Copyright © 2000 Rodale Inc..
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0-87596-834-1
Chapter One
A
Accessories
Manufacturers of bird feeders are making it easy for consumers to jump on the bird-feeding bandwagon. Of course, all you need to make the birds happy is a supply of seed and a tray to put it in. But if you feed birds on a regular basis and have a feeding station that includes several types and sizes of feeders, you'll appreciate the new labor-saving devices. You can buy gizmos that clean or hang your feeders, contraptions to keep out squirrels, and technological marvels to bring the bird world closer to you inside. Here are some of the accessories I've found most useful. Look for them in well-stocked bird-supply stores, home improvement stores, or discount stores, or order from catalogs such as those listed in "Resources" on page 348.
Scrub-brush hose attachment. This short-handled brush attaches directly to your garden hose. A stream of water travels through a narrow tube in the handle and loosens grime and stuck-on seed from your birdbath or feeder.
Brush for plastic tube feeders. Slide this long brush into your tube feeder and rotate to clean out old seed in a jiffy. Soft bristles won't scratch plastic.
Niger seed bags. Add extra feeding places for finches in a snap by hanging seed-stuffed pouches brimming with niger. Birds cling to the mesh and extract the seeds through the small openings.
Add-on trays for tube feeders. Cut down on spilled seed by attaching a plastic tray to the bottom of your tube feeder to catch niger or other seeds that fall from openings. Bonus: The tray adds perching room for cardinals and other customers.
Bell-shaped ant guard. Hook this plastic bell above your nectar feeder, coat the inside with petroleum jelly, and prevent ants from raiding your sugar water supplies. Longer lasting, more effective, and much less messy than smearing petroleum jelly on the feeder hanger itself.
Shepherd's crooks. Easy to push into any soil, these low-cost metal posts let you install feeders quickly and easily by stepping onto the anchoring support. Some feature more than one curved hook, for multiple-feeder capacity.
Extra arms for feeder poles. A simple clamp lets you add extra hooked arms—and that means extra feeders—to poles up to 1 1/4 inches in diameter.
Steel feeder stand. Heavy, tip-proof, flat base accepts a metal post, such as a shepherd's crook, so you can enjoy feeders on your deck or patio.
Tree-mount feeder bracket. Never have to pound a nail into living wood again. This stretchy cord wraps snugly around a tree to hold the included feeder-supporting hook. To avoid inadvertently girdling your tree, use this type of support for a winter-time feeder that you remove—along with the stretchy cord—when spring arrives.
Bird monitor system. Bring the sounds of the feeder area indoors with this wireless monitor system. It works like a waterproof baby monitor. The sensitive microphone picks up chirps, songs, and even the sounds of cracking seeds and rustling wings.
Accidents
BIRDS REPRODUCE IN BROODS to compensate for the many individuals lost to predators, disease, and accidents. Sad to say, human activity causes most bird accidents. The leading causes of bird fatalities include collisions with vehicles, fatal encounters with glass windows, knockouts at tall radio, television, or cell phone towers during migration flights, and bashes with big city buildings. Lighthouses, ocean oil slicks, and chemicals also take their toll on birds. Add the predations of our feline friends to the list, and you can see what a danger our human habits are to wild birds.
Apart from the widespread dangers birds face, there is a long list of other accidents that may befall them. Songbirds may become trapped in garages and other outbuildings. Quail, pheasants, and other game birds have had unfortunate entanglements with barbed wire. Lawn mowers and farm equipment endanger ground-nesting field birds.
Even water can pose a problem to swallows, which skim low across the surface to collect insects. One wing beat too low, and the bird may be unable to regain the air. In the feeder area, most accidents happen when birds fly into windows. Use fruit-tree netting, stretched tightly so it's barely visible to human eyes, to break up reflections and keep the birds in your yard safe.
Tribulations of Being Tiny
Hummingbirds are particularly prone to accidents due to their small size. They may become fish food or frog dinner at ponds. A friend of mine found a hummer hanging by its beak from her screen door. Bird watchers have found the little birds trapped in the sticky threads of orb weaver spiders.
Acorns
Attract chickadees, jays, nuthatches, quail, titmice, wild turkeys, woodpeckers
PACKED WITH PROTEIN, acorns are a huge hit with all nut-eating birds, including chickadees, jays, nuthatches, titmice, and woodpeckers. They're also tops with game birds like wild turkeys and quail. Lacking the necessary whacking power to get at acorn nutmeats themselves, smaller birds such as buntings, finches, juncos, and sparrows will clean up crumbs dropped by larger birds or acorns smashed by the bird-feeder filler (that's you).
