Tips on Feeding Birds in Early Spring

Tips on Feeding Birds in Early Spring

A Lesson on Birds of a Feather

Carolina Chickadee - Small North American Birds

Let's Help Feed Those Backyard Birds Returning From Their Winter Migrations!

It's onto March! Let's hope the 'In like a Lion, out like a Lamb' comes true!

For those birds that have wintered 'up nort', they must have had quite a time of it. Record snowfalls and bitter cold sure makes it hard on them. But for those birds that migrate south during the winter, March is the start of their migration back 'up nort'. Here are a couple of neat ideas you may want to consider throughout the month of March to help their migration out.

First, try putting out fruit Apple halves, browning bananas, even overly ripe grapes will all work. Fruits are not typically found outdoors in March (at least not in the upper midwest), so the early arriving tanagers, grosbeaks, and orioles will find them a great treat They may even be willing to stick around a few days later if they know you are serving up their favorites.

Secondly, here's an interesting tip we have used. Take an old cupcake baking pan and attach it to your deck rail or other feeding platform. Either nail or screw it in place, or better yet, wrap it with small bungy cords to secure it in place(that way you can easily remove it or move it, and you wont leave holes in your decking). Next, place different foods in each cupcake bowl. Then watch the activity! You can see which bowls get emptied the quickest and which birds enjoy each treat. You may just discover that a ripe grape is preferred over a brown banana or that a piece of an old donut beats any fruit you offer up.

And to combine 2 wild bird food favorites into 1 (Berries/Cherries and Peanut Butter), here's a popular and effective homemade recipe:

This is a great project for 3 year olds or older - with supervision

Complexity - Easy

Time to Complete - just 5 to 10 minutes

Needed - Bargain-brand granola bar (your backyard friends wont know you bought generic), Peanut Butter (with our without nuts is fine) and Chopped Berries or Cherries

Step 1 - Spread peanut butter onto a granola bar.

Step 2 - Roll the bar over a plate of chopped berries or cherries, pressing them in place.

Step 3 - Place the bar in your open roofed, platform feeder. Watch the enjoyment begin!

Stay Warm, Spring is just around the corner, and Enjoy your backyard birds!

Studying Birds and Animals With a Nest Box Camera

The latest miniature camera technology allows us to place a camera inside a Bird Box or Animal Nest Box and study wildlife unobtrusively. We can now watch and listen, from the first time a parent bird visits, looking for a suitable site to build its nest, to laying it's eggs and rearing it's young. Then watch in awe as the chicks fledge and leave the nest for the first time.

With the popularity of programs such as Springwatch and Autumnwatch on television, in the UK, which have brought us closer to the natural lifecycle of birds and animals than ever before, nature watching has become a national pastime.

Nest box cameras are available in black and white or colour and with infrared technology for viewing 24 hours a day. They can also be supplied with wires or wireless for remote viewing and can be connected to a TV or a computer. Typically Colour models produce better pictures and are not a lot more expensive than black and white. There are pros and cons for using wireless or wired models: although wireless technology is improving all the time, the signal is generally better with a wired camera. Wired cameras can be simple to set up and are simply "plug and play" but the wires have to run somewhere and may limit the places you can place the nest box. Also there is the possibility of having to drill a hole through the wall of the house to run the wire to the television.

Most companies supplying cameras for nest boxes will fit them into any suitable nesting box, whether it's a small 25mm entrance hole version for a Blue Tit, an open fronted design for Robins and Wrens or even a Hedgehog House.

A nest box can be put up at any time of year but if you put it in place by February you stand a good chance of it being occupied by Spring (In the UK). If they are in place by winter, then some birds will use them to roost and as a shelter and will then use them for nesting in Spring.

A Bird nest box should be sited in a quiet area of the garden and at least 1.5m off the ground to deter predators. They can be placed on a tree, pole, fence or building, but the area should be sheltered from the worst of the weather and prevailing winds and in a place that is not sunny all day long.

Copyright nestboxesandfeeders.co.uk 2011

Birds and Windmills

Renewable energy such as solar and wind power has been heralded by many environmentalists as a step towards a more sustainable economy. However, other environmentalists argue that wind farms can also pose threats to migrating birds and other wildlife. The effects of windmills on birds is a widely-studied and hotly-debated topic that will surely grow in extent as renewable energy projects continue to be implemented across the globe.

Environmental groups in the United States are lobbying for the nation to meet 20% of its energy demands using wind power by the year 2030. Recent advances in technology and tax credits for wind farm builders has made wind power more efficient and financially feasible. But opponents to wind energy say that turbines break down easily and can cause property values to decrease, impair scenic views, and above all, kill or injure wildlife who come into contact with the spinning blades.

Conservationists have pointed out that renewable-energy companies are held to different standards than non-renewable energy corporations such as oil companies, even though both types of companies are responsible for their adverse impacts to bird life. An Oregon-based power company recently paid more than $1 million in fines for killing over 200 golden eagles in Wyoming over a two-year period. But wind farms that kill birds seem to avoid being prosecuted or paying fines as a result. For example, a wind farm in Altamont Pass, California was found to kill more than 10,000 birds per year in a July 2008 study. Nearly all of these birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Act, which applies to both renewable and non-renewable energy companies. This wind farm killed nearly as many golden eagles as the power lines in Wyoming, but so far no charges have been brought against the company.

However, wind-power advocates cite a number of statistics that support the environmental-friendliess of wind power projects. Compared to other threats to bird life, such as domestic cats and tall buildings, wind turbines are relatively harmless. For example, housecats kill more than 1 billion birds each year, compared to several hundred thousand killed by wind turbines each year. In addition, more birds are killed when they strike buildings or are electrocuted on power lines each year than are killed by wind turbines. Several recent studies have researched methods to prevent bird fatalities caused by wind farms.

Scientists have suggested that careful placement of a wind farm may help reduce its impacts on birds. For example, wind companies should avoid important bird breeding areas or habitats that act as stopover points during bird migration. In addition, many patents have been submitted for devices that prevent birds from flying near or into wind turbines. One such device emits an electronic frequency that birds perceive as annoying, which effectively and safely routes birds around turbines or power lines. A similar device has been introduced to prevent boats from striking whales.

As the global population's demand for energy increases, the greater the chance that wind farms will be built. Hopefully, new technology, legislation, and incentives will be put in place to reduce the negative impacts that these normally-environmental-friendly structures have on birds.