The two most recent Garden Gate episodes were filmed in my backyard. The first is about setting up a squirrel-proof bird feeding station. It aired recently and is now on the Avant-Garden Shop’s YouTube channel. The second is about including trees and shrubs in your landscaping plans to attract birds and provide shelter. It may … Read more
New feeders, pole systems, and baffles to keep squirrels away? Check! New, fresh, high-quality bird seed? Check! Binoculars, identification guide, and excited anticipation about all the birds you’re going to see? Check! Birds? … insert cricket sounds here … So what’s up with that? There are plenty of reasons why there aren’t any birds coming … Read more
Last month’s blog post talked about the arrival this winter of Evening Grosbeaks. Another grosbeak, the Pine Grosbeak, is also showing up, which is exciting, because these large, beautiful finches rarely come this far south. If I recall, the only time I’ve ever seen Pine Grosbeaks was in the Hudson Bay Lowlands during the breeding … Read more
Customers often talk about the price of bird food when they should be considering the QUALITY! On this episode I dissect a bag of box store bird food. Even I was shocked at how poor the quality was. Birds don’t eat wheat or milo which is in high quantities in box store mixes. Even the … Read more
Not all bird species fly south for the winter, and not all of those that do come as far as Peterborough. Last year was what was called an “irruption year” for birds. Many bird species, such as Pine Siskins, the 2 redpoll species, and Bohemian Waxwings came here in greater numbers than in a typical … Read more
Learn all about the beautiful American Goldfinch on this episode. We show you different feeders that attract these sweet little birds and we also talk about why they may stop feeding from your finch feeders! Find a selection of finch feeders on our website here.
As we move into fall, the birds begin their move for the winter. Although there are still plenty of American Goldfinch and Northern Cardinal young begging for food, most of this year’s hatchlings are now fully independent of mom and dad and are footloose and fancy free. As young disperse from their home base, the … Read more
American Goldfinches are the latest-breeding songbird species in this area. They molt their feathers a second time in the summer, which is unusual for most bird species and leads to increasingly bright colours as the season progresses. Their song is a cheerful musical babbling, and their flight call – po-ta-to chip! po-ta-to chip! – is … Read more
You’ve likely noticed the usual abundance of squirrels and even more chipmunks than usual this year. Animal populations respond to several things in their environments, and food is a major one. This is nuts! You may recall that 2019 was a great year for flowers. It was also a great one for nut-producing trees, like … Read more
Common Grackles and European Starlings are unpopular with many, because they raid bird feeders and leave nothing for other species. I’m often asked how to solve this problem. If you adjust the seed you offer and the types of feeders you use, you can successfully exclude these unwanted species and attract the ones you want. … Read more