Oak (Quercus spp.) trees of any kind are magnets for birds when the acorns are ripe for picking, which may be late summer to fall, depending on the oak species. Beating the birds to the harvest may sound a little mean, but you're really just stockpiling acorns for winter feeding when acorns can be hard to find.
Harvesting, Storing, and Serving Acorns
It doesn't take a lot of effort to gather a supply of acorns for winter bird feeding. Just fill your pockets whenever you notice the fallen nuts on your nature hikes or while strolling your yard. Although some acorns taste sweet to human palates and others are extremely bitter, birds seem to appreciate all of them.
Some acorns begin to germinate soon after hitting the ground, while others need a rest period over winter before they sprout. To keep your acorns fresh, store them outdoors or in an unheated garage in a moisture-proof metal container with a secure lid, so that squirrels don't help themselves to your hoard. When you want to give your feeder birds a treat, put a handful of acorns in an old sock, fold over the top, and use a hammer to split open the acorns. Pour the broken nuts into a tray feeder and sit back to watch the show.
Age
Our studies of captive birds indicate that if a bird manages to avoid predators, disease, accidents, and starvation, it can achieve a ripe old age of 10 years or more. Sheltered from natural disaster, robins have been reported to live as long as 15 years, and a captive cardinal reached the rather incredible age of 28 years!
Unfortunately, in the wild, birds rarely achieve their potential life span. Many of them live a very short life: from 6 months to a year or two, with an estimated two-thirds of birds that reach flying stage never making it to their first birthday. Records retrieved from banded birds show that representatives of many species, from chickadees and goldfinches to grosbeaks and jays, manage to notch 5 years or more, with some lasting into their teens. In general, very small birds such as warblers have shorter lives than larger birds. Hawks, owls, geese, and gulls and other seabirds hold the old-age records for birds: Some individuals have thrived for more than 40 years.
If you can distinguish an individual bird in your backyard, perhaps because of albinism or unusual behavior or song, you can keep track of its age yourself. A tufted titmouse with a white tail feather visited my feeder for 6 years, then disappeared in year 7. A blue jay that produced a distinctive imitation of a red-tailed hawk scream was a feeder patron and a nesting resident for 4 years.
Albinism
Birds of a feather flock together, and those birds that display the white feathers characteristic of albinism may not be accepted among their species. A flock of birds may harass or shun a mostly white bird, perhaps because its high visibility draws the attention of predators.
Partially albinistic birds are an oddity but not a real rarity. Once you begin watching the birds around you, you're likely to spot a robin or house sparrow or other bird with white feathers where there should be color. Stress or shock, injury, environmental factors, or genetics may cause the lack of pigment in the colorless plumage. Complete albinos, which lack pigment even in their bill, legs, and eyes so that these features show up as pink, are much rarer than partial albinos.
Identifying a bird with mostly or totally white feathers is tricky. Bird watchers must rely on body shape, song, or behavior clues to provide enough information to pinpoint the species.
Aloes and Agaves
Attract hummingbirds, orioles
Spiky, stiff-leaved aloes (Aloe spp.) and agaves (Agave spp.) hail from desert country, and so they make great garden plants in warm, dry climates. Agaves are American plants and are a familiar sight in the Southwest, where their tall flowering stalks attract thirsty hummingbirds. Aloes, including the well-known Aloe vera, come from Africa.
Separating aloes from agaves can be a challenge because the plants look similar. Some agaves even go by the common name "aloe," like the American aloe (Agave americana), better known as century plant.
These plants are a prickly bunch overall. They grow in a cluster of spearlike, succulent leaves armed with sharp spines to deter thirsty desert animals from munching on the juicy leaves. At bloom time, a flowering stalk arises, bearing clusters of tubular flowers. In some species, the main plant dies after flowering, and new plants form around the "parent."
Agaves and aloes are at home in desert gardens, where their nectar-rich blooms draw crowds of hummingbirds and orioles. Outside of USDA Zone 8 or 9, treat them as indoor-outdoor plants: Keep them on a sunny windowsill in winter, then move them outside in summer. To encourage flowering, withhold water for 6 to 8 weeks in winter and early spring, then water well to mimic desert rains.
Altruism
Birds look out for each other in fascinating ways. A covey of quail usually posts a lookout bird, who alerts the others if danger threatens. The sentry may choose an elevated perch, the better to see its surroundings. Although this conspicuous watch post increases the danger for the individual bird (from hawks, particularly), it provides safety for the flock. Doves and pigeons, too, may keep watch for others of their kind when feeding.
