Can I Attract Birds to my Apartment?

April 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Question:  I have recently moved to a twelfth floor apartment in a large city and miss the birds I used to feed every day.  Is there any way to attract birds to the balcony of my apartment?

 

Safflower Bird Feeder at http://tomsbirdfeeders.com

Cardinals Love Safflower

Answer:  The answer to this question depends on many things.  One would be the habitat around your building.  If it is adjacent to a park it will attract cardinals and many of the finches.If it is adjacent to a park, a lake or a river your chances are better.  Can you place flowers or small shrubs in pots on your balcony?  Try for plants that produce nectar and have a long flowering season.  This would catch the attention of birds more quickly than just hanging a bird feeder.  The best time of the year to start your feeding station would be during migration. It is then that birds are looking for new food sources and have not established a routine.  Depending on the part of the country you are in, you may try hummingbird and oriole feeders.  I would also recommend a waste free seed such as hulled sunflower seeds or safflower seeds.  Many birds are attracted to sunflower seeds and safflower will attract cardinals and many of the finches.

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Black-billed Magpies: Did You Know?

October 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

We were recently in South Dakota and of course we had to do a little bird watching while we were there.  One of the species that I enjoyed seeing was the Black-billed Magpie.  Although it is not rare and not really hard to find, the striking black and white pattern always makes me smile.

Black-billed Magpie featured at http://tomsbirdfeeders.com

The black and white pattern along with the long tail make identification easy.

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 why.  It seems that magpies are tolerated by the deer because the birds are removing ticks.  The magpies will eat some and then cache some for later use as many members of their family do.  The problem with this is that the ticks are stored alive and unharmed.  The ticks simply crawl away and resume their lives.

Black-billed Magpie nest from http://tomsbirdfeeders.com

The large domed nest of the Black-billed Magpie is unmistakable.

 The nest of the Black-billed Magpie is unmistakable.  It is a large domed nest, made primarily of sticks and mud. The interior of the nest is lined with hair, grass, bark, or rootlets. The nest can take the birds up to 40 days to build.  A recent study found that the pair only spent about 1% of their daily energy to build their nest.  The female on the other hand spent 23% of her energy laying the eggs.

 As with other members of the corvidae family, the magpies will predate the nests of  birds taking both eggs and nestlings.  However this predation only makes up a small part of the Black-bill Magpie’s diet.  Most of the time the magpie will forage on the ground for insects, grains, with acorns being a favorite, small mammals and some carrion.

 When we lived in South Dakota the magpies would sometimes visit our suet feeders and our platform bird feeders.  The smaller songbirds would sound the alarm and quickly make the magpie feel unwelcomed.  They never stayed very long and we never seemed to be visited on a regular basis.  Maybe they just came in with the deer that visited our birdbath for a drink  occasionally.   :^)

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Drama at the Bird Feeding Station

December 16, 2010 by 4 Comments

Today started out like most other days. We got up, filled our coffee mugs and sat down to watch the morning breakfast crew at our bird feeders. The White-crowned Sparrows and Brewer’s Sparrows were coming in in numbers with Cactus Wrens on the recycled oriole feeder munching on the peanut butter and jelly. A Curve-billed Thrasher chorkled from the top of an agave stalk adjacent to our four tiered bird pond. A small group of Scaled Quail worked their way down our “wildlife path” which leads down to the pond from the scrub land habitat behind it. 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 eye a Cooper’s Hawk had him in his talons and had dispatched him at the pond’s edge. The hawk put the quail down and took a short drink. Then, grabbing the quail in his talons again, the hawk skittered along the ground to the path where it started to eat the unfortunate bird. After a couple of minutes the hawk flew to the top of the agave stalk, screaming loudly. A close look showed a beautiful coyote walking up the wildlife path. The coyote calmly walked up to the quail body, picked it up and carried it away to eat it back in the brush.

Scenes like this are why we always start our day in front of the bird feeders. You just never know what is going to happen and which of nature’s wonders you will have the privilege of observing.

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Thistle Feeders: Are They Safe for the Environment?

November 5, 2010 by 7 Comments
Question: 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. Is what he is saying true, am I planting tumbleweeds when I give food to the birds?

Reply to to the Question: This isn’t the first time I’ve got this inquiry from people who begin to use “thistle” in their feeders for finches. The dilemma happens in the terminology. What we sold you is Guizotia abyssinica, an upright, stout, branched annual plant originally out of the Ethiopian Highlands. The common name there is nigernood, which in turn translates to  blackseed. When the seed became a cash crop, and exported to the U.S., corporations changed the name of the blackseed to thistle seed to take advantage of the finches affinity for native thistle (certainly not the invasive thistle your husband is referring to.)

