all the acorns?
Oak trees have shed their leaves, but the usual carpet of acorns is not crunching underfoot.
In far-flung pockets of northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states, scientists have found no acorns whatsoever.
"I can't think of any other year like this," said Alonso Abugattas, director of the Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington, Virginia.
Louise Garris, who lives in the Oakcrest neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, first noticed the mysterious phenomenon early this fall when doing yardwork beneath a canopy of large oak trees.
"I have lived in the area my entire life and have never not seen any acorns!" she said. Garris checked with some local plant nurseries and they confirmed her observation.
The mystery has found its way to the Internet, where a "No acorns this year" discussion on Topix.com yielded more than 180 comments from people reporting acorn disappearances as far away as Connecticut and North Carolina.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" posted a resident of Maplewood, New Jersey. "Now we are finding dead squirrels! SHOULD WE ALL BE CONCERNED?"
Not necessarily, naturalists say. Last year Garris reported a bumper crop of acorns, which scientists say may be one clue to this year's scarcity. Virginia extension agent Adam Downing said acorn production runs in cycles, so a lean year is normal after a year with a big crop.
"It fits with the physiology of seed reproduction. The trees are exhausted, energy wise, from last year," Downing said.
But even he is surprised at the complete absence of nuts in parts of Virginia.
"There are plenty of acorns in most of the state, but zero acorns in some pockets," he said.
Read more: Scientists baffled by mysterious acorn shortage
CNN.com's Brandon Griggs contributed to this story.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Filling the Feeders for a Winter's Supping
For color and life in the garden through winter's dreary days, nothing beats a good selection of backyard birds. Give me a couple of male cardinals, a few pushy bluejays and an evening grosbeak or two against a snowy woods, and I'm in primary color heaven. Add the cheeky scolding of the chickadees and the non-stop chatter of the finches, and suddenly, the landscape doesn't seem so flat and moribund.
Feeding birds through the winter keeps them right where you want them -- just the other side of a window near a comfortable indoor seat. Providing seed may help our feathered friends get by, but we are the biggest beneficiaries, since we can enjoy them up close as we rarely do when they're foraging in the wild.
It's time to get those feeders cleaned and hung as the official start of winter approaches. But nothing's easy anymore and providing bird seed is not as unconflicted a topic as you might think. One group that would like you to think before you buy are the bluebird fans. Populations of bluebirds have declined drastically and one of the reasons why is an imported pip-squeak of a bird, the English house sparrow.
Deliberately released in the 1850s -- as a nostalgic souvenir of the Old Country and in the mistaken belief they would help control crop pests -- the English sparrow multiplied explosively and is now the most abundant songbird in America. Actually a weaver finch, this "sparrow" has taken a terrible toll on bluebirds (and tree swallows) due to its aggressive appropriation of bluebird boxes and other nesting sites. It will evict the native birds' egg and young, or build its nest atop them and get right to work producing as many as four broods a year. The result is still more English sparrows and fewer native treasures like the beautiful bluebird. You don't want to encourage these thuggish Brits and you don't want them mobbing your feeders, excluding other species. The first line of defense is to buy quality seed.
The cheapest mixes available in supermarkets and home stores are loaded with filler grains, such as white, red and German millet, cracked corn and wheat. Native birds aren't that interested in this fare, but English sparrows happily chow down. Don't put out bread crumbs or other bakery products, either. These are favorite snack foods of English sparrows and starlings, another introduced European bird that can descend from the sky in numbers not seen since Alfred Hitchcock's dark film "The Birds."
by Valerie Sudol/The Star-Ledger
Read more: Filling the feeders for a winter's supping
Feeding birds through the winter keeps them right where you want them -- just the other side of a window near a comfortable indoor seat. Providing seed may help our feathered friends get by, but we are the biggest beneficiaries, since we can enjoy them up close as we rarely do when they're foraging in the wild.
It's time to get those feeders cleaned and hung as the official start of winter approaches. But nothing's easy anymore and providing bird seed is not as unconflicted a topic as you might think. One group that would like you to think before you buy are the bluebird fans. Populations of bluebirds have declined drastically and one of the reasons why is an imported pip-squeak of a bird, the English house sparrow.
