Birdfeeders

There are a few possible reasons why birds sun themselves. First, the exposure to heat and light drives lice from the parts of their body that are difficult to reach and gets them to move to areas where the bird can capture them with their bills. Next, the sun dries and fluffs the feathers which helps maintain good insulation. And probably the best reason birds sun themselves is that it feels good, especially when molting causes skin irritation. While there are lots of different reasons birds might sun themselves, these seem to be the most probable. After a few days or weeks of cold weather when birds are frequent visitors to the bird feeders, a warm day will cause lots of activity around all the tube feeders, hopper feeders, platform feeders and hummingbird feeders. After a good meal, you will see birds fluffed up and quite still, usually on the ground or deck railing, etc. No, there is nothing wrong, they are just soaking up the sun.

Many species of birds like to assume a strange position, spreading and fluffing their feathers to expose their plumage to the heat of the sun. Although this sometimes done on cool days, it seems to usually occur when a bird feels a rise in heat intensity. While they are sunning, birds often seem to go into a kind of trance, which allows us to approach much more closely than they usually allow. They seem to do this most often in areas they are familiar with, so watch for this behavior in the vicinity of your bird feeders. I see sunning birds most often on the ground below tube feeders. At first, I thought a sunning bird was sick for it was all fluffed up and just sitting there. As I approached it didn’t move until I was quite close. Then it was gone in a flash with clearly nothing wrong. I had just disturbed a relaxing sunning experience.

Bird watching from the comfort of your own home is an activity all homeowners should be able to enjoy.  However, sometimes it can be difficult attracting birds to your yard, and also attracting the kinds of birds that you want.  For example, those pesky squirrels are known for taking over bird feeders and discouraging birds from feeding, but you can deter squirrels with a squirrel baffle or a squirrel proof feeder.  You also want to recognize the kinds of birds that live in your area.  If you live in the Midwest, you might have an oriole feeder to attract orioles; however this wouldn’t work so well in the Northwest where orioles are quite rare. 

To view birds from your own home, you will want to place the bird feeders near the windows, and or consider a birdbath.  You might also think about window bird feeders for an frontal view. 

Thistle is one of many varieties of seed that different species of wild birds enjoy as part of their diet.  Thistle will attract all kinds of birds to a feeder; most birds that eat standard sunflower seeds will also enjoy thistle.  Thistle feeders are characterized by their unique feeding apparatuses which are small vertical slits that dispense the thistle seeds.  The thistle seed itself is much the object you would expect to fit through a slit; it’s a long cylindrical seed.  Though thistle feeders can’t often target a specific kind of bird, it is possible for birds that favor thistle to frequent your yard more often, and even to attract unique birds. 

Thistle feeders and thistle seed tend to be available at most stores that sell bird feeders or outdoor supplies.  If you’re having trouble finding a thistle feeder in your area, you might check online shops as well. 

As we are busy keeping our bird feeders full during the winter months, sunflower seeds and nyjer in our tube feeders, assorted seeds in our hopper feeders and platform feeders as well as nectar in our hummingbird feeders, joining Project FeederWatch is a great way to learn more about birds. Members have the support of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and countless other birders, all accessible by e-mail when you join. For information: www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/. A $15 fee includes instructions, a handbook about birds and bird feeding, a poster with color illustrations of common feeder birds, a calendar, data forms and return envelopes. Records can also be submitted online. After joining, participants are asked to choose a clearly visible. We already have this established where we are currently positioning our tube feeders, hopper feeders, platform feeders, etc. Since this is a winter count, adding suet feeders is also a good idea.

Project FeederWatch is a survey run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in Ithaca, NY, and Bird Studies Canada, a nonprofit research group in Ontario. About 15,000 volunteers across the continent will keep a record of the birds that show up at their backyard bird feeders from November to early April. The purpose of this study is to track population and migration trends. Over the years, volunteers have documented declines in various bird populations, as well as the invasion of exoticspecies and the devastating effect of West Nile virus on the American crow. This is citizen science at its best for it provides data for something larger than watching birds at the bird feeders in our yards. We are a part of gathering a large body of useful information. Programs like this one are constantly adding to what we know about birds.

Because they reduce light levels, clouds blocking the sun tend to diminish the dawn chorus of bird songs and hasten the end of the day songs. However, during the middle of the day there is much more activity around bird feeders as birds don’t need to seek shelter from the midday sun. During these colder times, it is very helpful to birds to offer suet, which is just fat, to supply extra energy. Our suet feeders are especially popular on cloudy cold days as birds stock up for the cold nights. Birds are quite tolerant of wind and rain unless it is an especially strong storm. Our suet feeders, tube feeders, hopper feeders and all other bird feeders are busy all day long on these cold winter days. It is important to continue filling bird feeders during these cold periods, for the birds we have drawn to our yards will immediately leave an empty feeder in search of a new food supply. We don’t want “our” birds moving to someone else’s full bird feeders!

The “dawn chorus” of bird songs is familiar to anyone who is awake that early in the morning. The hour around sunrise on a clear morning during the breeding season is likely to contain the voices of all the resident species of a given area.  Dawn songs are usually more rapid and frequent than normal, which adds a sense of extra enthusiasm to the performance. This is a wonderful performance to listen to, so be sure to have full tube feeders and platform feeders during this time! There is a close correlation between when birds start and stop singing and the light level. This varies from species to species and according to the weather conditions. There is also a dusk chorus during which birds are generally more songful than at midday, though less spectacularly so than at sunrise. We try to fill our bird feeders during the afternoon when there is the least activity around them. As sunset approaches the tube feeders, platform feeders, hopper feeders and hummingbird feeders are very busy as all the local birds prepare for the night ahead.

When we have assorted bird feeders in our yards, we will occasionally find a dead bird or maybe even witness a killing. This is all part of the natural order our planet. The experts estimate that 50% of nestlings don’t make it to adulthood. Some fall out of nests, some are grabbed out of nests by bigger predators, etc. It is hard for us to see, but is it is part of the balance of nature. When birds are eating insects and mice, we are happy they are there to control those populations, but when we watch a hawk chasing a songbird we are unhappy, yet this is also part of that balance. Hawks have to eat too! Cats are another story entirely. Domestic cats kill for fun and account for millions of bird deaths each year. If we draw birds to our yards with bird feeders and bird baths, it is our responsibility to keep our cats indoors.

Before spring arrives and birds begin mating and nesting, we should do what we can to make our yards a friendly place for them to raise their families. Of course, the first priority is to have a safe yard before attracting wild birds. If you have cats, keep them indoors if possible. If you have cats or other predators in your area, be sure to put feeders in areas that are so open and exposed that a cat cannot sneak up on birds. However, there must be nearby cover for protection from other predators. Trees and shrubs not only offer protection, but places to build a nest. If squirrels are not a problem, tube feeders, platform feeders, hopper feeders etc. can be hung right from branches. Particular species tend to nest at roughly the same height. Ground nesters will never build a nest in a treetop, but may sometimes build a nest in low shrubs. On the other hand, treetop nesters may sometimes build nests on branches only a few feet off the ground. A backyard should offer many different heights of trees and shrubs as well as hanging bird feeders at different heights. Tube feeders hung high in trees will attract different species from a platform feeder on the  ground.