7 Fun Fall Bird Feeding Tips

Birds start gathering food in the fall.
from Grandma Pearl

Did you know that your backyard birds like to start gathering food for winter during the autumn months?  If you don’t feed birds year round, fall is a great time to set up your bird feeding station.  Birds like Blue Jays stash seeds just as chipmunks and squirrels do.  Science has shown that they also have excellent memories, and have demonstrated their skill at locating their hidden treasures all winter long.  Nuthatches and woodpeckers are some of the many birds that hide food for later consumption.

Nuthatch is waiting its turn at the feeders.
by Grandma Pearl

1. Correct placement of your feeders will insure your birds do not crash into your windows.  Sadly, approximately one billion birds die in the U.S. each year from glass window and door collisions.  The best way to prevent fatal collisions is to place your feeders within 3 feet, or more than 30 feet, from windows. Placing your bird feeders that close to glass ensures birds do not have room to gain a lot of speed, greatly reducing the number of fatal collisions.

It also gives you a great view of their antics and interactions with other birds.  Besides being very entertaining, studies have shown that bird watching can reduce stress and lower blood pressure.  Next time you need a time out, try watching your backyard birds.  You will be amazed at the calming affects bird watching can produce.

2. Another great tip is to locate your feeder about 3 to 5 feet from a large shrub.  This gives your birds plenty of opportunity for perching while waiting their turn at the feeder.  Birds will also use the branches as leverage to help them open the seeds, which will not hurt the shrubs at all.  Bushes can be evergreen or deciduous, and they will provide shelter from winter winds and snow, as well as predators.  A feeder placed near a shrub helps birds feel more secure, and gives them a place to ‘hang out’ and socialize.
3. When the nights turn colder in the fall I begin hanging suet for my birds to enjoy.  It helps them to store fat for the upcoming winter months.  That extra layer of fat makes a great deal of difference in how well they survive frigid temperatures.  If your weather is still warm during the day, choose ‘no-melt’ suet cakes.
4. I like to use peanut butter combined with cornmeal to smear on pine cones.  Hang the cones on tree limbs and enjoy watching your birds savor this very helpful treat.  Besides helping birds stay warm, food sources that contain high fat concentrations also help maintain birds’ feathers in optimum condition for flying and evading possible predators.

Make a loop of wire around the top row of scales on the pine cone, then add peanut butter.
by Grandma Pearl

High-fat Food Sources Include:

• Peanut Butter
• Suet
• Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
• Peanuts
• Walnuts, broken into small pieces

5. When you are out shopping for pumpkins and gourds, remember your birds.  They enjoy gleaning the seeds from inside these vegetables.  To give them easy access to the seeds, use a sharp knife to cut a rectangular hole in the front and back of the pumpkin.  By the way, Northern Cardinals are nuts about pumpkin seeds!

Northern Cardinals Love Pumpkin Seeds!
by Grandma Pearl

Place on a flat platform feeder so your backyard visitors can enjoy all the pumpkin innards!  Once they have cleaned out the pumpkins seeds, you can remove any excess strings and add sunflower seeds, cracked corn and any other bird goodies you have to offer. 

6.  Gourds can be hung by drilling a hole in the neck of the gourd and inserting a piece of leather shoe lace or thin rope.  Cut a round hole in the front of the gourd, about 2” from the bottom of the vegetable, for birds to enter and find any meat and seeds.  Again, once the gourd is cleaned out, you can add sunflower seeds, dried fruit pieces or nutmeats. 
7. Be sure to have a camera on hand to snap some fun pictures of your feathered friends enjoying their autumn bounty.  It’s a great way to get your child or grandchild interested in a fun and educational hobby.  Start a scrapbook to include pictures they have taken, articles about birds, bird feathers they have gathered, and notes on their favorite bird or birds.

Young Goldfinches exchanging greetings?
by Grandma Pearl

Autumn is such a colorful and wonderful season.  Make sure your backyard birds are included in the fun, and you will be rewarded with their songs and visits all winter long.