Deliberately released in the 1850s -- as a nostalgic souvenir of the Old Country and in the mistaken belief they would help control crop pests -- the English sparrow multiplied explosively and is now the most abundant songbird in America. Actually a weaver finch, this "sparrow" has taken a terrible toll on bluebirds (and tree swallows) due to its aggressive appropriation of bluebird boxes and other nesting sites. It will evict the native birds' egg and young, or build its nest atop them and get right to work producing as many as four broods a year. The result is still more English sparrows and fewer native treasures like the beautiful bluebird. You don't want to encourage these thuggish Brits and you don't want them mobbing your feeders, excluding other species. The first line of defense is to buy quality seed.
The cheapest mixes available in supermarkets and home stores are loaded with filler grains, such as white, red and German millet, cracked corn and wheat. Native birds aren't that interested in this fare, but English sparrows happily chow down. Don't put out bread crumbs or other bakery products, either. These are favorite snack foods of English sparrows and starlings, another introduced European bird that can descend from the sky in numbers not seen since Alfred Hitchcock's dark film "The Birds."
by Valerie Sudol/The Star-Ledger
Read more: Filling the feeders for a winter's supping
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Bird Feeding Basics
While most wild birds rely on wild foods for most of their meals, more than 100 North American species supplement natural foods with birdseed, suet, fruit and nectar obtained from feeders. Bird feeding can benefit birds while also providing pleasure for people throughout the year. Feeders benefit birds most during the winter when natural food supplies are scarce. However, additional species visit feeders during the spring and fall migrations, and some nesting birds utilize feeders during the summer.
To keep birds coming back to your feeders, provide them with three essential elements: the right variety of quality seed, a source of fresh water for drinking and bathing, and ample cover, preferably provided by native plants. Native plants also provide potential nesting sites and a source of natural food.
Bird feeders also present risks, potentially increasing the chances of window collisions, predation, and exposure to disease.
Following are some tips for safely attracting birds to your feeders.
Locate feeders at different levels. Sparrows, juncos, and towhees usually feed on the ground, while finches and cardinals feed in shrubs, and chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers feed in trees.
To avoid crowding and attract the greatest variety of species, provide table-like feeders for ground feeding birds, hopper or tube feeders for shrub and treetop feeders, and suet feeders well off the ground for woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees.
Offer a variety of seeds in separate feeders. A variety of seeds will attract the greatest variety of birds. To avoid waste, offer different seeds in different feeders. Black oil sunflower seed appeals to the greatest number of birds. Offer sunflower seeds, nyger (thistle) seeds, and peanuts in separate feeders.
When using blends, choose mixtures containing sunflower seeds, millet and cracked corn—the three most popular types of birdseed. Birds that are sunflower specialists will readily eat the sunflower seed and toss the millet and corn to the ground, to be
eaten by ground-feeding birds such as sparrows and juncos. Mixtures of peanuts, nuts and dried fruit are attractive to woodpeckers, nuthatches and titmice.
Relatively few species prefer milo, wheat, and oats, which are featured in less expensive blends.
Provide suet during cool weather only.
Suet (beef fat) attracts insect-eating birds such as woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice. Place the suet in special feeders or net onion bags at least five feet from the ground to keep it out of the reach of dogs. Do not put out suet during hot weather as it can turn rancid; also, dripping fat can damage natural waterproofing on bird feathers.
Mix peanut butter and corn meal.
Peanut butter is a good substitute for suet in the summer. Mix one part peanut butter with five parts corn meal and stuff the mixture into holes drilled in
a hanging log or into the crevices of a large pinecone. This all-season mixture attracts woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, and occasionally, warblers.
Provide fruit for berry-eating birds.
Fruit specialists such as robins, waxwings, bluebirds, and mockingbirds rarely eat birdseed. To attract these birds, soak raisins and currants in water overnight, then place them on a table feeder, or purchase blends with a dried fruit mixture. To attract orioles and tanagers, skewer halved oranges onto a spike near other feeders, or provide nectar feeders.
Source: The National Audubon Society
Feeding Birds FAQ
Commonly Asked Questions About Feeding Birds
DOES FEEDING BIRDS PREVENT THEM FROM MIGRATING ON TIME?
Seasonal changes in the length of days, rather than an abundance of food, determine when birds will begin to migrate. Migrations begin in the fall as days shorten (when natural food is still abundant), and commence again in the spring as days lengthen.
