Tom's Bird Feeders and Reptile Supplies

Suet bird feeders are a staple feeder in many people’s feeding stations.  However, in our neck of the woods we do not have many birds which eat suet from suet feeders.  The Cactus Wrens and Curve-billed Thrashers do come to visit and seem to enjoy the suet, but we do not have the suet eating staple birds such as woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches.  That being the case we do put suet in one suet feeder.  The other two suet feeders are put into multi tasking mode and are used for other bird attracting ideas.  In one we put half of an orange to draw birds such as Orioles, Mockingbirds, Tanagers, House Finches and more.  During the spring and summer, our third suet feeder is stuffed with a Cottontail Nest Building Ball which consists of a combination of 100% cotton and yarn tails.   This attracts nearly every bird in the neighborhood, including many species which would not normally come into feeders such as flycatchers, gnatcatchers, vireos and warblers.  If you have a suet bird feeder and do not have the suet eaters, don’t despair.  It can still be used to draw the birds you do have in your area.  Even if you do have the suet eaters, you can put up more suet feeders using these ideas to draw even more birds to your yard!!!!

We were up with the sun.  OK, the sun doesn’t rise all that early this time of year, but our coffee mugs were full and the blinds were open before the sun came up so we should get some credit for that.

We started our day looking out the sliding glass door, looking at our bird feeders and 4 tier pond.  After a little breakfast we headed out to spend sometime doing some casual bird watching in the Portal area.

Our plan was to start on the desert scrub where the sunlight hits first and then continue on up into the canyon.  It was a great plan, but the wind came up and 40 mph winds just don’t do much for birdwatching.

Here is a list of birds we saw on our pleasant but brief birding trip: Green-tailed Towhee, Brewer’s Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Cactus Wren, Mockingbird, Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Canyon Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Curved-billed Thrasher, White-crowned Sparrow, Lesser Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, Mexican Jay, Acorn Woodpecker, Arizona Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hutton’s Vireo, Bridled Titmouse, Dark-eyed Junco, Black Phoebe, Cooper’s Hawk, Says Phoebe.

There are reports of Townsend’s Warblers in the canyon, but with the wind coming up we were unable to confirm this.

We are often asked what can be done about large flocks of doves or pigeons which come in and wipe out the food at our customer’s feeding stations.  These birds are of a larger size than most feeder birds and they tend to come to the feeding stations in numbers.  We have seen flocks of up to 80 Mourning Doves in our area during the winter.   Pigeons and doves do not crack or hull their seeds like other birds.  They eat them whole and can put down large amounts in a short time.  Size coupled with the feeding habits of these birds can certainly generate problems at the feeders.

There are several ways to get around feeding large flocks of these birds.  Pigeons and doves tend to like certain seeds which include white millet, milo, cracked corn and oats.  Seed mixes with smaller amounts of these grains will help.  Pigeons and doves tend to like feeding on the ground or on platform or flat bird feeders.  Feeding in a tube bird feeder with short (under 2″) perches will deter the large numbers from eating all of your food.  Feeding specialty foods in specialty bird feeders will also help depending on which species you wish to attract.  Many of the finches (Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Redpolls, House Finches, Purple Finches etc.) will be attracted to thistle or Nyjer seed bird feeders.  These, most often, do not have perches at all and the smaller birds simply cling to the side of the feeder to feed.  The feet of pigeons and doves are not made for this type of perching and many (but not all) of them have trouble holding on long enough to feed.  Specialty bird feeders for sunflower seed or peanuts are available and also cater to clinging birds instead of the doves and pigeons.  We use a recycled Oriole feeder to provide peanut butter, grape jelly and fruit for over 40 species of birds and have never observed a dove or pigeon at it.  Hanging suet bird feeders will also deter these birds as they have trouble getting a foothold.  Each of these foods draws its own group of more desirable backyard birds and limits the availability of food to the large flocks of doves and pigeons.

At our feeding station, we do love our quail and the quail have the same eating habits as the doves, so we end up feeding both in large number each day.  We don’t mind because we put out a lot of feed to attract as many species as possible.  The doves just seem to be a necessary evil with us.  If you do not want the large flocks of doves you can utilize the above ideas to enhance your backyard bird feeding experience.

Those of you who attended Wings over Willcox know what a great time everyone had.  The Hawk Watches found even found a Crested Caracara.  Many people had great pictures of the cranes and their numbers haven’t been tallied yet, but seem to be about the same as last year.

