Back Yard Bird Watching – Page 13 – The Avant-Garden Shop

Garden Gate: Episode 37 – Hummingbirds and Orioles

December 31, 2015May 16, 2014 by Brenda

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.

Come in to win!

December 31, 2015February 6, 2014 by Brenda

Come in to win a Squirrel Buster!

Starting?Monday Feb. 10th, drop by the store for your secret code. ?Use the secret code to enter to win one of 150 Squirrel Buster bird feeders!

You can enter online or by phone. Enter early. Enter OFTEN! No purchase required.

Prizes available:
120 Squirrel Buster Standard bird feeders
18 Squirrel Buster Finch bird feeders
12 Squirrel Buster Plus bird feeders

The Squirrel Buster line of bird feeders really do work! ?We have many happy customers who can attest to that fact. ?If you’d like to learn more about the different types of Squirrel Buster feeders, visit the manufacturers website. www.bromebirdcare.com On their website you can also watch some video of the birds enjoying the feeders!

Garden Gate: Episode 32 – Grackles and Starlings with guest Drew Monkman

December 31, 2015February 5, 2014 by Brenda

Chex air date: February 21st, 2014

Click here to watch this episode of The Garden Gate.

Grackles and starlings can be so annoying when they find your bird feeders. ?They eat so much, come in large flocks and scare away the prettier birds like cardinals. (Photo: www.billhubick.com)

During this episode of The Garden Gate I’ll speak with local naturalist and author about these birds and we’ll discuss ways to keep them out of your bird feeders.

Did you know that they don’t like safflower? ?That’s one way to discourage them. Also the Squirrel Buster Plus bird feeder has a few design tricks that also discourage the grackle.

Drew Monkman is the author of Nature’s Year in the Kawarthas and also an updated version called Nature’s Year?which is available at The Avant-Garden Shop. A great book for the cottage, for teaching children about the every day changes in our environment and just about anyone else who loves exploring the outdoors.

Garden Gate: Episode 31 – Bats and white nose syndrome

December 31, 2015February 4, 2014 by Brenda

Chex TV air date: Feb. 7th, 2014

Click here to watch this episode of the Garden Gate.

Not everyone is a fan of bats. ?But bats eat 1000’s of mosquitoes everyday and should be encouraged in our gardens and yards. ?You can put up bats houses to attract them. We carry a few styles made locally by Animal House Creations.?

Bats are on a steady decline all across the country because of a fungus called?White nose syndrome.

A local naturalist will be our guest this week. Drew Monkman, will tell us more about this terrible disease and how it is affecting our bats.

Garden Gate: Episode 29 – Keeping birds warm during the winter

December 31, 2015January 7, 2014 by Brenda

CHEX Air date: Friday January 10th, 2014

Click here to view this episode of The Garden Gate.

We have been having some extremely cold weather conditions since late November this year. ?Ice storms, strong wind conditions and high snowfall mean food sources are covered. Birds need to eat almost constantly during the day to retain enough energy through our long winter nights. Here are a few things you can do to help.

FOOD
Keep feeders full. Birds are more attracted to feeders that are full. ?They can see the seed and then know that it’s worth their while to visit your restaurant.

Keep feeders clean. If seed gets frozen or some moisture gets into the feeder, the seed may not dispense properly or it may go moldy or rancid. Checking your feeders often and changing seed regularly is very important. ?If birds seem to be ignoring your feeders, it may be that the seed is bad or jammed inside the feeder.

Provide lots of peanuts for extra energy. Whether in the shell or out of the shell. Birds love peanuts! Peanuts are a favourite for Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Chickadees. Even cardinals like peanuts! Click this link to visit our website to see some peanut and suet feeders.

Suet is also an excellent food source through the winter. Make sure that you get good quality suet without filler such as cornmeal and millet.? Suet with cornmeal can get moldy easily as the cornmeal holds moisture. Avoid cornmeal. The more fat, peanuts and sunflower seeds the better!

SHELTER
Besides food you can also provide shelter. We carry this roosting box. Birds will crowd together inside the roosting box to share energy. If you’re going to make a box yourself, it’s similar to a bird house, but there are no ventilation gaps. This allows the space to warm up as the birds huddle together.

Birds will also huddle together in the branches of coniferous trees like spruce, pine and cedar. Plant coniferous trees next spring and put your feeders close by so the birds can go back and forth between the tree and the feeder.

Note: Cardinals love cedar trees!

