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I love the look and feel of the rustic birdhouses that are available on the market today. They just blend into the natural setting of any woodland backyard. It offers plenty of room for it’s occupants. What bird family wouldn’t want to move right in?
Birds are hungry. We all know by now that birds can survive without our help, but feeding them does help us both. Some ornithologists have even suggested that bird feeding is more beneficial to humans than it is to the birds. Studies have shown that birds with access to bird feeders in winter survive at a higher rate than birds without access to feeders. Feeding birds in winter is a good thing for the birds. If you live where there is winter weather , a blast of wind and snowy weather will mean making an extra effort to keep the feeders going for the birds.
Here are some ideas to help you prepare your feeding station for the worst of weather. Be prepared to have plenty of seed, suet and peanut butter on hand. You might place some dried grass or wood shavings in the bottom of your wood birdhouses. You could even cover the vent holes with some weather stripping (the birds won’t need this source of air in the winter). Some birds are ground feeders, so you’ll want to be sure there is an area that is clear of snow so you can sprinkle seeds on the ground.
Now is a good time to lower your purple martin birdhouse. This will make it easier to reach in and clean it out. You may also need to do some repairs on it. By doing this now, it will be ready for new families in the spring and save you very much needed time when the weather breaks
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?