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Tips, Tricks and
FAQ's
- How can I train Chickadees to eat from
my hand?
- How to stop bird seed from germinating
- How do I keep squirrels out of a bird
feeder?
- Here are 2 items
you DO NOT want to feed
your backyard birds!
- How can I help prevent bird window
collisions?
- Starlings driving you
crazy?
- Woodpeckers driving you
crazy?
- How do I prevent peanut butter
or lard recipes from melting in the hot summer
sun?
- Peanut Butter -
Creamy or Chunky?????
- Are
there fruiting shrubs I can grow that will
produce berries that birds will eat right off the
plant?
- How can I attract
hummingbirds to my backyard?
- How can I easily
and quickly clean my sticky, messy hummingbird
feeder?
- $.03 solution to an algae-free bird
bath!
- What birds will eat my backyard
mosquitos?
- An easy way to
provide some shelter
- Why Do
Birds Migrate? Here's a great 5 minute read...
- Wind causing feeder
spillage?
- How can I train Chickadees
to eat from my
hand?
Back to
Top
This hint comes from a reader,
Emily:
This may be easier than it
looks. All it takes is a little dedication and
persistence.
Everyday, go outside and hold a
handful of sunflower seeds (preferred black oil sunflower
seeds). Do this daily for about 15 minutes, obviously
only when Chickadees are in the area. If you stand
still and hold your hand still (maybe rest your arm on a
bench, table or railing), the birds will get used to your
presence and soon know the routine.
When the birds come to your hand,
avoid direct eye contact or they may fly away.
Good luck, and let us know how
this works for you!
- How to stop bird seed from
germinating
Back to
Top
OK, so you bought some bird seed, versus growing your own :) , and now it is growing in the seed bag or on the ground around your feeders. What to do?
Seeds want to grow. Here's a rather easy way to stop them, while not affecting the seed's look, nutritional value or safety to the birds.
The key is heating up the seed until you in-effect sterilize them (stop their growth).
Either place them in a dish in your oven (300 degrees F. for 30 minutes), or
in the microwave (on a microwave-safe dish or brown grocery bag) on high for 5 minutes.
The birds wont know the difference, and
you will have less sprouts in your bag and less sunflowers
growing under your feeders.
Good luck, and let us know how
this works for you!
- How do I keep squirrels out
of a bird feeder?
Back to
Top
Here are 4 easy solutions:
-
Feeder Placement - Most folks use a method of trying to
keep the squirrels from getting to the bird food.
You can place the feeder in a location where
the squirrels can not climb or jump to, but this is often
not ideal. Many people want to place their bird
feeders in a location that they can easily view their bird
friends, such as on a deck rail or a low hanging
branch. However, these locations also allow squirrels
in.
-
Tricking the
Squirrels
- A third method, if you have a pole mounted feeder, is to
oil the post down or mount a slinky (yes that old-time kid's
toy) under the feeder with the pole through the
slinky. Frankly, we have had limited success with
these methods. We have found that using a larger
diameter PVC pole, 4" or more, does prohibit squirrels from
climbing as the diameter is to large for them to grab
onto. The downside is having to look at a big old
pole.
- Here are 2 items you DO NOT want to feed your backyard
birds!
Back to
Top
-
Salted Nuts - Just like for you and I, too much salt is not
good. Feeding salted nuts to your birds once in a
while is ok, but don't make a habit of it. While it is
true that some birds will look for salt, such as the pine
siskin, most don't look for it nor do they need it.
Again, once in a while is ok, but that's it. If you
are buying nuts to feed your birds, look for the unsalted
variety. (So, you may be asking yourself, how about the sea
gull, don't they eat salt every day through the salt
water? Yes, they do, but they also have special
features that allow them to expel the excess salt from
their systems, something that inland (backyard) birds do not
possess.)
-
Chocolate -
You don't want to feed chocolate to your birds, just like
you don't want to feed chocolate to your dog!
Substances in chocolate can hurt animals by constricting
blood vessels and over stimulating their heart. So, if
you are looking to feed them a spare donut or granola bar,
keep the chocolate variety in the house for the family and
give the birds the un-chocolate
ones!
- How can I help prevent bird
window
collisions?
Back to Top
Growing
up, my Mom always claimed to feel bad when a bird would slam
head-first into our living room window. If she 'really'
felt bad, thought, she'd have moved the bird feeder
outside. Rich Johnson
A
little humor above, but this is an issue.
According to some experts, window collisions cause the deaths
of more birds than any other human-related avian mortality
factor. Here are some good suggestions to help
prevent these unfortunate events:
-
Place decals on your
windows - Many collisions can be
prevented if something on the window breaks up the
reflection to the landscape outside. Place a
decorative decal on your window, hang an ornament from the
top window frame (it many come with suction cups to hang in
the center of the window), or hang an art project your
children made at school! The key is to break up the
reflection caused by the clear
glass.
-
Place feeders close to a
window - This may seem wrong, but it really
works. Place your bird feeder close to the window,
ideally within 3 feet. Many feeder styles are designed
to hang on the window via suction cups attached to the
glass. When feeders are close to the window, birds do
not have a chance to build up to full flying speed. If
they do bump the window, it should not be too
serious.