WATER
Heated bird baths are great in the winter. They keep the water just above freezing and birds flock to this easily accessible water source. You don’t need to worry if they bathe, because their feathers will move the water away from their bodies. They need to keep their feathers clean of dust, dirt and insects. ?Their bodies are also warm so the water evaporates before it can freeze. It?s important to keep birds well fed so they are generating energy to help keep their body temp up.

Birds can melt snow in their mouths, but it takes a lot of extra energy to do that, so they prefer and open water source. If there is no other open water source near you, you’ll be surprised at how many birds you’ll see at your bath!

Garden Gate: Episode 21-Suet and Peanut Feeders

December 31, 2015September 20, 2013 by Brenda

CHEX TV air date: Fri. Sep. 20th, 2013

Click here to view this episode of ?The Garden Gate.

Blue Jays, woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches and many other birds love peanuts and suet.? Even cardinals! The peanuts and suet give them the extra carbohydrates they need to stay warm through the long winter nights.

There are a variety of feeders in which you can offer peanuts. Peanuts in the shell work nicely in the wreath feeders or other feeders with large openings.? These feeders offer some challenge to the bird, making them take some extra time to get the seed out. This means you get a great look at the bird while he is struggling to pull the seed out or peck at it until the delicious kernel is retrieved.? You can also offer shelled peanuts which birds peck at through a mesh and get little kernels which they gobble down quickly.? Shelled peanuts are actually more cost effective and also less messy. No shells left behind to clean up!

Please buy fresh peanuts!? Old stale peanuts can go rancid and the bird will not eat them. Our seeds are the freshest you can get. Your birds will love them!

Suet can also be offered year round, providing that you choose good quality suet.? Poor quality suet will melt in the summer heat and also contains many types of filler that the birds don?t enjoy and will leave behind.? At The Avant-Garden Shop, we offer Millcreek bird food and also suet.? All of their suet is double rendered, which means it is very dense and doesn’t melt or fall apart easily. The Summer Nut suet is even thicker and will not melt even in our summer heat.

We also offer pure suet, which grackles and starlings tend to shy away from. It is their least favourite. It is a softer suet and will melt in high heat, so should only be offered late in the season and through the winter.

There are a variety of suet feeders that hold the suet blocks. We have upside down suet feeders (Starlings dislike this style), feeders with tail props (which the Hairy woodpecker loves) and also the regular square cages. We have the cages for single suet cakes, two or even four suet cakes. ?We also have a suet log feeder which has holes in which you can push a special “peanut butter” type suet.

For the Christmas season we also offer solid seed wreaths, suet ?acorns? and other fun items that you can give as a gift to the person who wants little or nothing.? It?s a ?gift for the birds!?

Garden Gate: Episode 13 – Why are the birds not feeding from my feeder?

December 31, 2015May 23, 2013 by Brenda

CHEX TV air date: Fri. May 31st, 2013

Click here to watch this episode of ?The Garden Gate.

During prime finch feeding season, almost weekly I have customers coming in to purchase a new feeder because they?ve lost their finches. Initially when they put up their feeder they get lots of finches but at a certain point they stop coming. Have you experienced this?

My first question is ?Where did you get your Nyger seed??? Often the response is, ?Oh, I don?t remember, maybe the grocery store.?? There?s your answer. The seed is probably old and dried out. There is oil inside the shell that the finches are after. If it?s dried out, they aren?t interested.? Generally your Nyger seed should be no more than 6 months old. If it?s any older it could be stale, there is no oil and chances are it?s gone moldy.? You can?t necessarily see the mold, but the birds can smell it and will not eat it. The seed may look dusty and dull when it’s moldy. Who likes moldy food? I know that I don?t.

One way to check the freshness of your Nyger seed is to pinch the seed with your fingernails and see if any oil comes out. The finches use their bills to twist the seed and sip the oil and then drop the shell. If your seed has dried out the birds may check the seed but then leave unsatsified. We receive fresh seed each week that is properly controlled by our supplier Mill Creek, Canada’s?Premier?specialty bird store supplier. ?Buy small quantities of Nyger to ensure that you?ll go through it within a month or two.? All seed should be ?New crop? seed. This means it is from the most recent growing year. Ask your supplier how old their seed is.? If they can’t answer that question, go somewhere where they can. We don?t know how old ?Old crop? seed is. Could be years?

Keep your feeders full! Finches are notorious for leaving a tube feeder half full. They love to be on the highest perches and empty the top half of your feeder and then leave. Don’t just top off your feeder with fresh seed. Empty the older seed (if it’s still good) into a different container, fill the bottom of your feeder with new seed and top it off with the older seed. The birds will probably eat down to that certain level again and you’ll have to repeat the process.? One nice feature of the Aspects Finch feeder is that you can open it very easily from the bottom. I suggest tipping the half full feeder so the older seed goes to the top, opening the bottom and filling from the bottom. This circulates your seed.