Jays and crows act like the police officers of the bird world, alerting all within hearing when a predator threatens. Of course, jays aren't above using their raucous alarm call to clear a feeder area so that they can have it all to themselves.
During nesting season you may see one of the most amazing acts of bird altruism in action. Tree-climbing snakes and squirrels, which have a hearty appetite for bird eggs and nestlings, often run into a full-bird defense when approaching a nest. Usually the nest owner raises the initial alarm, and every nesting bird in the area quickly joins in the attack. With loudly flapping wings and dive-bombing threats, the birds try to deter the snake, and they are often successful. This is an example of reciprocal altruism: The adult birds, no matter what species, vigorously defend the endangered young, and should the need arise, their young will also be guarded by this band of protective parents.
Learn to recognize the alarm calls of your local birds, and hurry to the scene when you hear them. You may witness a fascinating life or death struggle or even help deter a predator in search of avian prey.
Amaranth
Attracts juncos, tree sparrows, and many other seed eaters
Bird brains never have to worry about making grain into flour, which is why amaranth remains a favorite food crop with our avian pals. When a beak is your main utensil, tiny amaranth seeds will do just as well as fat kernels of wheat. (Humans have a different perspective, which is why ancient amaranth, once a widespread grain crop in hot, dry places of the world, lost favor to easier-to-handle grains.)
Pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) is perhaps the most well-known amaranth. Tough and hardy, it pops up everywhere—much to the delight of small birds that feast upon its prolific seeds all winter long.
You're likely to spot pigweed sprouting near your bird feeder, thanks to deposits from your feeder guests. If you let a few plants grow, you'll find they're as popular with birds as your feeder. And the tough, densely branched plants make great shelter for small birds, all the way through winter. Let frost-killed pigweed stems stand and you'll see juncos, tree sparrows, and other seed eaters amid the plants.
If you prefer a more refined amaranth for you and the birds, try the dramatic love-lies-bleeding (A. caudatus), with hot pink drooping tassels that look like fat, fuzzy yarn. Or go for bold with the multicolored foliage of `Joseph's Coat', `Molten Fire', and other showy cultivars of A. tricolor. All amaranths are easy to grow as annuals in any zone, but they take their time coming into flower. Start them indoors early if your growing season is short.
Amelanchier
Attracts bluebirds, catbirds, great crested flycatchers, jays, mockingbirds, orioles, tanagers, thrashers, thrushes, waxwings
Birds show good taste when it comes to their favorite shrubs and trees—many of the most popular plants with birds are also beautiful in a garden. Among the best for birds and gardens is amelanchier, also known as Juneberry, shadblow, shadbush, or serviceberry. This group of shrubs and small trees bursts forth in a flurry of snowy white flowers in early spring. Deep blue-purple berries follow the flowers and are so tasty that you may find yourself enjoying them right along with the birds. The good looks and the (literal) good taste of amelanchiers make them a great foundation for a bird-feeding station and a handsome addition to your landscape.
Versatile and Attractive
Various amelanchier species are native to just about every part of North America, from the cold North to the mild Northwest to the hot desert regions. Depending on your garden style, you can choose plants that grow by suckering roots to form a tall hedge (Amelanchier alnifolia, A. canadensis, or A. ovalis), or low ground-covering shrubby species (A. stolonifera) that look wonderful on hillsides. The single-stemmed, small-tree types (A. arborea, A. asiatica, A. x grandiflora, A. laevis, or A. lamarckii) are as pretty as a dogwood in the landscape. In addition to their spring floral display and bird-pleasing berries, most amelanchiers develop colorful fall foliage. Most amelanchiers are hardy through Zone 4.
Plant amelanchiers in full sun to shade, in average, well-drained garden soil. When the berries ripen from red to blue-purple, watch for bluebirds, catbirds, great crested flycatchers, jays, mockingbirds, orioles, tanagers, thrashers, thrushes, and waxwings to visit in search of the mild-flavored, blueberry-like fruit. You may like fruit so much that you want to plant an extra bush or two for yourself. A bit seedier than blueberries, amalanchier berries taste great atop a bowl of cereal and make a delicious filling for pies or crisps.
Ants
Attract jays, robins, woodpeckers
When you spot an anthill in your yard, count yourself lucky to host insects that birds love. Jays, robins, and woodpeckers are especially fond of ants, but lots of other birds eat ants, too. The critters are plentiful, apparently delectable, and easy for birds to find and eat.