Later the Wild Bird Feeding Industry (WBFI) has trademarked the name Nyjer. The industry’s objective is to have the seed known as Nyjer so birders won’t mistake it with Russian Thistle. They thought a spelling adjustment was in fact recommended in order to avoid any ideas of a racial slur.

Before you buy Nyjer to use for your thistle feeder, the seed is going to be heated to 120 degrees for 15 minutes to actually sterilize the Nyjer seed. It insures that you can fill all your “thistle feeders” for the finches, Pine Siskins and Redpolls without propagating invasive seeds within your landscape.

Subsequently, your hubby is correct, Russian Thistle does indeed create tumbleweeds. Nonetheless, you should feed Nyjer seed with no need of concern.

The goldfinches and I appreciate your interest in feeding birds.

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Vesper Sparrow: Did You Know?

October 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

This morning between sips from our coffee mugs, we had a Vesper Sparrow come into our platform bird feeder.  This was one that they could have taken a picture of for the field guides.  The chestnut patch on his wing was clearly visible, the streaking on his breast was well defined and the white outer tail feathers were there for all to see.

I remember when I first started birding and had memorized the song of the Vesper Sparrow in South Dakota.  When we visited North Carolina there were many songs that were not familiar, but I was seeing a Vesper Sparrow singing and thought the song was not quite right.  I have learned since then that the songs of the Vesper Sparrow can vary between regions, but a Vesper Sparrow in South Dakota will sound like every other Vesper Sparrow.  And a North Carolina Vesper Sparrow will sound like every other Vesper Sparrow.  I’m not sure how the regions are established, but there will be regional differences in their songs.  There is even a documented report of a Vesper Sparrow that learned to sing like a Bewick’s Wren!

The Vesper Sparrow was first called the Bay-winged Bunting and then the Grass Finch.  John Burroughs gave the bird the name Vesper Sparrow because he felt that its singing was “sweeter and more impressive toward the evening”.

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.  We felt complimented by his visit to our bird feeder, as we are slowly reclaiming over grazed pasture land and have some native trees that are now taller than we are!

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Ruby-throated Hummingbirds: Did You Know?

September 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

This past week-end Tom and I were in Rockport, Texas for the Hummer Festival.  This is one of our favorite shows.  The timing is great, you will see many, many Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at the Best 1 Hummingbird feeders.  Also, the Buff-bellied Hummingbird is always in the area for the show.  We also had a report of an Anna’s Hummingbird, though I personally did not see the bird.  Our spirits were some what dampened by the rain the area received during the festival, but many of the houses had hummingbird feeders under eaves of their houses, so at least the hummers were dry and happy!

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird was first described as a “spritelike bird, scarcely bigger than a good sized insect……..most unbirdlike, more like an overgrown bee.” ( Scott- 1890)  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 hummingbird.  How would you describe a hummingbird without using a camera?  I think Scott did the best anyone could do!

Scientists have placed hummingbirds and swifts in the same taxonomic order, the Apodiformes. This name means “without feet.”  If you observe this little hummer for a while you can see why the classification is appropriate.  These short legs prevent it from walking or even hopping like many birds do, it does more of a shuffling motion when it moves along a perch.  The only time you may see its legs are when the hummer has an itch on its head or neck.  The bird can scratch by reaching around its wing to get to the itchy spot.

When you put out a hummingbird feeder for the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, you need to be patient.  These hummers are a creature of habit, and will return to the same spot to look for the bird feeder they used last year.  If you have moved the feeder or put out new ones, they will take their time in adjusting to the newness of the situation. They will eventually adjust and come back to a new spot until you move or change something again.  Then the process will start all over again!

Next time you see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, try to describe it to someone who has seen a hummingbird before.  Try to see it’s feet.  If you are really brave, move the hummingbird feeder and see how long it takes for the little guy to find the new location!

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Bully at My Best 1 Hummingbird Feeders

September 14, 2010 by 5 Comments

 The Rufous Hummingbirds have taken over the hummingbird feeders hanging from our porch in front of  the sliding glass door.   The Rufous chose this end of our line of feeders because of the perches available above the feeders. This is a yearly happening, though I still get upset when the Rufous chase off the Black-Chinned who regularly nest in our yard.

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 30 Best 1 Hummingbird Feeders along the front of our house.  The ‘bully’ cannot posses all of the feeders at one time.  While he is at one end of the house, the hummers enjoy a snack of sugar water at the other end.  We do not fill the hummingbird feeders full and always clean them every 3-4 days.   You can learn how we clean our hummingbird feeders.