Tap your finch feeder to prevent seed from “bridging”. Seed cavities occur when the air is humid. The dampness allows the seed to cling together and will form a cavity when birds select through the portal. This is called “bridging.” Tap your feeder every time you pass by and at a minimum every week.

In the spring when the dandelions are blooming and going to seed, the finches spend more time eating the dandelion seed?than going to your feeder. Birds generally only take 25% of their food from feeders and 75% from nature. So when the natural seeds are available they prefer those and will spend less time at your feeder. You may also notice that birds disappear for a few days each week. They are probably visiting their natural food sources, but will eventually return.

Consider the location of your feeder as well. The most important place to hang a feeder is where you can watch it easily, but I?ve found the goldfinches feel more comfortable with the feeder near trees. I have several feeders hanging around the house and a couple on a pole in the open in the back of the house. All the feeders have birds but I fill the feeders in the trees twice as much.

My favourite feeders?are either the Droll Yankees or Aspects Finch Feeders. Several birds can feed at a time, the seed stays dry, and they are easy to clean, easy to fill, have lifetime guarantees and are made in the USA. If you’re thinking of switching feeders be aware that finches don’t like change and it may take several minutes to several months for Goldfinches to accept a new feeder. If you run into this problem, take the feeder that they are using away for a few days and put the new feeder in its place. Once they feed from it, you can return the other feeders.? I like to compare it?to going to your favourite restaurant. You know what you’re going to get, and prefer to keep going back instead of being adventurous and going a new restaurant. Birds are the same. They’ll continue to go back to a feeder they are use to before trying out a new feeder.
?
Nyger seed used to be called thistle, but it is not the noxious thistle weed we see growing on roadsides. It typically will not germinate under your feeders since it is required that all Nyger seed imported be heat-treated to sterilize the seed.

Nyger seed is one of the favourite seeds of goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls and other small-billed seed-eating birds.? We’ve also seen nuthatches, chickadees, doves, Downy Woodpeckers, and other small birds eating it.

Is it worth the bother? Yes! I love the happy, sweet, song of the Goldfinches. I love the huge flocks of finches that flutter down from the tops of trees as they take their turn at the feeder. I love that I can hang the feeder anywhere because squirrels and other animals don’t bother with Nyjer seed (provided that you have a quality non-chewable feeder). And once you understand the Goldfinches’ needs, they are easy to please and very pleasing to watch.

Happy bird watching!?

Garden Gate: Episode 11 – Hummingbirds and Orioles

December 31, 2015May 3, 2013 by Brenda

CHEX TV air date: Fri. May 3rd, 2013

Click here to watch this episode of??The Garden Gate.

It’s May!? The hummingbirds will be spotted any day now in our area. It’s time to get your feeders out!!

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.

Garden Gate: Episode 10 – Bird, bat, butterfly and bee houses

December 31, 2015April 21, 2013 by Brenda

CHEX TV air date: Fri. Apr. 19th, 2013

Click here to watch this episode of?The Garden Gate.

Gary Cowie from Animal House Creations was our guest on this episode of The Garden Gate.? Gary constructs wonderful homes for many of our natural friends. He has thoroughly researched what specifications are needed for proper homes.

The size of the port opening, floor size, etc. will all vary depending on which bird you are trying to attract. His homes have drainage, ventilation, predator guards and more.

We not only discussed bird houses, but butterfly houses and homes for the super pollinator Mason bees!? Very informative.

These houses are all available at The Avant-Garden Shop.

Garden Gate: Episode 6 – Identifying birds

December 31, 2015February 27, 2013 by Brenda

CHEX TV air date: Fri. Feb 22nd, 2013

Click here to watch this episode of?The Garden Gate.

Drew Monkman joins Brenda Ibey, owner of The Avant Garden Shop, to discuss how to identify your favourite birds during nature walks and birdwatching outings.It was a cold day in January but the birds were out singing and we were also entertained by crows chasing a hawk!

Drew Monkman is a retired teacher, naturalist and writer whose popular nature column ?Our changing seasons? appears weekly in the Peterborough Examiner. He participates in wildlife-monitoring programs, including the Breeding Bird Survey and the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas and is author of Nature?s Year in the Kawartha?s. He lives in Peterborough.

His book is available at The Avant-Garden Shop.