The goldfinches and siskins are birds that I want coming to my yard so I purchased a thistle sock. It seemed to let a lot of thistle seed slip through and land on the ground. What do I look for in a finch feeder to stop this? Thistle is too expensive to [...]
When I started bird watching I was startled to see a magpie sitting on the back of a deer. I watched it land on the deer’s back, fly away and then land on the deer again four times. This behavior sent me back to the books (this was before the internet) to find out [...]
As the quail drank, the smaller birds all hit the bushes in a fast panic! In a short moment only one juvenile (We call them teenagers.) Scaled Quail was left at the pond and in the blink of an [...]
I selected a filled thistle sock from your bird store at a Texas bird festival. After I got home my better half said that thistle seed will make tumbleweeds and I shouldn’t use the thistle sock because Russian Thistle is definitely an invasive plant that ought to be exterminated. [...]
I am searching for techniques to continue to feed the birds, yet achieve it in a much more cost-effective method. What precisely do you recommend?
Answer: To start with, please do not change to a inexpensive seed mixture. Nearly all of these [...]
This sparrow is a very adaptable little bird. It is often the first species to return to a forest area when a mining site or farm fields are reclaimed. [...]
Comments like this are understandable when the Ruby-throated Hummingbird can beat its wings 53 times a second, can hover in one place and is eastern North America’s only breeding [...]
There are two solutions to hummingbirds that try to posses a hummingbird feeder for themselves. One is place every feeder in your yard out of sight of any other feeder. The option we use is to offer [...]
While we were watching them the Chipping Sparrows started filtering into the triple tube feeder. Shortly we also had Savannah Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrows, Black Headed Grosbeaks, Blue Grosbeaks and a Green-tailed [...]
These birds reminded me of watching a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches … collecting resin globules from coniferous trees and plastering them around the entrance of their nest hole. [...]
One interesting observation is that Lark Sparrows walk rather than hop across our bird feeder. If fact, hopping is only used during courtship. During courtship a male Lark Sparrow [...]
The most common birds at our Best 1 hummingbird feeders have been the Broad-tailed and the Black-throated Hummingbirds. All three of our orioles have be into the saucer oriole feeder and [...]
This is just an update to keep people current on how the spring bird migration is progressing. This past week we had our first Black-chinned Hummingbird into our Best 1 hummingbird [...]
Those of you planing a trip to southeast Arizona, stay tuned and I will keep you informed of the bird migration situation. [...]
We had a Broad-tailed Hummingbird into our saucer hummingbird feeder this morning and the Cactus Wren and the Curve-billed Thrasher are fighting over the telephone [...]
This week-end we saw our first signs of the spring bird migration…Over the week-end we had a Magnificent Hummingbird and a Blue-throated Hummingbird…We also had Mountain Bluebirds come into our Supper Dome bird feeder. [...]
Recently a birding friend of ours approached us with a problem he was having. His wife, who was also a long time birder had recently been admitted to a nursing home due to failing health. While still being of sharp mind (It was her body which was failing.) she was bored with the daily routine [...]
For many years now the bluebird populations have been declining …but you can impact the population [...]
The Black-Capped Chickadee hides seeds and other food items to eat later. Each item is placed in a different spot and the chickadee can remember thousands of hiding places. [...]
We have been blaming the windy weather for keeping the number of birds down at our bird feeders. But today the wind was down, the sun was out and birds were still not coming into our bird feeders. In fact even the thrashers were hunkered down deep into the bushes instead of claiming a platform [...]
I have to admit that this thistle bird feeder is my favorite. It truly optimizes our philosophy of easy to clean and easy to fill bird feeders. It’s die cast yellow top and bottom along with the perforated stainless steel sides and lifetime guarantee will make it one of yours [...]
You might notice that I say he “ran”. He did not fly. Crissal Thrashers are known for their habit of running or walking around their territory. Even when threatened by a predator or [...]
Margaret Brittingham at the University of Wisconsin’s Wildlife Ecology Department conducted a three year study, tracking 576 Black-capped Chickadees and found no difference in the rates of survival of feeder visitors to wild foragers. Her study indicates that feeder birds obtained only 20 to 25% of their daily energy requirements from feeder food. [...]
I have been thinking about why my grandkids are interested in bird watching and would like to offer the following suggestions to parents and [...]
If you have been using a thistle sock and are tired of replacing it or have problems with squirrels, the acrylic thistle feeder might be the next step up for your backyard birding [...]
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