Today we we lucky enough to witness a very brave act!  We had a Magnificent Hummingbird that ignored the bomb diving, hovering and buzzing of the Rufous and helped himself  to a hearty breakfast.  Several of the Rufous where just plainly enraged by this act.  But, no matter what they tried, the Magnificent was going to have his breakfast!

While I was laughing out loud at the activity in front of the porch, Tom was counting the number of feeders that had hummingbirds at them.  We had 14 feeders being used at the same time!  It seems that many other hummingbirds knew enough to use the distraction to grab a sip or two.

I have blogged about the migration the Rufous Hummingbirds undertake each year. I should realize their tenacity is necessary to their survival, but today I was really tickled that their tenacity (I still call it bullying) was held in check by the Magnificent Hummingbird!  It was a “magnificent” sight!  Pun intended.

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Fall Bird Migration Means Little Brown Birds

September 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

OK, be honest, how many of you remember when you first started to get serious about bird watching?  Do you remember your first fall bird migration?  Do you remember trying desperately to ID those “little brown birds”?  You were just getting your confidence up and not heading for the bird book every time you saw a sparrow.  And then the plumage changed.  Not only did you have “little brown birds,”  but all of the warblers became female!

Well, it’s that time of year down here.  As we sipped from our Southwest Canyon Bird Coffee Mug, the fall sparrow migration hit our bird feeders.  We had had a few Lark Sparrows into the recycled platform bird feeder last week.  Today the flock arrived!  We had them enjoying our bath bath and then using both platform feeders.  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 Towhee.  Most of these species seemed to prefer the platform bird feeders, but many used the various tube feeders we have scattered around the yard, especially the shy species.  Many of these species will stay with us for the winter.  Some will get their field marks back after this molt, making the ID so much easier.

We were surprised that so many species arrived at the same time, perhaps it is because we put up a new novelty crossing sign - ”Wild Bird Crossing!”

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Red-breasted Nuthatch: Did you know?

August 31, 2010 by Leave a Comment

We were visiting some friends and, since they are birders also, they understood when our attention was drawn to their bird feeders.  The sunflower bird feeder was just outside their family room picture window.  Now I know that a Red-breasted Nuthatch is not a particularly rare bird, but we do not get them out on the desert where we live.  This group of nuthatches was very busy taking one sunflower seed at a time out of the tube bird feeder, cracking it, eating it and then returning to start the process all over again.  Occasionally they took a seed from the platform feeders.

These birds reminded me of watching a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches build a nest at my folk’s house in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  When I arrived the pair were busily collecting resin globules from coniferous trees and plastering them around the entrance of  their  nest hole.  I expected the birds to carry the resin in their bills.  I was amazed that the nuthatches used what I considered a tool.  The male collected  pieces of bark with pine pitch on it and then used the bark as an applicator. The male puts the resin primarily around the outside of the hole while the female puts it around the inside. It is thought that the resin helps to keep out competition for the nest cavity and also deters predators. The nuthatch avoids the resin by diving through the hole, not perching in the entry as most birds do.

My father reported that the Red-breasted Nuthatch had fought hard to claim the nesting cavity.  He had first seen a Downy Woodpecker hammering away, trying to enlarge the hole.  The Red-breasted Nuthatch aggressively chased the Downy away after a two day battle.  Next the Red-breasted had to defend the cavity from a White-breasted Nuthatch.  It seems this pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches were particularly feisty and again won the battle.

This pair brought 3 young off the nest.  My folks were as proud as “grandparent”s could be.  In fact,  they purchased a peanut bird feeder when the young left the nest as a way to keep the nuthatches in the area.  I don’t know if the same pair stayed around, but the familiar “yank-yank” has been heard for years at my parent’s house.

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Lark Sparrows – Did You Know?

May 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Our spring bird migration is continuing.  Today we had our first Blue Grosbeak into our sunflower bird feeder.  He then hopped down to have a drink from our tiered bird pond.  He had not completed his molt completely, so he wasn’t the most beautiful grosbeak, but was welcomed to our yard anyway.

The Lark Sparrows are still here in great numbers enjoying the platform bird feeder.  Their face pattern on this sparrow plus the fan shaped tail with the white band make this  one of the easiest to identify of the sparrows. 

 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 crouches on the ground, holds his tail up at a 45 degree angle from the ground, spreads the tail feathers to show off the white tips, and then struts with its wings drooping so that the wingtips nearly touch the ground. When the female is receptive, the male gives her a small twig just before copulation.

In our area we have observed Lark Sparrows recycling old Mockingbird and thrasher nests.  I have also read reports where  the eggs and young of two species are found in the same nest, suggesting that the Lark Sparrow shares the nest with the other bird.

I will continue to report on the spring bird migration here in Portal.  Good Birding to all.

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