Archive for the ‘Tube Bird Feeders’ Category
Just A Reminder
Do you have a lull or a break in your winter weather as we do? There is no precipitation due for another 4 or 5 days. Yippee!!
I like to take advantage of these breaks and make sure my bird feeders are funtioning properly, especially the tube feeders. For some reason, I cannot always figure out they tend to ge clogged a bit more frequently. I will be taking them down and emptying them, cleaning them out to be sure all of the ports are clear and fillyin them with fresh food. It is also a great opportuniity to make sure you have enough water in your heated bird baths.
I do hope I am not a pest about these things, but it really doesn’t take a lot of time at all and it keeps our backyards full of very happy winter birds.
First In, Last Out
Getting up early and taking inventory of the different birds who are dining at the bird feeders and suet feeder in my back yard has its advantages. With the huge amount of snow we have on the ground, we are inundated with my happy birds, the dark eyed juncos otherwise known as snow birds. They like every feeder - not picky at all.
The advantage in getting up early is seeing the first in. The cardinals are always here very early. I think they always travel in pairs too, and when you see the female, the male cardinal is always close by. This morning was no exception, only there were 3 pairs just after dawn. They were on and under the platform feeder and the heated bird bath is the best investment I have made in years.
Cardinals do not seem to like the tube feeders. They seem to like something solid under their feet. They love the safflower seed that I scattered on the snow for them. We got about 16 inches of snow and it is so much fun to watch them. From an inventory point of view they should be the last ones here this evening too and I can’t wait. The splash of color on the white is a true picture to behold.
Mirrors Of The Mind
How we think shows through in how we act. Attitudes are mirrows of the mind. They reflect thinking. David J. Schwartz, Trainer & Author
Have you looked at the All-weather bird feeder yet? It is available in both 4 and 6 quart. As bird feeders go, it is super at this time of year because of the large capacity. It functions as a tube bird feeder, but it does not require frequent filling.
And, it can satisfy a lot of your backyard friends in one sitting.
Pine Siskins A Plenty
I’m back again and feeling better - not great yet, but better is moving in the right direction.
Do you offer thistle food to your back yard birds? Thistle is really an incorrect term, though it is used widely when referring to nyger seed. The thistle feeders are usually tight knit mesh or tube feeders with very small holes. I feed the nyger seed all year round, and find that it is twice as popular in the winter months. Today, the two tube feeder that have the nyger seed were literally covered at every port with pine siskins. The mesh nyger feeder was covered with them too. I counted 6 at one time and it is only 9 incles long. Nyger seed is a high energy food, and it is especially loved by the finches of all varieties especially in the winter months.
Pine siskins aren’t seen too much around here in the warm months. They are indeed a winter visitor. Siskins are a small finch and are often referred to as “winter finches”. They are brown and heavily streaked with lighter tones underneath. They have 2 buff colored wingbars and some yellow at the base of their flight feathers. They prefer to hang out in coniferous areas, but will seek the small seeds like the nyger seed, and remain close to the food source all winter. The Pine Siskin has been know to hang out in their winter habitats long enough to breed.
Where Have All The Birdies Gone
Many years have passed since my early birdwatching days. For a long time, I was a very casual birdwatcher. I just liked birds. It didn’t matter what kind of bird I was watching. I was doing it non-chalantly and purely for the enjoyment and entertainment it brought me.
As I started to add bird feeders, and introduce different varieties of food, the lust for knowing more set in. And every so often, like now, I find myself asking questions that I cannot find the answers for.
The early winter days this year saw business as usual. All of the varieties of birds were here and the winter birds arrived right on time and really seemed to be enjoying the large variety of food and I saw a large upturn in the amount of food I needed to add each day to the tube feeders especially. There was a sudden increase in the food being taken from the finch feeders, and then right before Christmas, the volume decreased emmesely. Then new Year’s Eve and the first couple of days of the New Year, bingo, they were all back. The siskins, titmice, chickadees, bluebirds, and the house finch, goldfinch and juncos were all here. The novelty birdhouses aren’t even getting as many roosters as they usually do.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing the bluebirds and today, all I saw was a flock of starlings that hit the caged suet feeders for a few minutes before they all took off again.
Where have they all gone? I get feedback from customers all day everyday who are reporting the same thing to me, and not a one has a good theory that might really ring true. I have searched on line and come up dry. It has been colder than usual for December and January, and they all arrived on time or stuck around and showed up in droves. it’s kind of strange but right now, I am puzzled about why the overall bird population is lower than usual this year. If you have any answers, I would sure love to here them.
Singing In The Meadow
If you walk straing up the hill behind our home, you will find a meadow of sorts. Actually the developer calls it open space, but it is a wide open field with wild growth and tall grasses. There’s a lovely view from up there where you can see far in all directions, especially on a clear day ( hmm, don’t you think someone should write a song about that). I sometimes walk up there to spread crumbs and worms as well as cat hair, threads or feathers that can be used as roosting and nesting materials.
