What to Feed the Birds/More Bird Photos

Welcome back to all of my readers.

First, a couple of recent photos.  The first photo was captured by my son:

Male/Female Northern Cardinal Rare Joint Appearance 

Dark-Eyed Junco Braving The Thanksgiving Eve Storm 

In my last post on November 24, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/11/exploring-different-types-of-bird.html), I described in detail the the most common types of bird feeders that are available, and which may be the best to use in your area and for your particular yard, etc.  Feeding and watching birds is very enjoyable and a great family activity.

This week I will try to decipher the many types of bird food available, and which are best for your area and particular birds that may be visiting your feeders.

I think the easiest way to approach this is to breakdown the individual ingredients of most bird food mixes.

Black-Oil Sunflower Seeds

The most common and arguably the most desired by many birds in North America are black-oil sunflower seeds.  These seeds are high in energy and are preferred by cardinals, chickadees, finches and sparrows.  The better (thus more expensive) blends of bird food normally have a higher concentration of these seeds.

Cracked Corn

This is a very common ingredient in bird food blends and is enjoyed by doves and sparrows.

Milo

This small round grain is one of the main ingredients in inexpensive seed mixes.  This seed is not a favorite of most Eastern birds, so it is best to avoid mixes with a high concentration of milo.

Millet

Millet is another small round grain also very common in bird seed blends,  It is somewhat more desired then milo, especially by ground foraging birds (juncos, sparrows, etc).

Nyger

Nyger seed is also referred to as thistle seed, although it does not come from the thistle plant.  This seed is imported from Africa and is a favorite mostly since it is loved by finches including the American Goldfinch, Common Redpoll, and Pine Siskin,  A specific type of feeder is required to dispense this seed (tube feeder with small ports or a sock feeder).

Hulled Sunflower Seeds

These are simply sunflower seeds without the shell and will reduce the waste under your feeder if that is a concern.  It also provides a no-work food for birds.

Safflower Seeds


Safflower seeds look like white sunflower seeds.  These are enjoyed by cardinals and normally found in the more expensive blends.  In most cases sunflower seeds will work just as well.

Peanuts

Birds in general love peanuts.  These can be fed in the shell or shelled.  Larger birds will carry off the whole peanuts, while smaller birds will prefer the shelled variety.  It is best to avoid salted peanuts or those with any coating or flavorings.

Suet

Most birds will enjoy suet, which is available in many varieties,  Raw suet can be purchased in the meat department of most grocery stores.  This can be feed by hanging outside in a mesh bag such as those in which onions are sold.  Processed suet cakes are readily available with many added goodies that birds love such as sunflower seeds, fruit, nuts, and more.  These cakes fit nicely into the wire cage suet feeders described in my last post.  When I first starting feeding and watching birds when I was 10 or 12 years old, I even made my own suet cakes by heating the raw suet and pouring it into molds with sunflower seeds. Even though it made a mess in my Mom's kitchen, I guess I was ahead of my time.    

Beef Suet

Suet Cake

So enjoy feeding and watching the birds.  Until next time.

Exploring The Different Types of Bird Feeders

Hello everyone once again and welcome back.

This week I will shed some light on the different types of bird feeders you can use to attract birds to your yard.  Choosing a bird feeder(s) can be overwhelming, as there are many different ones readily available. However, there are really only 4 or 5 different design types.

First, I wanted to share a photo I took this past weekend of American Goldfinches at my platform feeder:

Probably the most popular type of feeder is referred to as the hopper feeder.  These can be hung or pole mounted.  There are many sizes and shapes of these, but the common design is similar in that there is a large hopper to hold the seed.  This type of feeder is also available with specially designed perches that close off the seed supply when a squirrel attempts to feed.  Some examples follow:

Pole Mounted Hopper Feeder

Hanging Hopper Feeder

Next I will describe the hanging tube feeder.  These are designed to hold generic mixed bird feed which typically contains black oil sunflower seeds, cracked corn, milo and millet.  An example is shown below:

Tube feeder

Based on my experience with this type of feeder, it is better to buy one that has metal perches/tube inserts and a metal hanger.  Those with plastic perches and handles can be chewed by squirrels, thus ruining the feeder.  Tube feeders are also available that have a metal wire cage around them to prevent larger birds from dominating the feeder.

