CHEX TV airdate: July 24th 5-6pm Click link to watch this episode. 
I’ve talked about it before. I’ve talked about it with my customers. We’ll talk about it again! ?This time with my bird food supplier. What is different between our bird food (Millcreek seed) and box store brands? The short answer is A LOT! Box store food is usually stale and old. ?Birds don’t like to eat stale bird food any more than you like to eat stale crackers or bread. It smells funny and has little nutrition. In the case of Nyger or peanuts it can even be rancid. Box store bird food can also be years old. ?Often it is “Old crop.” ?This means the seed is from previous years crops. Box store bird food can also contain wheat (which birds don’t eat), way too much corn, tiny sunflower seeds, and other fillers that just end up getting tossed on the ground and causing a big mess. ?Look at the label and see what the ingredients are. Often in poor grade seed you’ll see on the label that it contains oil to suppress dust. Birds don’t like either! Who would!? Our bird food is the freshest you can get. It is “New Crop.” It contains no dust or oil. There are numerous varieties of big plump seeds used throughout the year to offer the best seasonal mixes possible. Top quality – and you’ll know it! 
Tune in to CHEX TV on Friday July 24th between 5 & 6pm for my interview with Mark Bennett from Wild bird trading and Millcreek seed. Read more here.
Back Yard Bird Watching
Garden Gate: Episode 67 – Neonicotinoids – What are they and why are they bad? Guest Mark Bennett
CHEX TV airdate: Friday July 10th, 5-6pm
Click link to watch this episode online.
We’ve been hearing a lot in the news about Neonicotinoids (Neonics).
This relatively new class of insecticide affects the central nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death. ?Plants that have been grown using Neonics are harmful to bees, butterfly’s and birds because they ingest the nectar or pollen and the insecticide along with it.
My guest, Mark Bennett from Wild Bird Trading and Millcreek seed, discusses Neonics with me on this episode of The Garden Gate.
All of our Millcreek bird food is Neonic FREE! ?So you can be rest assured that when you feed our Millcreek brand of bird food to your birds you are not harming any birds, bees or butterfly’s!
Garden Gate: Episode 63 – Providing water for the birds and butterfly’s
CHEX TV airdate: May 15th, 2015
Click link to watch this 3 minute video online.
Bi
rds and Butterfly’s both need water either for drinking or for bathing. ?On this episode of The Garden Gate I show you a few options available, from bird baths, bird waterers and also butterfly feeders and baths.
We especially love the hand made pottery bird baths made by Quebec artist Marie-Joel Turgeon. ?Th
ese stunning works of art will look great either in your garden, on the lawn or in a large container garden.
The birds love them because they aren’t too deep as many other baths can be. Also very easy to clean.
The bird waterer is also a popular item. It can be hung on a shepherds hook, set on a stump or table or affixed to a 4X4 post.
Birds can either drink from the cups or jump right in and have a bath. ?It automatically refills from the blue coloured container to keep the cups full. The blue colour also helps to reduce algae growth. Customers (and birds) love this item!
Then we also have a few special items for the butterfly’s. ?We rarely have puddles in our yards for the butterfly’s anymore, so we need to find ways to provide water for them as well. We have butterfly drinkers, feeders and also houses!
Garden Gate: Episode 58 – Migrating birds
Chex airdate: March, 6th, 2015 Click link to watch this episode online. Often
?people ask where particular birds have gone. ?Years ago they would have seen them more often, but it’s only on rare occasions that they enjoy a sighting. Local biologist and instructor at Trent University, Walter Wehtje helps to explain where the birds have gone and what birds we are apt to see this year. Special thanks to Fred Jennings from Longlac, Ontario for sharing his beautiful bird photos.
Garden Gate: Episode 57 – OWLS!