Check out this website dedicated to
reducing bird window collisions:
Fatal Light Awareness
Program
Here is one company that we
ran across that specializes in bird window collision
prevention products:
The Bird Screen Company
- Starlings driving you
crazy?
Back to Top
An Apple a day may just keep the
Starlings away!
- Woodpeckers driving you
crazy?
Back to Top
Check out this
website dedicated to this
issue
- How do
I prevent peanut butter or lard recipes from melting in the
hot summer sun? Back to Top
Here
are 4 easy solutions which should help:
-
Render your Suet Twice - render the lard/fat
mixture twice (heat it, let it cool, heat it again, let it
cool again). This will cause it to harden more than
just doing a single heat/cool cycle and help to keep it from
melting in the hot summer sun. Check out our suet
recipes for more details
steps.
-
Add Bread to your Recipe - add bread products to
the peanut butter or lard. This is key, as the bread
products will 'soak up' the liquids in the mixture and cause
it to harden. We like bread products like croutons,
dried bread crumbs, oatmeal, corn flour,
etc.
-
Feeder in the Shade
-
this one seems easy enough, but not
always very feasible. Try to place the feeder out of
direct sunlight. This will help, but only if you can
place the feeder in a location where you can still
enjoy the view and the birds will still visit the
feeder. Also, try to place the feeder over an
area where any possible drippings will not make a
mess. Instead of having the feeder over your
patio, try placing it over your lawn or flower
garden.
-
Use smaller portions - Here's a good trick. Cut your suet into
smaller pieces, and place one of these small pieces out in
your feeder at a time. You may need to refill your
feeder more often, but the smaller portion will not make
such a big mess, and you will have much less
waste, should it still melt.
Peanut Butter
- Creamy or
Chunky????? Back to Top
Which
kind of peanut butter should I offer to my backyard
birds? Bottom line, both work fine. Both supply
the high energy birds need during cold
spells. Birds that enjoy feeding on nuts, such as
chickadees, woodpeckers and nuthatches will no doubt enjoy the
nuts, but they will gladly take to the creamy stuff.
Birds that do not normally eat nuts, like bluebirds, tanagers
and wrens, will gladly eat around the nuts. So serve up
whatever you have and enjoy the viewing.
Check out our homemade peanut butter feeder for an
interesting and easy way to serve up this
great treat.
- Are
there fruiting shrubs I can grow that will
produce berries that birds will eat right off the
plant? Back to Top
Why
Yes. The colors and shapes of berries are as appealing
to gardeners as they are to birds, which consume them through
winter for a nutritious food source. Here are some of
our favorites:
-
How can I attract hummingbirds to my
backyard? Back to Top
Here
are 4 things you can do to help make your backyard attractive
to the hummer:
-
Plant a flower
garden!
The hummingbird
prefers tubular flowers. Try these
varieties:
(salva,
bee balm, hyssop, phylox, butterfly weed, cardinal flower,
and lantana)
-
-
Give them some nearby
shelter!
Believe it or not,
hummingbirds do rest. If you've ever seen them perching,
you may notice
they like a branch in
a hidden location. Give them a nearby bush or tree that
offers many
'hiding places'.
Evergreens offer them a great
retreat.
-
Give them
water!
Hummers love moving
water, as they will drink and bathe on the fly. Try a
nearby sprinkle or
bird bath with
misters. It's quite a sight to
see!
- How can I easily
and quickly clean my sticky, messy hummingbird
feeder?
Back to
Top
Here's an old favorite! Fill your
feeder tube with hot water, then add one half of a denture
cleaning tablet. Watch it work
, waiting a couple of minutes. Rinse the tube out
with clean water for a minute, then refill with your homemade
nectar (sugar water) and you and your hummingbirds are back in
business!
- $.03 solution to an algae-free bird
bath! Back to
Top
First
off, let it be noted that algae is not something you can
prevent, but only keep in check. People have used
and/or suggested many things to help keep their bird baths
free from algae. There is bleach, toothpaste,
spray with Tilex then hose it off with water, vinegar,
blast it with a power washer (our favorite), and many
more. But here's a great idea. Some folks swear by
it, others say it's only an urban legend. Take 3
pennies and place them in the bird bath. The cooper
will help keep the algae under control. Here's the key: the
pennies need to be older than 1982. Prior to 1982,
pennies were 95% copper. After 1982, they are mainly zinc. Give
it a try and let us know how it works for
you!
- An easy way
to provide some
shelter Back to Top
If you
have an open yard with few nearby bushes, place your old
Christmas tree near your feeder to provide shelter from
hawks.
- Wind causing
feeder
spillage?
Back to
Top
Have
you ever looked at your tube feeder during high winds?
It's likely bobbing all over the place. And that bobbing
is likely causing your feed to fall to the ground. Some
of those seeds will not be wasted, as ground feeding
birds will thank you. However, if you are
watching your seed level in your feeder fall quicker
than you like, here's a great tip. Place some small but
heavy rocks in the tube feeder. Place enough so they
fill the tube to the bottom of the lowest feeding
opening. Next wind, you'll be ready!
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