We want to thank everyone who stopped by our booth.  We really do love to look at the pictures you have taken and hear what happened during your trips.

Those of you who have not attended WOW should start planning to attend next year.

We sat up our booth at the Wings over Willcox Bird and Nature Festival last night.  We have two booths so are able to show all of our Bird Feeders and Wildlife Gifts.

We were also able to talk to several of the guides at the reception.  It looks like they have the birds located and that the weather will be co-operating.  The festival had several seminars last night and the attendees were very pleased with the speakers.

So if you live in the area, please stop by the nature festival, do a little bird watching in southeast Arizona and also take a look at our new t shirt line!

January and February in southeastern Arizona, like most places in this country, is the coldest part of the year.  The birds have depleted many natural food sources so they do benefit from the supplemental food and water that we put out for them.  During this time of the year we must think in terms of high calorie and high fat contents in the food we put out in our wild bird feeders.  Hopper bird feeders and tube bird feeders should contain seed mixes heavy in black oil sunflower and white millet.  Peanut hearts and other shelled nuts are high in protein and fat.  Both the sunflower seed and nut meats can be served up in specialty sunflower and peanut feeders to attract additional species to your feeding system.  Suet is also a high fat food and may be served in a variety of suet bird feeders.  During the winter we also put out peanut butter (high fat) and grape jelly (high calorie) in our recycled oriole feeder.  Both attract a number of species which would not otherwise come to our feeders.  Water is also important during this time of year and can be provided most effectively in a heated bird bath.  Enjoy your birds this winter and remember that providing them with the things they need will attract more of them for your easy observation and enjoyment.

Signs, signs, everywhere signs, do this…………can’t you read the sign?

This Five Man Electrical Band song was going through my mind most of the day today.  Why?  It was time to inventory our wildlife signs.  They are currently stacked all over our living room and dining room.  The bird signs are on the dining room table.  The wildlife signs are on the coffee table in the living room and the animal/mammal signs are on the floor.  The reptile and amphibian signs are on the dining room floor.

But don’t worry we will have them counted and ready for the Wings over Willcox show this next weekend.  I just hope that I have the song out of my mind by then.

As ornithologists our work takes us all over the country and, in addition to birds, we are able to enjoy a wide variety of wildlife and natural wonders.  A couple of years ago we were sent to south central Nevada to do some breeding bird surveys for a federal agency.  The habitat was really sparce and had little vegetation, which of course meant few birds.  There were other things to observe however.  Traveling along a series of cliffs and drainages we were amazed to see a rather large number of rock drawings or petroglyphs on the undercut edges of the cliffs.  These were undoubtedly left by early Native Americans from days long gone by.  As we moved up the drainage to the top of a hill we were startled to see a magnificent vista where we could see for 20-30 miles in every direction.  From this vantage point we could see three different herds of wild horses.  Each was far enough away from the others so that the herds never interacted with each other, but, we could observe the herd dynamics of each herd from where we were.  We observed the classic fight between the gray stallion who appeared to be the leader of one group of about 50 and a younger, smaller brown male.  This group was aproximately a half mile from us and we could hear and feel the shaking of the horses pounding on each other with their heads, hoofs and bodies.  After the young brown was vanquished we watched as the stallion gathered up five mares which had wondered off during the struggle.  We spent nearly an hour just observing the various interactions within the three herds.  What a wonderful morning, and definitely something very new for us.

Recently we were reminded of this trip when we saw a T-shirt featuring the artwork of renowned wildlife artist Persis C. Weirs entitled “Sacred Passage“.  We have decided to make this wonderful shirt available to our customers and it will remain a beautiful reminder to us of our trip to Nevada.

The dates for Wings Over Willcox are fast approaching!  If you have not had a chance to register for it yet, please make the time to do so.  You will not be disappointed.

You can see the signature bird the Sandhill Crane in great numbers.  You can also go on Hawk Stalks, and look for sparrows.  There are several tours for non-birders, such as historical tours and several general naturalist tours.

Of course,  I have to give a shameless plug for Tom’s Bird Feeder’s booth where you can see the quality of our easy to clean and easy to fill bird feeders.  These would include our finch feeders, tube feeders, suet feeders and hopper feeders.  You will also be able to see the quality of our embroidered caps, the outstanding colors in our t shirts and can remember the trip every morning when you sip coffee out of your new mug.

I would be remiss if I did not call your attention also to Ed Bustya’s booth.  His bird photography is a step above most.

Hope to see you there.