For Small Birds Only

The next type is a variation of the tube feeder designed to feed thistle seed.  A traditional style tube feeder with smaller ports will work with thistle seeds, as well as a either a mesh sock or wire mesh feeder. Examples are as follows:

Thistle Tube Feeder

Mesh Sock Thistle Feeder

Wire Mesh Thistle feeder

The mesh sock feeders work well for smaller birds such as goldfinches, whereas the wire mesh thistle feeder is better for larger birds plus are much more durable.  I have had the experience of having a squirrel tear open the mesh sock feeder.

The platform feeder is another common type of feeder which can be used with any type of bird seed/food. I use one of these close to my window, and find it is a great feeder to use to obtain good photos. Of course there are many variations of these also:

Hanging Platform Feeder

Pole Mounted Platform

Next on the list is the window feeder.  These are great to get a really close up view of the birds.  These are typically mounted using suction cups.  One potential problem with this type is that birds may accidentally fly into the window/door the feeder is mounted on.  I think they are great to get children interested in bird watching.

Window Feeder

The final type of bird feeder I will talk about in this post is the suet feeder.  As you may be aware, birds love suet and this will attract different types of birds including woodpeckers.  These are typiclly a hanging feeder, however some hopper feeder have suet feeders attached (see the hanging hopper feeder above).  Suet feeders are typically wire "cages" that hold the suet cakes.  Many types of suet cakes are readily available.

Suet Feeder

So choose your feeder(s) and enjoy the bird watching.  In a future post I will discuss the different types of bird seed and food, and how to attract particular species of birds.

Until next time.

Bird Photos/Week 1 Project FeederWatch Results

Once again, welcome to my blog.

In my last post (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/11/fellow-bird-watchers-its-time-for_7.html), I described Project FeederWatch, a winter long bird survey in which anyone can participate.  The project involves counting birds for two consecutive days, at least 5 days apart, from November through April 2015.  So choose Saturday and Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, whatever works for you.  Missed a week, not to worry!   Project FeederWatch provides invaluable data about bird population biology which can't be obtained by any other method.

Last weekend, I counted birds Saturday and Sunday.  Don't think you have enough time?  Not to worry.  The project doesn't require that you watch continually during your watch days.  Spend as much time as you can;  however even short periods of time still provide valuable data.

Below is my count data for November 8th and 9th:

Blue Jay                                      2
American Crow                           4
Black-capped Chickadee            2
White-Breasted Nuthatch            1
American Tree Sparrow              1
Dark-Eyed Junco                        5
Norther Cardinal                         1
American Goldfinch                     2

As you can see the numbers were low.  Considering I just started putting out food and there was no snow cover, this is pretty normal for this time of the year.

Finally, some photos from last weekend:

Dark-Eyed Junco

Northern Cardinal

American Tree Sparrow

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Until next time

Fellow Bird Watchers: It's Time For Project FeederWatch

Welcome back.  Once again, it's the time of the year to switch my focus from gardening to bird watching. One of the most enjoyable and important bird watching activities is about to begin: Project FeederWatch.

I introduced my readers to this worthwhile research project this Spring;  however it was at the tail end of the project.  This time you will have plenty of time to join and participate.

To help you get started, I have provided the following video.




Below are some more detailed instructions:

1. Sign up – If you have not yet signed up, join today! During the season, it takes a few weeks from when you sign up for your kit to arrive with your ID number and for your ID number to be activated in Your Data.
2. Select your count site – Choose a portion of your yard that is easy to monitor, typically an area with feeders that is visible from one vantage point.
3. Choose your count days – Select two consecutive days as often as once a week (less often is fine). Leave at least five days when you do not count between each of your two-day counts.
4. How to count – Watch your feeders as much or a little as you want over your selected count days. Record the maximum number of each species visible at any one time during your two-day count. Do not add your counts together!
5. What to count – Please count
• all of the individuals of each species in view at any one time
• birds attracted to food or water you provided
• birds attracted to fruits or ornamental plantings
• hawks and other predatory birds that are attracted by the birds at your feeders

The benefits of this project are summed up as follows at http://feederwatch.org:

WHY ARE FEEDERWATCH DATA IMPORTANT?

"With each season, FeederWatch increases in importance as a unique monitoring tool for more than 100 bird species that winter in North America.

