A male bluebird lit on our window feeder recently and he was simply stunning. There is no blue on the finest artist’s pallet that could begin to duplicate his color. This is the time of year when birds strut their stuff. An early spring molt leads to spectacular colors which male birds use to attract females. The feathers don’t change colors, but new, brighter feathers take their place. Even … [Read more...]

I have two pests to contend with as I feed my backyard birds – squirrels and grackles. Both can lay waste to expensive bird seed intended for bluebirds and other songbirds. I have more or less stopped the squirrels with a baffle on my primary feeder. But baffles don’t stop grackles. They fly in and have figured out that if they stand on the side of the spring-loaded perch, they can still snatch … [Read more...]

They are back already. Grackles. There are not many, just 4 or 5 in my backyard, but soon they will come in swarms and eat me out of house and home as I attempt to feed my songbirds and toss some critter food to the squirrels. But I am prepared for battle. Here is my plan to at least discourage the big, black freeloaders. First, I will switch my primary feeder to Safflower Seeds. Neither … [Read more...]

Last summer I lost a nest full of bluebird chicks to a predator – maybe a snake, maybe a raccoon. I had attached a bluebird house to a tree, unknowingly giving the predator fairly easy access. My friend Chis Johnson read of my plight and gave me a baffle made of sheet metal that keeps critters at bay (his two bluebird families successfully hatched about 20 babies last summer.) Being totally … [Read more...]

  Some folks take down their bird houses after the summer to save on wear and tear through the winter months. If you are one of those people, now is the time to put the house back up. The birds are shopping early. I saw my resident pair of blue birds checking out their old house this week. The male perches on the entrance hole and peers around a bit, while the hen sits patiently and … [Read more...]

  He didn’t make it. He was a male house sparrow. I found him in the yard. No ruffled feathers, so he didn’t die in a skirmish with a hawk or a cat. Rather, the winter was too much. He was weakened and died. When you consider what birds must go through to last even one night in the bitter cold with the ground covered in ice and snow, it’s a wonder any of them make it. Nature is a cruel … [Read more...]

“Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care, “Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care, “Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care, “My master’s gone away.” If you’re as old as I am, you may remember this Negro spiritual. Mama Ida used to sing this to me when I was a child. It is said that this was one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite songs. There are several theories about the lyrics. One is that a slave boy … [Read more...]

  Other than the Hummingbirds of summer, he is the smallest bird to visit my yard. He is my Chickadee and every year I have a pair that nest in or near the yard. He is also fun to watch. We have just put one those see-through feeders on our den window so that Foster (our pet parakeet) can watch and try to speak to other birds. You should hear the racket that Foster makes when a bird … [Read more...]

We have had a spectacular visitor recently – a Red-bellied woodpecker, several, actually. These are beautiful birds with a scarlet red head patch and well-defined black and white wing markings. Against the backdrop of snow, they are stunning. These medium-size woodpeckers have primarily been drawn to the Peanut Delight Suet Bar I have hanging, but they have also made frequent trips to the buffet … [Read more...]

I suppose this will be my annual plea to fellow birders to put out a heated bird bath. Our little friends need water, especially in freezing weather, to survive. Many, many people put out feeders – something like $500 million is spent annually on bird seed, but for bird baths - not so much. I have a ton of songbirds in my yard, but it didn’t happen by accident. I provide multiple food sources … [Read more...]