WILL BIRDS SUFFER IF FEEDERS GO EMPTY?
Natural food supplies are typically exhausted during winter, as birds consume all the seeds and fruits at one location before moving on to the next. Similarly, if backyard feeders go empty while homeowners are on vacation, birds will look elsewhere for food. If your neighbors are also providing food, birds from your feeders will likely spend more time feeding there. Since feeders only supplement natural foods, most species will not suffer if feeders go empty for days or even weeks at a time.
HOW SOON CAN BIRDS BE EXPECTED AT NEW FEEDERS?
It may be a matter of hours before birds discover new feeders—or a matter of weeks. The variation depends on the distance to bird habitat, density of nearby feeders and the kinds of birds that might chance on the new feeder (chickadees, titmice, and House Sparrows are especially quick to locate new feeders). If there are many feeders in your neighborhood, birds may find new feeders more readily, as they already associate feeders with an easy meal. If birds are slow to find feeders, scatter sunflower seeds on top of the feeders, and on nearby surfaces such as bare soil. Bird decoys may help to lure the first visitors, and other birds will soon notice the new food source.
WHAT ARE THE BEST TIMES AND WEATHER CONDITIONS TO WATCH FEEDERS?
Birds visit feeders most often in the early morning, and again just before dusk. They use feeders less often in the afternoon and during rainy weather. In contrast, snow-covered ground forces sparrows and juncos to congregate at feeders as these species typically feed on bare ground.
Source: The National Audubon Society
DOES FEEDING BIRDS PREVENT THEM FROM MIGRATING ON TIME?
Seasonal changes in the length of days, rather than an abundance of food, determine when birds will begin to migrate. Migrations begin in the fall as days shorten (when natural food is still abundant), and commence again in the spring as days lengthen.
WILL BIRDS SUFFER IF FEEDERS GO EMPTY?
Natural food supplies are typically exhausted during winter, as birds consume all the seeds and fruits at one location before moving on to the next. Similarly, if backyard feeders go empty while homeowners are on vacation, birds will look elsewhere for food. If your neighbors are also providing food, birds from your feeders will likely spend more time feeding there. Since feeders only supplement natural foods, most species will not suffer if feeders go empty for days or even weeks at a time.
HOW SOON CAN BIRDS BE EXPECTED AT NEW FEEDERS?
It may be a matter of hours before birds discover new feeders—or a matter of weeks. The variation depends on the distance to bird habitat, density of nearby feeders and the kinds of birds that might chance on the new feeder (chickadees, titmice, and House Sparrows are especially quick to locate new feeders). If there are many feeders in your neighborhood, birds may find new feeders more readily, as they already associate feeders with an easy meal. If birds are slow to find feeders, scatter sunflower seeds on top of the feeders, and on nearby surfaces such as bare soil. Bird decoys may help to lure the first visitors, and other birds will soon notice the new food source.
WHAT ARE THE BEST TIMES AND WEATHER CONDITIONS TO WATCH FEEDERS?
Birds visit feeders most often in the early morning, and again just before dusk. They use feeders less often in the afternoon and during rainy weather. In contrast, snow-covered ground forces sparrows and juncos to congregate at feeders as these species typically feed on bare ground.
Source: The National Audubon Society
Backyard Bird Feeding - Suet Vs Vegetable Fat
Many animal care professionals have frequently maintained backyard-feeding sites for wild birds. Our approaches to this activity were rather nonchalant at best. Our feed choices were based on cost and effectiveness in attracting birds for personal pleasure. The nutritional value of the feed was irrelevant. Doesn't sound very professional does it?
The first thing professional animal keepers do is research the natural history of the animals in their care. What are their nutritional, habitat, and behavioral requirements for optimum health? In regard to nutrition, our attention was first drawn to suet cakes. They didn't seem like a very healthful option - all that fat, and even worse - saturated fat. Nearly all, if not all, commercial fat cakes are made with suet (beef fat). The suggestion that vegetable fat might be a more healthful alternative has been consistently rejected. What are the nutritional implications of using vegetable fat instead of suet in avian food cakes? What are the relevant issues to be considered? To begin with, there are two major issues of nutritional concern in all organisms - energy and nutrients.