What sets FeederWatch apart from other monitoring programs is the detailed picture that FeederWatch data provide about weekly changes in bird distribution and abundance across the United States and Canada. Importantly, FeederWatch data tell us where birds are as well as where they are not. This crucial information enables scientists to piece together the most accurate population maps.

Because FeederWatchers count the number of individuals of each species they see several times throughout the winter, FeederWatch data are extremely powerful for detecting and explaining gradual changes in the wintering ranges of many species. In short, FeederWatch data are important because they provide information about bird population biology that cannot be detected by any other available method."

So fill up your feeders and dust off the binoculars.  It's a great opportunity for your family to spend quality time together during the winter months.

 Until next time.

The Hardy Vegetables/Amending the Garden Soil

Welcome back my fellow gardeners and bird watchers.

In my last post, I talked about a few hardy vegetables that still remain in my garden.  Even though we've had at least 4 or 5 light frosts, these vegetables can still survive:

Leeks

Lettuce Blend, Carrots, Swiss Chard, Brussels Sprouts

Leeks Galore

Some Nice Carrots

Ready For Use

Once the temperatures dip down into the mid twenties, most of these won't survive with several exceptions: leeks and carrots.  These can be left in the garden until the ground freezes.  The cold even improves the flavor of leeks.

Last week I briefly touched on amending garden soil.  Fall is a great time of the year to do this. There are several ways this can be done, one of which is by adding compost.

Composting has become very popular.  There are many commercially available devices by which kitchen and garden waste can be composted.  Composting results in a beautiful, rich black soil.  Adding a layer to the garden in the fall will stimulate microbes and other beneficial organisms.

Another option is to add raw organic matter such as leaves.  Are you a gardener and also faced with cleaning up leaves in the fall?  A great use for the fall leaves is using them to improve your garden.  I have been doing this for several years, and can see a noticeable improvement in the soil.

It is best, however, to shed or mulch the leaves first.  Otherwise, they probably won't decay over the winter.  Mulching greatly increases the rate of decay.  Also, the additional of a little fertilizer will speed the decay and also ensure all of the nitrogen in the soil isn't depleted by the decaying process.

Improving the soil will increase the ability of your garden to retain water, support healthy plant growth, and decrease plant diseases.

Mulched Leaves on the Garden

Until next time.

Potato Harvest in Review/Final Garden Cleanup/Time for Birdwatching

Welcome back and thanks again to all of my readers.

The Potato Harvest, Thomas James Lloyd, 1882

This season's potato harvest turned out to be one of the best if not the best ever.  You may recall that I planted 3 varieties this year:  Kennebec, Yukon Gold, and German Butterball.  For more information on the varieties I planted, see my most recent post regarding potatoes which was on September 18, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-harvest-continues-onions-potatoes.html).

The final results are in and are as follows:

Kennebec - 110 lbs
Yukon Gold - 60 lbs
German Butterball - 50 lbs

So it was a great year for potatoes.  In comparison, last year's total was about 100 lbs.

German Butterball Potatoes

I recently finished cleaning up the garden for the season.  However, a few items still remain which are hardy and can withstand frost.  As a gardener, I try to preserve what I can for as long as I can. After all, it will be many months until we will have garden fresh vegetables again.

I still have the following in the garden:  leeks, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, and carrots. These will survive until the temperature dips into the middle twenties.  For some vegetables, such as leeks, the frost actually improves the flavor,

Can I Salvage a Few?

The remnants

The gardens are now rototilled and ready to rest for the winter.  However, there is more that can be done to improve the soil and get the garden ready for next season.   Stayed tuned for future posts.

As gardening winds down for the season, I will turn my attention to bird watching.  Coming soon, I will have more information on Project feeder Watch, sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This winter long survey of birds runs from November through April.

Until next time.

Simply Photos - Fall Colors/Heirloom Tomatoes/Garden Cleanup

Welcome back.  This week I will keep it simple by just posting some photos.  The beautiful fall colors continue, as does the garden cleanup.  There are still a few remaining vegetables in the garden including leeks, Swiss Chard, Brussels sprouts,and a few surviving tomato and pepper plants.

Enjoy the photos:

Indian Corn Stalks

The Last of the Heirlooms

The Remaining Heirlooms

Hungarian Wax Peppers

Habanero Peppers

Until next time