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WOW!! I’ve seen so many flocks of birds lately. It is a sure sign that the weather is beginning to cool down and winter is around the corner. The birds are heading south.
I’ve placed some wooden birdhouses and feeders around, so that when they need to stop to eat or rest there’ll be plenty for them. Are you prepared?
The Bufflehead, with its striking white sides and white patch on its head, is smaller than most cavity nesting ducks. They are dependent on nest boxes. There are many duck houses available online, check out the one you may need.
Breeds in Alaska east to western Quebec, and south in mountains to Washington and Montana. Winters in southern U.S., south to Mexico, Gulf Coast and northern Florida.
Whether you have fancy birdhouses or the natural rustic birdhouse, it’s time to make sure that they are clean and in good repair. The cold weather is coming and our little feathered friends will appreciate a clean dry place to rest or stay over as they begin the long trip to a warmer climate.
Barn Swallows breed from Alaska across Canada throughout the United States, and south through central Mexico. With the proliferation of human-provided nesting sites, the North American Barn Swallow population has increased in most places during the 20th century. Numbers are especially up in the central and eastern United States. Barn Swallows show strong fidelity to their natal site, most nesting within 20 miles of their birthplace and some much closer. Members of a pair typically stay together to raise a second brood and return in successive years to the same nest site. If you have the right habitat, barn swallows are easy to attract. A simple nesting perch may be placed under the eaves, inside a garage or barn, or on the side of a building.
To encourage goldfinches into your yard, plant native thistles, sunflowers and other composite plants, as well as native milkweed. Almost any kind of bird feeder may attract American Goldfinches, including hopper, platform, and hanging feeders, and these birds don’t mind feeders that sway in the wind. You’ll also find American Goldfinches are happy to feed on the ground below feeders, eating spilled seeds. They’re most attracted to sunflower seed and nyjer, which is a thistle seed.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) is a medium-sized plover.
Adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. The rump is tawny orange. The face and cap are brown with a white forehead. They have an orange-red eyering. The chicks are patterned almost identically to the adults, and are precocial — able to move around right after hatching. The killdeer frequently uses a “broken wing act” to distract predators from the nest.
Their breeding habitat is open fields or lawns, often quite far from water, across most of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, with isolated populations in Costa Rica and in the Pacific coast of South America. Killdeer nest on open ground, often on gravel. They may use a slight depression in the gravel to hold the eggs, but they do not line it at all, or line it only with a few stones. Since there is no structure to stand out from its surroundings, a killdeer nest blends marvelously into the background. Furthermore, the speckled eggs themselves look like stones.
The most amazing thing, I think, about birds is their ability to fly. As you watch you’ll notice that each species has its own way of maneuvering about. For example a crow flies petty staight (you’ve heard the old saying about directions “as the crow flies”, while a sparrow is very erratic in its flight. The sparrow twists and turns staying close to the bushes because it is very vulneralbe to being attacked.
As you start watching the birds is your backyard you’ll begin noticing some of their habits and patterns. Like when they arrive in the spring, when they begin nesting, when a storm is brewing and when they begin to migrate. It is really very fascinating. What kind of birds visit your backyard?
The Plain Titmouse is the western cousin and lives in the southwestern states. It is a small, gray bird with a crest, but it is all gray, without the rust or white accents.
Both birds hunt for insects by clinging to branches of trees and shrubs and peering into the crevices of the bark. They sometimes forage on the ground as well.
Their calls are similar, a whistled “peter, peter, peter.”
The spring courtship rites of the bluebird are among the most enjoyable to witness. The male selects a suitable nesting cavity and devotes all his energy to luring a female to it with song. He sings and sings, as the female sits passively by, enjoying his effort. When she inspects the nesting place, he interprets her interest as acceptance and his song becomes even more passionate. But the final selection of the nesting place is hers, and if she finds his choice unacceptable, he must search for something better.
The female builds a nest of dry grass or pine needles and other plant material. The nest is typically about three to four inches deep. Here the Eastern Bluebird lays an average of three to five clear blue eggs though occasionally they may be white, with the western and mountain species adding one or two more. They hatch in two weeks and the baby birds leave the nest in 15 to 20 days, ready to fly and soon able to feed themselves. By fall the pair has raised two or three broods of young and may migrate south if their food supply runs out or it gets too cold.
I’ve been wanting to get some new birdhouses for our property. We live on a farm so some areas are “wild” while other areas are developed. My husband has always liked to feed the birds, while I enjoy watching and listening.
While searching the internet I found some really great birdhouses that fall into both categories: decorative and wild. I really liked this one, and I hope my grandchildren will also. Do you think it will frighten the birds?