Birdfeeders

Tube bird feeders are really a good overall choice for your backyard and are a particularly good choice for balconies and small yards. To minimize droppings from tube feeders, a tray can be installed on the bottom. However, be aware that a tray allows bigger birds to use this feeder. We ended up removing the trays from our tube feeders for the blue jays were taking over the feeders. They still visit the tube feeders, but don’t stay long. Tube bird feeders are easy to fill and clean and can be made to be squirrel proof as well. They can be hung from a branch or hook or mounted on a pole. Their versatility makes tube bird feeders a good choice for most people.

The simplest feeder to use is the platform feeder placed on the ground. They are a flat, uncovered surface, usually a screen for easy drainage, that has low sides and short legs. Platform bird feeders are particularly useful for attracting ground feeding birds such as sparrows, juncos, mourning doves and quail, although other birds will certainly feed at them as well. These feeders are very easy to fill and keep clean and also make it easy to photograph birds without the bird feeder getting in the way. There are however, two significant drawbacks to platform bird feeders. If there are squirrels in the area, this becomes their own feed table for there is no defense from them. If squirrels are a problem, the platform feeder will have to be either hung or mounted on a pole using squirrel baffles. Also, the seed is not protected from rain, snow and wind. During times of bad weather, it is a good idea to only put out enough seed to last one day.

The most successful way to have birds nesting in or near your yard is to supply nesting materials. The easiest way to do this is to use suet feeders to hold an assortment of desireable materials. A good assortment of string, straw, yarn, wool, feathers, bark, cloth strips, fur, moss, thread, etc. will cause lots of excitment among the nest builders! It’s very important to be sure none of the pieces are more than 3-4 inches long. We don’t want birds to get tangled in any long pieces. It’s also good to have a mud puddle for robins line their nests with mud. When nesting season is over, the suet feeders can again be filled with suet cakes as a ready food source for feeding nestlings.

When I was just a little boy, I used to visit my grandma’s house and admire all the hummingbirds buzzing about outside her window.  Grandma had a great collection of window hummingbird feeders that she had acquired over the years, and several dozen hummingbirds took up residence in her yard.  I loved watching the little birds hover around, sipping the nectar, and then bustle away to their nests or elsewhere.  Grandma even showed me how to watch for the hummingbird’s long tongue lapping the sugar water.

Now that I’m all grown, I have a place of my own, though it’s just an apartment.  However, I do have a deck, and I put a window hummingbird feeder outside the kitchen window.  While I don’t have nearly the amount of hummingbirds grandma does, I do have a few customers now and then, and I still love to watch them!

The most aggressive bird to visit your backyard will be the hummingbird. They may be tiny, but they are fierce in their defense of a food source. They can be seen regularly swooping back and forth in front of a competing bird or even dive-bombing it. When at the hummingbird feeder, they will aggressively chase away any other visitors. It is a regular sight to see them chasing each other from the hummingbird feeders. If the competition becomes too intense, it is a good idea to hang another feeder within a few feet of the first one. I have a friend who has put up 4 hummingbird feeders and during the middle of the summer, still has extreme competition at them. How many hummingbirds visit your yard can vary from year to year, so start the spring with one hummingbird feeder and add more as needed.

The Eastern Screech-Owl can be found in most areas east of the Rockies. It will inhabit most wooded landscapes below 5,000 feet in elevation, including mixed forests, woodlots, farms, orchards, swamps and suburban parks. These owls prefer an open subcanopy with sparse shrub cover. Needless to say, these birds will occupy and adapt to a variety of environments. They are attracted to the same owl house that will also attract the Kestrel. This species is the most likely owl to accept an owl house. Put it on a pole with a metal guard below to prevent occupation by squirrels. The Western Screech-Owl is found west of the Rockies. It favors areas that are open and in the immediate vicinity of water, either fresh or salt. Breeding territories usually include woodlands. Because the parents don’t build any kind of nest, but use whatever debris is left in the cavity, it is a good idea to put wood chips in the bottom of the owl house. Be sure to protect the owl house from predators with a guard below it.

Sometimes people are afraid to begin feeding birds, for they think that once they start, they must continue through the winter because the birds will become dependent upon the supplemental food. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Recent studies have shown conclusively that even the birds who frequent feeders the most often still forage for at least 80% of their diet. That tube bird feeder full of sunflower seeds may be busy all day as birds come and go, but they really are spending most of their time foraging. The real reason for feeding birds is that watching them is fun. It offers the entire family enjoyment to watch various birds come to the tube bird feeders to grab a sunflower seed.

Bats don’t build their own nesting spots. They just find a warm, dark place to hang such as caves, abandoned buildings, barns, dead trees, etc. Unfortunately, these kinds of places are disappearing and as a result, various bat species are now endangered. Why is this important? Well, bats are natural insect zappers. They gorge themselves nightly on mosquitoes, moths, cucumber beetles, June bugs, stinkbugs, leafhoppers, etc. One little brown bat consumes 500 insects PER HOUR! The fewer bats in the world, the more dependent we will become on toxic insecticides. It is certainly a benefit to have a bat house on your property. The bat house doesn’t have to be big to attract bats, but where it is located is important. The location of the bat house in relation to the sun is important for bats are quite sensitive to variations in temperature. In northern areas, be sure the bat house gets at least 4 hours of sun a day. In the south, shade and cooler temperatures are necessary in the summer. If the bat house is placed within a quarter mile of a stream, river or lake, it will likely attract bats because of the concentration of insects in these areas. Also, the higher up the bat house is, the more likely it will be used. Put it on a 15-20 foot pole, on a tree or high on the side of a building, always being aware of sun exposure.

The elegant Purple Martin is North America’s largest swallow and after spending the winter in South America, arrives in the United States in early spring. They can be found throughout the eastern and southern states, as far west as eastern Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. They are also found in parts of Arizona and New Mexico as well as in the coastal areas of California, Oregon and Washington. The fact that they consume large quantities of insects makes them particularly welcome visitors. Today, populations of Purple Martins east of the Great Plains nest virtually nowhere but in the purple martin houses put up specifically for them. Therefore, they are almost completely dependent upon humanity for housing. Western martins, on the other hand, are much less likely to occupy purple martin houses. They seem to prefer woodpecker cavities in trees.

Now we know Spring has arrived to northern California. Even though it’s still chilly at night (low 40’s), the first Oriole was spotted at our Oriole bird feeder yesterday morning. By afternoon a second had joined him. Today they have made repeated visits to our oriole bird feeder. These beautiful birds are attracted to orange so will readily approach an oriole bird feeder. Be sure to keep it full of fresh nectar made of 1 part white sugar to 4 parts clean water. We have had trouble with ants so have attached a “trap-it” which solves the ant problem. Orioles also love orange halves and grape jelly so that will be added to the offerings this afternoon. It is easy to drive nails through a board and put orange halves on the nails. If you don’t have an oriole bird feeder that has spaces for grape jelly, simply put a tuna fish can or cat food can on one of the nails and fill it with grape jelly.