CHEX TV airdate: Friday Feb. 20, 2015, 5pm Click link to view this episode. For the last couple of years a high number of owls have been spotted in our region. Especially snowy owls. They are so beautiful and exciting to see! I haven’t seen a snowy owl myself but was fortunate enough to have a visit from a very large Barred owl! Right in my backyard.
On this episode I speak with Walter Wehtje, a biologist and instructor at Trent University about owl sightings and migrations habitats. ?Walter highlights one of his favourite websites to track the owls.??www.projectsnowstorm.org The project “Snow storm” began with the historic snowy owl irruption of 2013-14, and is a continuing effort to learn about these majestic raptors. On March 6th, join Walter and I as we discuss migration habits of other birds!
Garden Gate: Episode 56 – The BAD seed
? CHEX TV airdate: Friday, Feb. 6th, 2015 Click link to watch this episode. I knew our bird food was good stuff. ?But it wasn’t until I picked some other “bird food” up at a box store that I realized HOW good! On this episode of the Garden Gate I will show you how to tell the difference between good and bad bird food. ?And the birds will also tell you! ?If you don’t have any birds at your feeders, there is very likely something wrong with the food. Many box store brands are filled with seeds that the birds don’t like. ?If the ingredients list includes “grains”, mostly like that is wheat. ?Pheasants and chickens may eat wheat, but backyard birds don’t. ?Also ingredient lists sometimes note that “oil may be used to suppress dust.” ?Birds don’t like oil and dust anymore than you do! ?The box store bag I picked up felt so dusty I was shocked! Even black oil sunflower varies from store to store. ?It is sorted be weight. ?Lightweight seeds are separated by being blown off a conveyor belt. The light weight seeds go in the cheaper bags and you get more shell than you do seed! ?Birds will toss most of these seeds on the ground because it’s not worth their time and energy to open the shells for little reward. Our bird food is filled with only the good stuff. ?No filler. No dust. No oil. NO wheat! ?You’ll find you have much more activity at your feeders and a much wider variety of birds. The sunflower seeds are plump and fresh! Ask for our most popular blend “Seasons Woodland.” And, finally if you’re thinking quality bird food is more expensive, then think again. ?Depending on the bird food you choose, 10lbs is less than $15.00 and there is NO waste. ?Give ours a try! I’m sure you’ll be surprised with the results.
Garden Gate: Episode 55 – New Feeders
Click link to watch this episode. So you have a new feeder! ?Yay! ?You filled it up with bird food. Hung it in a tree. ?It looks good. ?You can see it from the kitchen window and are ready to enjoy those little chirpers. Then you waited. No birds. Days go by. Still no birds. ?What’s going on you say? ?It’s frustrating, but there are often good reasons why you don’t see any birds. On this episode of The Garden Gate on CHEX TV I give some quick tips about why you may not be seeing birds and things you can do to hopefully get them to enjoy your new bird feeder. ?I hope you’ll join me!
Garden Gate: Episode 52-Discouraging large birds
CHEX TV airdate: Friday Dec. 12th, 2014 Click link to watch it here! 
Feeding and watching the birds is a wonderful past time. ?You can spend hours watching the chickadees coming in to grab a seed one after another. ?Polite little birds! Then there are the goldfinches. They have such a pretty song, I could listen to them all day. They will come in large flocks and sit all day taking turns eating your Nyger seed. Bright red Cardinals appear and we almost jump for joy! ?When they are courting or have little ones to feed you might enjoy dad helping to pass on a seed or two. ?FUN! Aww, b
ut then the fun ends. Sir Squirrel or Gastly Grackle moves in….birds fly away and these two devour everything in site! On this episode of The Garden Gate, I’ll give you some tips on types of feeders that discourage squirrels and grackles as well as bird food that they don’t like. Feel free to drop in to see these feeders or to get more information. We’re here to help and to make your back yard bird feeding more enjoyable! Note: we do not recommend bird food with cayenne. ?If a squirrel gets the cayenne pepper in their eyes they can do serious damage to their eyes. ?Also, it has been shown that it affects birds stomachs. They can’t necessarily taste it, but their little tummies don’t like it. ?