We had some very stong wind blown rain last night so when I went out to fill the feeders, I found the nyger food a bit wet and decided to take the tube feeders to the top of the hill and into the meadow to dump them before takind them in to clean them and refill them. On the way up, I could hear a shrill clear whistle, and a call that sounded like rattling chatter, and then the shrill whistle again. So, I walked slowly and quietly so I could see the meadowlark that was awaiting me. What a thrill to get so close, and there were 2 of them, an adult and a younger one whose markings weren’t quite as vibrant. I spent a full 5 minutes watching them before they took off.
I couldn’t help but think on my way down the hill that there should be more singing in this world.
They Call Themselves Bobwhites
What’s a covey you ask? A covey is a unit of birds. A covey of birds functions as a unit. They roost together at night, they forage together in the same territory and hang around together under the same cover.
One of the bird species that function in coveys is the Northern Bobwhite. They form a circle when they roost, and their tails touch in the center of the circle, their heads and bodies pointed outward. It sort of resembles a wheel with their tails being the spokes of the wheel. This group roosting practice helps each bird maintain their body heat.
Bobwhites are small chicken like birds. Their loud call resembles their name “Bob-white”. They are year round residents here and across Pennsylvania, and every state from the midwest to the eastern shore. The Bobwhites are hunted in many areas,and thus they are becoming somewhat rare from that threat. They are ground feeders favoring weed seeds, insects and waste grains. And, they are also ground nesters. Bobwhites are unlike the other game birds and are monogomous.
Occasionally, especially in the very late winter and very early spring, a few of them will wander into our backyard. They come down the hill from the large open field behind us and forage the ground beneath the tube bird feeders where they are most likely to find some of the waste grains. I always enjoy seeing them, and love to watch them strut about with their bobbing checken like movements.
Just Three More For Now
We will finish off the Sparrows with the White-Throated Sparrow, the White-Crowned Sparrow and the Dark-Eyed Junco.
The White-Throated Sparrow has a grayish unstreaked breast, white or tan head stripes, white throat and a yellow spoti n front ot the eye. You will find them in thickets, shrubs and undergrowth of woodlands, parks and gardens. These little friends are avid bird feeder visitors during the spring and summer months, but they are not too common in the winter unless you live in the Southern and warmer climate states.
The White-Crownd Sparrow has a grayish unstreaked breast and a pale beak. The adult has striking and vivid black and white stripe on their head. They are found in brushy and weedy areas, open woodland, roadsides and backyard gardens. Around here they are relatively all over the place all winter long.
And, last, but certainly not least - and really not the last of the sparrows,
The Dark-Eyed Junco is referred to by many as the snow bird. They have a slate gray body and hood, a pale back, white belly and white outer tail feather that show best when they are in flight. They can be found in the undergrowth of open woodlands, roadsides and shrubs. They can ofen be found in bird feeder areas. The ones around here see to like the tube feeder best, but they can be found in the platform feeder or in the caged feeder as well.. As their name implies, their eyes are very dark - actually black. I call them the happy bird as they always appear to be smiling. They will be around all winter.
Harvest Means Abundance
Have you been wondering if your birds have all left? Are they not visiting the bird bath and the bird feeders as frequently? Well, the answer is no, they have not left.
At this time of year, the Lord delivers the bounties of harvest. Not just to the farmers, but also to birds. There are seed heads, nuts, berries, etc. that offer an abundance of food to the birds so we go through a period of reduced visits to the backyard bird feeders.
Take advantage of the opportunity this brings and clean out your tube feeders and fill them with fresh seed. Scrub out the bird bath and if is turning cold where you are, turn on the bird bath heaters. And, not to worry. The birds will soon return in abundance to enjoy the tables you are setting for them.
Life’s Little Curve Balls
I really like to come and write here every single day. Seems that life has a way of throwing us little curve balls and I did not make it here yesterday. And today, it’s Halloween, so my door bell keeps ringing. But I have a couple of tips to pass along.
The weather has been wet and yesterday, my mealworm feeder was completely flooded out. Seems the drain holes were clogged and the little guys were all floating on top of the water. It is important that the container or feeder or dish that you feed mealworms in, has an adequate drain hole, so when it rains the water runs through instead of accumulating. Mealworms are far too expensive to let them float away.
The tube feeders have been getting a major work out the last couple of days. It appears that our winter birds have started arriving in numbers and I look forward to reporting to you on that. Make sure your tube feeders, thistle feeders and suet feeders are full, so as the winter birds arrive, they plan on sticking around your back yard for the winter.
Have a wonderful weekend!