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Last week those gorgeous little purple finches moved through our territory and stopped in for repeated visits to the sunflower bird feeders in our yard.
If you’ve never seen these darlings, they look like small brown birds whose heads have been dipped into and stained by a wine, fuschia clothing dye. They are striking, either alone or in small flocks as they light into a tree and have a quick bite to eat on their way to find suitable nesting sites and raise this year’s young. Continue Reading »
I’m onto my second reading of Pete Dunne on Bird Watching. Which, by the way, is a great book for both the backyard bird watcher and for those who want to know more about birdwatching in general.
The chapter I’m on now is discussing nesting box success (dimensions, placement and predator prevention), but the fact that escaped me on the first read, and that shocked me the most is this:
“Everyone engaging their lives with the lives of birds should understand that 90 percent of the birds born in any given year fail to see the next. Nest failure is the first major cut on the way to maintaining the population at a healthy level that does not outstrip resources.”
You see 90% of the birds born this year won’t Continue Reading »
Winter is near an end friends, and with that has come the assessment of life at the bird feeder these past few, hard months.
Now I don’t keep a birding log or journal for my backyard bird visitors – and I’m sad about that this year – because for the first time in years, I feel that something is not right with our wild bird count.
All things the same – the feeders, the frequency of feeding, the type of wild bird feed I put out – and yet the wild birds who frequent is not the same.
Plus, living here in rural Ontario, there is no more competition for the birds in our area (the human population here doesn’t grow). So what is amiss? Could it be the avian flu?
I’ll tell you whom I’ve missed this winter…
Blue Jays
Where I’d been used to their squawks and reminders that the feeder was empty daily, this year we only had one blue jay. One. Usually we have 5-10 regular visits per day.
Chickadees
The numbers were down, but at least they came and brightened each day.
Juncos
The juncos were late and in short supply. This time of year there are usually 20-30 feeding daily for over a month. They finally arrived, and there are only 6 of them.
Gray Jays
We affectionately call these friendly and silly birds Whiskey Jacks. Like the blue jays they’re usually here in good numbers. This winter I’ve seen a total of none. Zero, nilch, nada.
Other Changes
I have noticed other wild birds at the feeder this winter that are not regulars in our area. I’ll tell you more about them, and hopefully have a photo for you, tomorrow.
Cheers!
Veronica
Birdwatcher’s Deals on Ebay:
Results from Amazon:
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Brome 1024 Squirrel Buster Plus Wild Bird Feeder with Cardinal Perch Ring
Squirrel proof bird feeder. Fill with favorite wild bird food and hang – product is adjustable to prevent large birds from feeding. Dismantles for easy cleaning. Stainless Steel- Aluminum- Polycarbonate Resins…. |
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Aspects Hummingbird Hummzinger Ultra Feeder
Our newest hummingbird feeder the HummZinger Ultra combines patented Nectar-guard tips with a built-in ant moat. Nectar-Guard tips are flexible membranes attached to the HummZinger Ultra’s feed ports. These unique tips prohibit entry from flying insects while allowing unrestricted feeding by hummingbirds. Also, the built-in ant moat stops crawling insects in their tracks before they can reach the … |
p.s. If you’ve also noticed changes at your feeder this winter, leave a comment below. I’d be interested to hear what region you’re in and what changes you noticed. I think the birding world has been thrown for a whirl this year – what’s happening at your wild bird feeder?
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of the bird forum on AttractWildBirds.com
I had high hopes for a place where we could all come together and share our birding stories, where we could post photos we’d taken and help others to identify birds in their area.
But in truth in 6 months we were still only at 20 readers and writers to the forum (and not one of us very active at keeping it full of interesting content). However, new users registered very often, sometimes 3 or 4 of them in a day -pretending to be birders but really just creating accounts for links to their spam sites. Sad, because a forum link won’t do a thing for search engine ranks, nor will bird watchers be the least bit interested in the types of sites those users were linking to…
But this is better! A blog where we still can interact (I’ll write posts, you comment) and if you’re interested in writing articles for this bird space just email me and I’ll set you up with an account so you can write articles about your experiences as well! That is, if you’re interested in that type of involvement.
Otherwise, stay tuned in. Within the next week I’ll have this birder’s resource ready to roll with articles, products, and photos.
To your birding adventures!
Veronica