Read more: Backyard Bird Feeding - Suet Vs Vegetable Fat
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Whittaker
The first thing professional animal keepers do is research the natural history of the animals in their care. What are their nutritional, habitat, and behavioral requirements for optimum health? In regard to nutrition, our attention was first drawn to suet cakes. They didn't seem like a very healthful option - all that fat, and even worse - saturated fat. Nearly all, if not all, commercial fat cakes are made with suet (beef fat). The suggestion that vegetable fat might be a more healthful alternative has been consistently rejected. What are the nutritional implications of using vegetable fat instead of suet in avian food cakes? What are the relevant issues to be considered? To begin with, there are two major issues of nutritional concern in all organisms - energy and nutrients.
Read more: Backyard Bird Feeding - Suet Vs Vegetable Fat
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Whittaker
Sunday, November 30, 2008
How to Stretch Your Feed Dollars
To the birds, all seed is free, whether it's from a flower stalk or a feeder. We humans know better, especially with the price of birdseed climbing the past few years.
The food industry is using sunflower oil for more healthful frying, leaving less seed for birds. Croplands once devoted to seed crops are increasingly being planted in corn for ethanol production. Add the higher costs of shipping heavy birdseed, and you'll understand why bird feeding is taking a bigger bite out of your budget. But you still want to feed the birds in your neighborhood, so here are some ways to stretch your bird-feeding dollar:
• Choose a single variety of seed over a mix.
• If you have a single feeder, fill it with black oil sunflower seed, which is attractive to the widest variety of birds.
• Cut down on seed waste by attaching a saucer beneath the feeder to catch what birds toss around, or use a platform feeder.
• Keep squirrels out of your feeders. They consume huge quantities of seed. Invest in squirrel-proof feeders, place your feeders at least 15 feet from trees, shrubs and structures that squirrels can use as jumping platforms or try feeding the squirrels. Give them whole corn kernels in a bucket at least 30 feet from bird feeders.
Read more: How to stretch your feed dollars
By VAL CUNNINGHAM, Contributing Writer
StarTribune.com
The food industry is using sunflower oil for more healthful frying, leaving less seed for birds. Croplands once devoted to seed crops are increasingly being planted in corn for ethanol production. Add the higher costs of shipping heavy birdseed, and you'll understand why bird feeding is taking a bigger bite out of your budget. But you still want to feed the birds in your neighborhood, so here are some ways to stretch your bird-feeding dollar:
• Choose a single variety of seed over a mix.
• If you have a single feeder, fill it with black oil sunflower seed, which is attractive to the widest variety of birds.
• Cut down on seed waste by attaching a saucer beneath the feeder to catch what birds toss around, or use a platform feeder.
• Keep squirrels out of your feeders. They consume huge quantities of seed. Invest in squirrel-proof feeders, place your feeders at least 15 feet from trees, shrubs and structures that squirrels can use as jumping platforms or try feeding the squirrels. Give them whole corn kernels in a bucket at least 30 feet from bird feeders.
Read more: How to stretch your feed dollars
By VAL CUNNINGHAM, Contributing Writer
StarTribune.com
Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Effects of Supplemental Feeding
Given the difficulty of finding food for many birds, it is not surprising that supplemental feeding can alter the behavior of birds. Varied Tits (a chickadee relative) reduced their participation in winter mixed-species flocks when given extra food. Mixed-species flocks form when food is scarce and patchy.
Supplementary feeding may affect bird reproductive behavior. When House Sparrows were provided with extra food, the males stayed closer to their nests. Females cheating on their mates by mating with other males decreased because of the increased presence of the male.
Providing food to birds can alter the distribution of birds over large geographic areas. The northward expansion of Northern Cardinals may have resulted, at least in part, from backyard bird feeding. In Finland, ornithologists strongly suggest that backyard feeding explains a tendency of birds to overwinter in Finland rather than migrate south.
Read more: Supplemental Feeding
Supplementary feeding may affect bird reproductive behavior. When House Sparrows were provided with extra food, the males stayed closer to their nests. Females cheating on their mates by mating with other males decreased because of the increased presence of the male.
Providing food to birds can alter the distribution of birds over large geographic areas. The northward expansion of Northern Cardinals may have resulted, at least in part, from backyard bird feeding. In Finland, ornithologists strongly suggest that backyard feeding explains a tendency of birds to overwinter in Finland rather than migrate south.
Read more: Supplemental Feeding
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