Ants also figure in one of the more bizarre bird behaviors: anting, in which a bird uses an ant like a bath sponge to wipe down its feathers, especially under the wings. Ant bodies contain formic acid, which ornithologists think acts like a natural pesticide to keep feather lice and mites in check. Watch for jays and other birds lolling directly on top of anthills and contorting their bodies as they rub the ants among their feathers.
There's no need to attract ants to your garden—they're already there, going about their busy subterranean lives and venturing out to collect morsels of food for the storehouse.
You may also find ants herding aphids in your garden. The ants feed on the sticky sweet "honeydew" that the aphids secrete; in exchange, they protect aphids from predators and may actually carry the aphids to your plants. This fondness for sweets means that ants may seek out nectar feeders. If they do, deter ants by smearing petroleum jelly on the hanger or by using a commercial bell-shaped ant guard or a plastic water-filled moat to prevent access. Such solutions are easy, quick, and cheap—less than $5 for permanent nectar protection.
Apples
Attract bluebirds, chickadees, jays, mockingbirds, robins, starlings, thrashers, titmice, towhees, Carolina wrens
An apple a day may deter the doctor, but it will bring birds flocking to your feeder in fall and winter. Roughly chop an apple into chunks, spread them in your feeder, and you'll soon have jays, mockingbirds, and Carolina wrens nibbling away at the treasure. Scatter some chopped apple on the ground and robins, brown thrashers, and towhees may also partake of the feast. If bluebirds are in the area, they too may fly in to enjoy a regular offering of apple.
Apples for birds needn't be perfect—they'll eagerly gobble up mushy or wormy fruit. Chopping an apple makes it easier for smaller beaks to eat, but slicing the fruit in half will attract customers, too, who will carefully eat every bit of flesh and leave just the hollowed-out skin behind.
Apples are also tops with starlings. Slice a couple of apples in half, place them on the ground, and you'll get a starling circus outside your window, as the birds joust and squabble over the sweet flesh. Kids love to watch the activity!
If you're trying to deter starlings from your feeding area, save your apples for feeders they can't frequent. A coffee can hung horizontally, with a small entrance hole that allows titmice and chickadees to enter but bars starlings, is a good place to put a small amount of chopped apple. Weighted feeders that deter larger birds will also prevent starlings from getting your apple offerings. But since apples, especially those past their prime, are usually easy to come by (just ask your grocer), you can also include starlings in this feast. Slice whole fruits in half and place them in a decoy feeder, away from those that your more desirable birds frequent.
If you find yourself with an abundance of apples and no room in the fridge for storage, take time to slice and dry them for later use. There's no need to remove the cores—birds like the seeds, too. Just slice the apples thinly with a sharp knife, and loosely string the slices with a heavy-duty carpet needle and thread. Hang to air-dry. Or spread the slices on cookie sheets, and bake at 200°F. How long they take to dry in the oven depends on the moisture content and thickness of the apple slices. Check the slices after 15 minutes, then increase the time as needed by 10-minute intervals. Store dried apples in resealable plastic bags. Chop or serve whole in feeders, or use strings of dried apple slices to decorate outdoor evergreens or a discarded Christmas tree.
B
Baby Birds
Many birds will take up residence near a reliable food source such as your well-stocked feeder, as long as your yard holds the plants or nest boxes they need to raise a family. That means you may get to see fledglings at your feeder, a sight that will bring a smile to even the grouchiest curmudgeon. With their fuzzy heads and stubby bodies, baby birds are delightful.
Should you come upon a baby bird in your yard, the best advice is to leave it alone. Nearly all songbirds leave the nest a few days before they can fly. The parents bring them food as they hop about and flap from one place to another, trying out their wings. The best thing you can do for these not-yet-airborne babies is to keep your cat inside. If a baby bird moves so fast that you have trouble catching it, it does not need your help. If, however, you find an obviously helpless nestling on the ground, you may be able to save it. Fill a berry box or shoe box with facial tissues, and add a 20-ounce soda-pop bottle filled with very warm water to provide vital heat. Nestle the baby in the makeshift nest, cover with a hand towel to preserve the heat, and get the baby to a bird rehabilitator as fast as possible. Your veterinarian or local nature center should be able to supply the name and phone number of one of these dedicated, experienced, and legally licensed people. In spite of your good intentions, it is very difficult—and illegal—to raise a baby songbird.
Bacon
Attracts bluebirds, crows, jays, ravens, starlings, woodpeckers, Carolina wrens
In the old days when bacon was a regular part of breakfast, cooks were happy to share the leftover grease with their feathered friends. In today's fat-conscious society, many people have sworn off bacon, but birds don't need to fight fat! Bacon grease is still a great food for backyard birds.