Garden Gate: Episode 42 – Plants for birds
CHEX TV airdate: July 25th, 2014 Click here to watch this episode. Birds love seed that you put out in your bird feeders, but in the summer they go crazy for natural berries and seeds that they find in your garden. On this episode I’ll highlight a few plants they you could easily incorporate into your garden. I especially love seeing Cedar waxwings in the late summer devouring the Mountain ash berries. ?I always get customers in commenting on “this flock of birds.” ?They come in large numbers and hang out in one tree for a day or two until the berries are gone. Then they move onto the next one. 
It’s also a great idea to leave some of your plants standing late and through the winter so the birds can pick out all of the seeds. Echinacea is a great plant that the finches especially enjoy. So leave those seed heads standing as long as possible! If you incorporate a variety of plants, trees and shrubs you’ll see more variety of birds. They each have their favourite. This All about Birds website as well as many others can give you lists of plants that birds love. ?Or drop by the store and we can give you some ideas as well. Just remember “Variety is the spice of life!”
Garden Gate: Episode 37 – Hummingbirds and Orioles
CHEX TV Air date: May 16th, 2014 Click link to watch this episode Hummingbirds and orioles are almost here. Visit www.hummingbirds.net to see where they have been spotted! On this episode of The Garden Gate I’ll help you choose a good quality hummingbird feeder that will last for many years.
I often have customers ask me, despite being diligent about filling their feeders,?why they don?t seem to get any hummingbirds. There could be a few reasons. Here are some tips to help you out.
-choose a quality feeder that has red colour on it -hummingbirds will not feed from feeders with insects in them, so ensure your feeder has an ant moat to keep out ants and bee guards to keep out the bees. -avoid feeders with yellow flowers as this attracts more bees -get your feeders out early (May 1st in our region) -fill with sugar solution of 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. Ensure the sugar is dissolved. It?s not necessary to boil the water as long as the sugar dissolves. -you may also consider a prepared mix as they often include extra?vitamins and nutrients?(like giving the birds orange juice vs. pop) -do not use food colouring -hang your feeder in a visble location but not the full sun -change the liquid weekly (more often in hot weather) -clean the feeder each time -hang a red scarf or red flag nearby initially to attract the bird. They are highly attracted to the red.
Hummingbirds love certain types of flowers. So include a wide variety whenever possible. Here are some of my favourites to attract the hummingbirds: Lantana, Butterfly bush, Lamium, Salvia, Trumpet vine, Morning glory, Columbine, Honeysuckle, Bee Balm, Fushia, Weigela, Petunia?s, Impatiens and even Scarlet runner beans!
Orioles 
Like hummingbirds are attacted to red, Orioles are attracted to orange. They also drink nectar in the same concentration at the hummingbird.? So pick out a feeder similar to the one recommended above but in orange!? Orioles will also eat orange slices and grape jelly!? Feeders are available for both of these options.
Orioles are a little harder to attract and keep around. They don?t cruise through gardens as easily as the hummingbirds do.? They can be found where tall trees exist, at the edges of forests and along rivers. So not everyone can attract the oriole.
Orioles also tend to move with the bloom. So if flowers have finished blooming in your yard, the bird?may continue to move north to find more blooms to drink the nectar from.
I have been able to keep orioles in my garden but not after being very consistent about providing them with a food source. It took them about 4 years of feeding before they finally stayed for a longer period than normal. So far I have been unable to find a nest, but I have seen the young at my feeder.
And one more tip for this time of year. ?Put stickers on your windows to prevent bird strikes.
These Window Alert stickers are made of an ultraviolet product that the birds can see. It acts like a giant stop light for them, but you barely notice the stickers. So if you don’t like those big black bird stickers from years ago, these are for you!
There are 4 stickers in each package. Place them on the outside of your windows. The more you use the better! ?Replace annually.