Grandma Pearl

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Audubon Advisory Concerning Migratory Songbirds and Congressional Funding Cuts

Ovenbird, one of many migratory songbirds at the mercy of major funding cuts
Grandma Pearl

The House of Representatives is planning major cuts to critical conservation programs.  These latest attempts to reverse the important recovery efforts that were in place and were working to protect and aid migratory neotropical birds, should be abandoned. 

August adjournment has left the bill unfinished, but when Interior Appropriations Members return in September, they will try again to implement these injurious funding cuts.   Audubon will use the interim period to work on behalf of songbirds that are already in distress from climate change and habitat destruction.  

You can read the short article by clicking this link: Critical Conservation Programs Targeted

To support Audubon's National Conservation Initiative, click HERE

Grandma Pearl

What To Do If You Find a Baby Bird

Oh my goodness!  There's a little bird on the ground.  I don't see any adult birds around.  Should I try to put it back in the nest, should I leave it alone and hope the parents find it?

The first thing you need to do is clear the area of children and pets.  Keep them inside until you can monitor the situation.  Some baby birds are on the ground for a reason.  Robins, for instance, are ground foragers.  So it makes sense that their offspring get used to the idea of being on the ground when they are very young.  That can be hazardous to their health, however, if predators are near.  If the baby bird is old enough, it will probably make its way to a nearby bush under which it can hide and be more camouflaged.

If on the other hand the baby bird has been pushed out by older, stronger siblings, that poses a different problem.  Putting it back in the nest will most likely end up with the same result.  Birds lay multiple eggs so that as many healthy and strong baby birds survive as possible.  You've heard the old saying 'survival of the fittest'.  Well, that applies to birds, too.  The youngster that makes the most noise and eats the fastest will receive more attention and therefore more food from the adult birds.  The more it eats, the stronger and larger it becomes. The weakest sibling is vulnerable to being forced out of the nest, and most often that is what happens.

Sometimes when a baby bird ends up on the ground, one or more of the parent birds will respond to the calls of its youngster and continue to feed it while it is on the ground.  Again, the survival of this little guy depends upon how well it can hide and stay quiet if and when predators come around. 

If the baby bird appears to be injured or abandoned, it is best to call in a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.   CLICK HERE for more information written by a wildlife rehabber.
Grandma Pearl

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Victory for Birds!

Each year millions of birds are killed by colliding with windows.  There are new special products that help birds to see and avoid windows.  Thanks to a judge in Ontario, Canada, many birds will now be safe from hitting windows.  The judge ruled on Monday that under Canada's Environmental Protection Act, building owners, especially of high-rise tower buildings, can be held liable if light reflected from their windows causes either death or injury to birds.

This sets a new precedent for landlords of these tall buildings to be required to retrofit their windows with a new film that makes the glass visible by use of ultraviolet light.  Birds are very good at detecting the ultraviolet part of the light spectrum.

For newer construction, window glass makers have perfected a special product that breaks up the reflection that birds see.  If you take a walk around your house and look at what is reflected in your windows, you will see how birds end up hitting windows.  To them it looks just like the sky, trees and open air in which they normally fly.

This new ruling will go a long way towards saving millions of birds from this avoidable hazard.  To Read more about what you can do to make your windows safe for birds, click here:  Why Do Birds Fly In To Windows?

Speaking up for the birds!

Speaking up for the birds!  This 10-year-old boy has a passion for birding;  read his story and Celebrate Urban Birds!

How to Make a Bird Nesting Basket in 5 Easy Steps

Bird Nesting Basket
by Grandma Pearl

This is a great way to protect your baby birds!  Predators like hawks, ravens, owls, crows, and 4-footed wild animals that might otherwise find nestlings or eggs an easy meal will not be approaching so close to a human habitat!

It's also fun to watch from a distance as the birds hatch and are tended to by Mom and Pop.  After about 2 weeks from hatching, the little ones will take their first short flights.  You can continue to see them beg for food from their parents until they learn to fend for themselves.

Click Here to learn how easy this project is!

Grandma Pearl

Baby Blue Jay Begging For Food!