The simplest way to package bacon grease for bird feeding is in metal tuna or cat-food cans. Punch a hole in the side wall of the can with a nail. Use pliers to bend the tip of a wire into a knot that won't slip through the hole, and thread the wire through the can for hanging. Fill the can to the brim with cooled, but still-liquid bacon grease, then stick it in the refrigerator to solidify. Once the grease is no longer runny, hang the can from a branch.
Bluebirds, jays, woodpeckers, and Carolina wrens readily accept this source of fat, whether you offer it straight or use it in bird-treat recipes. Bacon grease also draws crows, starlings, and even ravens.
Baffles
Squirrels, raccoons, and similar animals may be welcome guests in your yard, but most birders prefer that these critters stick to their own feeders and leave the bird feeders alone. Not only do they tend to clean out a bird feeder in a hurry, but a resident squirrel will also deter most birds from visiting the feeder while it dines. For reasons unclear to us humans, squirrels will almost always go for the bird feeders first. To prevent them from hogging feeders intended for birds, it's time for that ounce of prevention.
Baffles are metal or plastic guards that stand between the feeder and the tree or post, so that climbing animals can't mount a sneak attack on the food. Keep in mind that squirrels are determined creatures, and they may eventually overcome a baffle. They may figure out an alternate approach route and leap directly to the feeder. Or they may learn the acrobatics necessary to keep from sliding off the baffle. At best, a baffle will keep squirrels thwarted all season long; at least, it will slow them down a bit.
If your feeder is mounted on a post, first be sure that squirrels can't reach it by leaping onto it from a tree or roof. Then install a metal cone-shaped or tubular baffle below the feeder. Tubular baffles must be about 14 inches long to deter squirrels and 24 inches long to keep out raccoons. You can make your own baffle from a section of pipe, chosen to fit the diameter of your post, or you can purchase a commercial baffle for easy installation. A section of plastic PVC pipe slipped over the post will deter squirrels for a little while, although they may eventually gnaw through it. Spray-paint the pipe dark green or black to make it less obtrusive in the landscape. Commercial baffles are widely available for both tubular metal posts and thicker wood posts; for a well-made design that will last for years, expect to pay between $15 and $30.
To protect hanging feeders, slip a metal or plastic baffle between the feeder and its hanging hook. These baffles prevent access by tipping as the squirrel climbs onto it, sending the animal sliding off the side or scurrying back where it came from. The slick plastic or metal also prevents the squirrel's feet from getting a secure grip. If you have a choice, go for a metal baffle. Remember that a determined squirrel will gnaw its way through a plastic device. No matter what type of feeder guard you install, keep an eye out—the most persistent of squirrels may eventually figure out a way around even the most well-designed feeder guard.
Some newer models of feeders now come equipped with weight-activated baffles. When a squirrel—or even a large, feeder-hogging pigeon—puts its weight on the perch bar, the pressure pulls down a solid metal wall between the unwanted guest and the food within the feeder. You can even adjust the balance to give only lightweight songbirds access to the seeds. Sturdy steel construction adds heft and cost to these bird-food fortresses, but you can recover the price rather quickly in savings on seeds.
Banding
A tiny aluminum band on a bird's leg is an important link to the body of scientific knowledge about birds. The band identifies where the bird was banded and includes instructions on where to send the band if the bird is later found dead. Retrieved bands help researchers fill in the missing pieces of bird ranges and migration routes and dates.
If you're interested in banding, get involved in an existing program. There you will learn techniques and record keeping, and you'll make contacts who will vouch for your abilities should you later decide to apply for your own federal permit. Call your local chapter of the National Audubon Society, or check with nearby nature centers to track down a banding program to join. Or call 1-800-327-BAND (2263) to find out more.
Beneath the Feeder
Birds at the feeder mean debris beneath it, especially if you're serving up sunflower seed. If you are feeding a large contingent of hungry birds, the fallen seeds and hulls can quickly pile up into a layer several inches deep. You can rake up the hulls, but I prefer to disguise them instead.
Spread a 3-inch layer of wood chips underneath your feeder. Not only will it cover any unsightly accumulation of hulls, it will give a tidy look to your feeder area. The chips also allow ground-feeding birds, such as doves and juncos, to pick through the pile and find edible seeds. Every so often, I drag a garden hoe over the area to turn over a layer of chips on top of newly fallen hulls. The wood chips disguise bird droppings, too.
If you prefer to eliminate debris altogether, offer hulled sunflower seeds, peanut pieces, nutmeats, suet, and other no-mess foods. Niger seed hulls are so small that they rarely become unsightly, so include some niger in your mix to keep the finches happy.